This Health Economist Wants Your Medical Bills
A longtime health economist sets her sights on lowering Americans’ insurance premiums.
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Sock Hops and Concerts: How Some Places Spent Opioid Settlement Cash
States, counties, and cities are receiving millions in opioid settlement money to address the addiction crisis. The ways they spent the dollars in 2024 sometimes drew criticism from advocates and at least one state official, who alleged misuse.
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From Narcan to Gun Silencers, Opioid Settlement Cash Pays Law Enforcement Tabs
Local governments have received hundreds of millions of dollars from the opioid settlements to support addiction treatment, recovery, and prevention efforts. Their spending decisions in 2024 were sometimes surprising and even controversial. Our new database offers more than 10,500 examples.
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A Bite, a Bill, and a Bureaucratic Chill in Winning Halloween Haikus
This year’s most spirited Halloween haikus were inspired by tick migration, Medicaid work requirements, and rising copays.
By Թϲ Staff Happy Open Enrollment Eve!
Episode 420A standoff in Congress is keeping much of the government shut down as open enrollment begins in most states for Affordable Care Act plans. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend ACA tax credits, but there has been little negotiating — even as customers are learning what they’ll pay for coverage next year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is telling states they can’t pass their own laws to keep medical debt off consumers’ credit reports. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join Թϲ’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more.
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So Your Insurance Dropped Your Doctor. Now What?
Patients sometimes find themselves scrambling for affordable care when a contract dispute causes a hospital — and most of the doctors and other clinicians who work there — to be dropped from an insurance network. Here are six things to know if that happens to you.
A Listener’s DIY Project Helps Others Deal With High Medical Bills
Season 14, Episode 2A medical student’s DIY project brings “An Arm and a Leg” listeners together with new tools to fight medical debt.
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As Sports Betting Explodes, States Try To Set Limits To Stop Gambling Addiction
Some advocates and lawmakers want to impose national regulations on the gambling industry but would settle for reining in excessive betting at the state level.
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Listen: Amid Shutdown Stalemate, Families Brace for SNAP Cuts and Paycheck Limbo
Թϲ chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” to discuss how the government shutdown is affecting food benefits and the help many Americans get to offset their health insurance premiums.
By Julie Rovner Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown
Episode 419Two major nutrition programs — SNAP and WIC — are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join Թϲ’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Թϲ’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
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A New Car vs. Health Insurance? Average Family Job-Based Coverage Hits $27K
KFF data shows that 2025 marked the first time in two decades that the annual cost of covering a family of four rose by 6% or more for three consecutive years.
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‘Cancer Doesn’t Care’: Citizen Lobbyists Unite To Push Past Washington’s Ugly Politics
Despite a poisonous political climate, hundreds of volunteer advocates put partisan differences aside and pressed Congress to help people with cancer.
Schrödinger’s Government Shutdown
Episode 418Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join Թϲ’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.
Starting To Feel the Shutdown’s Bite
Episode 417The government shutdown continues with no end in sight, and while it theoretically should not affect entitlement programs, the lapse of some related authorizations — like for Medicare telehealth programs — is leaving some doctors and patients high and dry. Meanwhile, the FDA quietly approved a new generic abortion pill. Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join Թϲ’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Sarah Grusin of the National Health Law Program.
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Listen: Why ‘TrumpRx’ Might Not Save You Money
On the "Today, Explained" podcast, Թϲ' Julie Rovner recaps the TrumpRx announcement and why the direct-to-consumer initiative may not save you money on prescription drugs if you have insurance through your employer or the government.
By Julie Rovner Democrats Make This Shutdown About the ACA
Episode 416The foreshadowed federal shutdown came after Congress failed to pass required spending bills, with Democrats demanding Republicans renew the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies in exchange for their votes. While a shutdown does not affect Medicare and Medicaid, it could eventually hinder activities from every corner of the Department of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, as Democrats and Republicans point fingers, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pursues policies and personnel that would undermine vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join Թϲ’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also this week, Rovner interviews Թϲ’ Cara Anthony, who wrote a recent “Bill of the Month” feature about an out-of-network eye surgery that left one kindergartner’s family with a big bill.
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Workers’ Wages Siphoned To Pay Medical Bills, Despite Consumer Protections
Health care providers and debt collectors are biting from people’s paychecks to cover old medical bills. A Թϲ investigation in Colorado shows that this aggressive collection practice is widespread even in a state considered to have strong consumer protections.
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Investigation
At Least 170 US Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse.
As a warming climate intensifies storms, Թϲ has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administration’s cuts leave the nation less prepared.
The Struggle To Afford Insurance in 2026 Hits Home
Season 14, Episode 1The senior producer of “An Arm and a Leg” starts planning for health insurance in 2026, and — like millions of others signing up during this year’s open enrollment — faces a steep price increase.
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Health Care’s Employment Growth Clouded by Immigration Crackdown, Medicaid Cuts
The health care sector has accounted for nearly half of this year’s U.S. job growth. But economists say immigration crackdowns and Medicaid cuts could create a drag on the sector just as more workers are needed to support a growing population of older Americans.