Rage Has Long Shadowed American Health Care. It’s Rarely Produced Big Change.
The outpouring of anger at health insurers following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson continues a cycle of rage that dates back decades.
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The outpouring of anger at health insurers following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson continues a cycle of rage that dates back decades.
Federal law says Native Americans aren’t liable for medical bills the Indian Health Service promises to pay. Some are billed anyway as a result of backlogs or mistakes from the agency, financial middlemen, or health systems.
Minor interventions are increasingly being rebranded and billed as surgery, for profit. This means a neurologist spending 40 minutes with a patient to tease out a diagnosis can be paid less for that time than a dermatologist spending a few seconds squirting a dollop of liquid nitrogen onto the skin.
The shocking shooting death of UnitedHealthcare’s chief executive in Midtown Manhattan prompted a public outcry about the problems with the nation’s health care system, as stories of delayed and denied care filled social media. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump continues to avoid providing specifics about his plans for the Affordable Care Act and other health issues. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join ýҕl Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Francis Collins, who was the director of the National Institutes of Health and a science adviser to President Joe Biden.
Host Dan Weissmann checks back in on the fight for hospital charity care, with lessons from Dollar For and a savvy listener.
About 3.7 million people are at immediate risk of losing health coverage should the federal government cut funding for Medicaid expansions, as some allies of President-elect Donald Trump have proposed. Coverage could be at risk in the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid.
Patient and consumer advocates fear a new Trump administration will scale back federal efforts to expand financial protections for patients and shield them from debt.
GLP-1 agonist medications such as Ozempic accounted for 10% of the North Carolina state employee health plan’s prescription drug spending, so the state is no longer covering them for weight loss alone. Still, it did decide to cover them for Medicaid patients’ weight loss. A look inside the state’s coverage calculus.
A mom in Peoria, Illinois, took her 3-year-old to the ER one evening last December. While they were waiting to be seen, the toddler seemed better, so they left without seeing a doctor. Then the bill came.
Florida discovered a glitch in its Deloitte-run Medicaid eligibility system. The problem, alleged in court testimony, led to new mothers wrongly losing their insurance coverage.
Two Indiana hospital rivals withdrew their application to merge after facing pushback from the Federal Trade Commission and the public.
ýҕl Health News staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Florida sued the FDA over what it said was a “reckless delay” in approving its drug importation plan. Now, nearly a year after the FDA gave the state the green light, the program has yet to begin.
The state Office of Health Care Affordability has set a goal for insurers to direct 15% of their spending to primary care by 2034, part of a push to expand preventive care services. Health plans say it’s unclear how the policy will mesh with the state’s overarching goal to slow spending growth.
With a new Trump administration poised to move into the White House and Republicans set to control both chambers of Congress, party leaders are making a to-do list for the Affordable Care Act.
Listen to ýҕl Health News' Jackie Fortiér recount how a backyard snakebite led to a harrowing hospitalization — and big bills — for a San Diego family.
Hundreds of people and the Federal Trade Commission weighed in on a proposed hospital merger in Terre Haute, Indiana, with most arguing that the creation of a monopoly would increase costs and worsen patient care.
With his term soon to expire, Social Security chief Martin O’Malley’s efforts to address the agency’s overpayments to beneficiaries remain incomplete.
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