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A federal lawmaker has introduced a House bill that would close one of a laundry list of oversight gaps revealed in a recent KHN investigation of the system regulators use to ban fraudsters from billing government health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
It鈥檚 about the money 鈥 on both sides 鈥 as arguments swirl about patient safety, rising prices, and paying back on-the-job training.
A year after private equity-backed Noble Health shuttered two rural Missouri hospitals, a slew of lawsuits and state and federal investigations grind forward. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey recently confirmed an 鈥渙ngoing鈥 investigation as former employees continue to go unpaid and cope with unpaid medical claims.
The May 11 expiration of the federal government鈥檚 pandemic emergency declaration will affect patient care across a broad range of settings, including telemedicine, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. It鈥檚 one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.
One listener tried to dispute a $1,300 鈥渇acility fee鈥 with the treating hospital, his insurer, a bill-mediation service provided by his employer, and finally a debt collector. He didn鈥檛 win, but he learned valuable lessons about advocating for hospital discounts.
This installment of InvestigateTV and KHN鈥檚 鈥淐ostly Care鈥 series looks at the case of a New Orleans woman whose thumb injury saddled her with a big ER bill for a tetanus shot and some minor care.
Consumer and patient advocates push for new federal rules to protect Americans from debt collectors and force hospitals to make financial assistance more accessible.
Financial pitfalls at the nation鈥檚 highest-elevation hospital serve as a cautionary tale as rural hospitals emerge from the pandemic on shaky ground.
Hospitals in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are among the first to apply for a new rural hospital payment model that shifts the focus of services away from overnight stays to outpatient and emergency care. Still, experts say the law needs to be amended to provide the right mix of care for rural communities.
Patient injuries, abuse, and neglect have continued at the Montana State Hospital since the state-run psychiatric facility lost its federal certification due to preventable patient deaths. But state officials won鈥檛 release details, citing laws making those reports confidential.
Billing experts and lawmakers are playing catch-up as providers find ways to get around new surprise-billing laws, leaving patients like Danielle Laskey of Washington state with big bills for emergency care.
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
A state law establishes a list of representatives who can make medical decisions for patients unable to convey their wishes. California is late to making the change; 45 other states and the District of Columbia already have next-of-kin laws.
When Medicare stops paying for a pricey drug that prolongs life, an Ohio man considers giving up treatment to spare his family enormous debt.
As Montana officials seek to make nonprofit hospitals prove the benefits they provide the community justify their tax exemptions, industry leaders propose their own changes 鈥 which state officials say would further limit the state鈥檚 authority.
As a money-saving strategy, emergency rooms are turning to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other staffers who earn far less than physicians.
A baby spent more than a month in a Chicago NICU. A big bill revealed she was treated by out-of-network doctors from the children鈥檚 hospital next door. Her parents were charged despite a state law protecting patients from such out-of-network billing 鈥 and sent to collections when they didn鈥檛 pay up.
The debt ceiling crisis facing Washington puts Medicare and other popular entitlement programs squarely on the negotiating table this year as newly empowered Republicans demand spending cuts. Meanwhile, as more Americans than ever have health insurance, the nation鈥檚 health care workforce is straining under the load. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN鈥檚 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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