Bill of the Month
吃瓜不打烊, in collaboration with The Washington Post, examines and decodes your perplexing medical bills.
Investigations
Priced Out
America鈥檚 Health Insurance Crisis
Common Ground
Americans are split over many issues, but helping people with cancer and other serious illnesses retains broad bipartisan support.
361 - 380 of 454 Results
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Workers Filed More Than 4,100 Complaints About Protective Gear. Some Still Died.
As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear.
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In The Line Of Fire
Fractured Skulls, Lost Eyes: Police Often Break Own Rules Using ‘Rubber Bullets’
Around the country, police responded to protests in the wake of George Floyd鈥檚 death by shooting 鈥渓ess lethal鈥 projectiles, which can seriously hurt and kill. In a joint investigation, KHN and USA TODAY found some officers appear to have violated their department鈥檚 own rules when they fired.
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Public Health Officials Face Wave Of Threats, Pressure Amid Coronavirus Response
Public health officials are confronting growing pressure 鈥 and threats 鈥 across the country as the backlash to the coronavirus response continues. At least 27 state and local health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 13 states.
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Exclusive: Nearly 600 鈥 And Counting 鈥 US Health Workers Have Died Of COVID-19
The Guardian and KHN release new figures Saturday showing the harsh toll that the pandemic is taking on the front-line health workers.
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Bill Of The Month
COVID-Like Cough Sent Him To ER 鈥 Where He Got A $3,278 Bill
A dad in Denver tried to do everything right when COVID symptoms surfaced. Still, he ended up with a huge bill from an insurer that had said it waived cost sharing for coronavirus treatment. What gives?
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Congress Said COVID-19 Tests Should Be Free 鈥 But Who’s Paying?
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.
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COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They鈥檙e Not
Her doctor worried she had COVID-19 but couldn鈥檛 test her for it until she ruled out other things. That test cost a bundle.
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Her Genetic Test Revealed A Microscopic Problem 鈥 And A Jumbo Price Tag
Molecular diagnostics are at the frontier of science, but insurance and billing questions create a minefield for patients.
By Liz Szabo -
Hormone Blocker Shocker: Drug Costs 8 Times More When Used For Kids
Two drug implants are nearly identical. The one for children has a list price of $37,300. For adults, the list price is $4,400. One dad fought for his daughter to be able to use the cheaper drug.
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Appendicitis Is Painful 鈥 Add A $41,212 Surgery Bill To The Misery
A young man averted medical disaster after a friend took him to the nearest hospital just before his appendix burst. But more than a year later, he鈥檚 still facing a $28,000 balance bill for his out-of-network surgery.
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Hospital Group Mum As Members Pursue Patients With Lawsuits And Debt Collectors
The influential trade association has said little over the years as health systems, including those of its own trustees, seized patients鈥 incomes and assets. Now it is reevaluating.
By Jay Hancock -
Electronic Health Records Creating A 鈥楴ew Era鈥 Of Health Care Fraud
The federal government funneled billions in subsidies to software vendors and some overstated or deceived the government about what their products could do, according to whistleblowers.
By Fred Schulte and Erika Fry, Fortune -
Paying It Forward: 鈥楤ill Of The Month鈥 Series, A Vital Toolkit For Patients, Wraps Year 2
In our ongoing, crowdsourced investigation with NPR and CBS, we鈥檝e armed future health system pilgrims with the tools they need to avoid exorbitant medical bills and fight back against unfair charges. Here鈥檚 a look back at 2019鈥檚 stories.
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For Her Head Cold, Insurer Coughed Up $25,865
A New York City woman, worried that her sore throat might be strep, got swabbed at her doctor鈥檚 office. The sample was sent to an out-of-network lab for sophisticated DNA tests 鈥 with a price tag similar to a new SUV.
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Medical Device Failures Brought To Light Now Bolster Lawsuits And Research
Millions of injuries and malfunctions once funneled into a hidden Food and Drug Administration database are now available.
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Nothing To Sneeze At: The $2,659 Bill To Pluck Doll鈥檚 Shoe From Child鈥檚 Nostril
A 3-year-old girl put matching doll shoes up her nose. One came out easily. The second required an emergency department visit 鈥 and generated a bill that is not child鈥檚 play.
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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鈥檚 health system to stop suing its patients over unpaid bills.
By Jay Hancock -
Watch: When Insurance Doesn’t Cover A Mental Health Crisis
CBS This Morning reports on the latest KHN-NPR Bill of the Month.
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The Air Ambulance Billed More Than His Surgeon Did For A Lung Transplant
After Tom Saputo underwent double lung transplant surgery in 2018, he was stunned by a surprise bill of more than $11,000 for the 27-mile air ambulance ride to the hospital. State and federal proposals would crack down on extreme air ambulance charges, including a new California law that will limit how much some patients pay for air ambulance rides.
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FDA Keeps Brand-Name Drugs On A Fast Path To Market 鈥 Despite Manufacturing Concerns
The agency approved Gilead鈥檚 鈥済ame changer鈥 hepatitis C cure, bypassing concerns raised by its own federal inspectors.