Some large employers interpreted themselves as exempt from new federal laws that say tests for the coronavirus should be free to patients. Large academic medical centers are holding back from sending bills to these patients to avoid a backlash over surprise billing.
Just about every state is lifting some coronavirus-related restrictions, but it’s unclear how things are really going, considering data on the spread of the virus lags and may not be reliable. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to throw more responsibility for dealing with the pandemic to state and local governments. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.
As an electron microscopist at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, Elizabeth Fischer has captured stunning images of emerging pathogens such as Ebola, the MERS coronavirus and now SARS-CoV-2.
Just about anyone who wants a coronavirus test in the state of Tennessee can get one. How? The state got buy-in and lots of participation from private labs by assuring them it will pay them.
Maine investigators find one patient’s saga with O’NA HealthCare offers a cautionary tale for anyone looking for cut-rate coverage online.
An affluent suburb looked to Iceland’s and South Korea’s widespread testing in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The method is pricey, but leaders are convinced it is worthwhile.
Children’s hospitals were generally in good shape before COVID-19, but now their revenues are plunging as beds they reserved to assist in the pandemic effort remain empty.
Many travel insurance plans offer health care coverage, but they could limit how much the insurer will pay or exclude coverage for health crises like the coronavirus pandemic. That may leave foreign travelers — unfamiliar with the way the American health system works ― on the hook for major expenses.
Congress authorized $100 billion for health care providers to help reimburse them for losses linked to the coronavirus pandemic. But the majority of that funding so far has gone to hospitals, doctors and other facilities that serve Medicare patients. Providers primarily serving low-income Medicaid populations and children have been largely left out.
After a police shooting in Indianapolis, activists held a protest — but, recognizing the dangers of the coronavirus in a crowd, many worked to make sure demonstrators took proper precautions.
