Category: states

Nothing To Sneeze At: The $2,659 Bill To Pluck Doll’s Shoe From Child’s Nostril

A 3-year-old girl put matching doll shoes up her nose. One came out easily. The second required an emergency department visit ― and generated a bill that is not child’s play.

Not Yesterday’s Cocaine: Death Toll Rising From Tainted Drug

While the U.S. continues to focus mainly on the opioid crisis, cocaine is quietly making a comeback and has become one of the biggest overdose killers of African Americans when tainted with fentanyl.

Last-Minute Loophole Could Undermine Texas Law Against Surprise Medical Bills

Texas passed a bipartisan law against surprise medical billing, but advocates warn that a proposed rule could severely weaken it, continuing to allow surprise bills outside of emergencies.

UVA Doctors Decry Aggressive Billing Practices By Their Own Hospital

In the wake of a Kaiser Health News investigation, doctors want the University of Virginia’s health system to stop suing its patients over unpaid bills.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

Drug Deals And Food Gone Bad Plague Corner Stores. How Neighbors Are Fighting Back.

Corner stores that provide groceries for those using the federal food stamp program have become magnets for violence just outside St. Louis. Gunshots ring out under the cover of darkness, windows are postered over, and the quality of food doesn’t make a trip to the corner store worth the risk. Now local residents are putting their feet down.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Health Care Campaign

Health care is still a top issue in the Democratic primary debate for president, but the candidates’ complicated plans may be doing more to confuse than to educate voters. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Caitlin Owens of Axios and Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more health news. Also, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.

Medi-Cal To Expand Eligibility To Young Undocumented Adults. But Will They Enroll?

California will become the first state to allow unauthorized immigrant adults to receive full Medicaid coverage when it expands eligibility to people ages 19 to 25 in January. But health officials and immigrant rights advocates wonder whether fear of federal immigration policy combined with a youthful sense of not needing health insurance will keep those young adults from joining.

Medi-Cal To Expand Eligibility To Young Undocumented Adults. But Will They Enroll?

California will become the first state to allow unauthorized immigrant adults to receive full Medicaid coverage when it expands eligibility to people ages 19 to 25 in January. But health officials and immigrant rights advocates wonder whether fear of federal immigration policy combined with a youthful sense of not needing health insurance will keep those young adults from joining.

Despite Supreme Court Win, Texas Abortion Clinics Still Shuttered

Three years after winning a big legal battle, abortion providers still find themselves losing the war when it comes to keeping clinics open across the huge, populous state.