Category: Hospitals

‘American Diagnosis’: When Indigenous People Move to Cities, Health Care Funding Doesn’t Follow

When Indigenous people started moving to cities in large numbers after World War II, many found hardship and discrimination there … but not the health care they were entitled to. Episode 12, the season finale, explores the efforts of urban Indian health providers to close those gaps by providing affordable, culturally competent care.

Few Places Have More Medical Debt Than Dallas-Fort Worth, but Hospitals There Are Thriving

Some hospitals notch big profits while patients are pushed into debt by skyrocketing medical prices and high deductibles, a KHN analysis finds.

Montana Health Officials Aim to Boost Oversight of Nonprofit Hospitals’ Giving

Montana is one of the latest states seeking to increase oversight of nonprofit hospitals’ giving to ensure they justify their tax-exempt status.

Embedded Bias: How Medical Records Sow Discrimination

Medical records can contain seemingly objective descriptions that are actually full of coded language and subtext. How does that affect care?

Shattered Dreams and Bills in the Millions: Losing a Baby in America

On top of fearing for their children’s lives, new parents of very fragile, very sick infants can face exorbitant hospital bills — even if they have insurance. Medical bills don’t go away if a child dies.

Buy and Bust: After Platinum Health Took Control of Noble Sites, All Hospital Workers Were Fired

Two Missouri towns are without operating hospitals after private equity-backed Noble Health left both facilities mired in debt, lawsuits, and federal investigations. The hospitals’ new operator, Platinum Health, agreed to buy them in April for $2 and laid off the last employees in early September.

Private Equity Sees the Billions in Eye Care as Firms Target High-Profit Procedures

As private equity groups are swarming into aging America’s eye care, the consolidation is costing the U.S. health care system and patients more money.

Doctors Rush to Use Supreme Court Ruling to Escape Opioid Charges

After a unanimous ruling from the high court, doctors who are accused of writing irresponsible prescriptions can go to trial with a new defense: It wasn’t on purpose.

Impending Hospital Closure Rattles Atlanta Health Care Landscape and Political Races

The nonprofit owners of Atlanta Medical Center, a 460-bed Level 1 trauma center in the heart of the city, plan to close the hospital in November. As many community members worry about the hole the closure will leave in the city’s safety net, the news has thrust health care into the political spotlight less than two months before Election Day.

Hospitals Divert Primary Care Patients to Health Center ‘Look-Alikes’ to Boost Finances

Medicare and Medicaid pay “look-alike” health centers significantly more than hospitals for treating patients, and converting or creating clinics can help hospitals reduce their expenses.