Por qué los piojos siguen acechando, a pesar del distanciamiento social
Una noche reciente, la familia Marker recibió en su casa a una mujer vestida de púrpura, con una actitud militar hacia la limpieza. Linda Holmes, que ha trabajado como técnica con LiceDoctors durante cinco años, llegó directamente de su trabajo en un hospital después de recibir la llamada de un despachador de que la familia […]
Public Opinion Is Unified on Lowering Drug Prices. Why Are Leaders Settling for Less?
Democrats and Republicans are crystal clear in polls that they want government to be allowed to negotiate down high drug prices. Americans pay nearly three times as much for drugs as patients in dozens of other countries. In the past two years, numerous Democratic candidates — including President Joe Biden — have campaigned on enacting […]
Stranded by the Pandemic, He Had Only Travel Insurance. It Left Him With a $38,000 Bill.
Duy Hoa Tran, a retired Vietnamese schoolteacher, arrived in Los Angeles in February 2020 to visit his daughter and 2-month-old grandson. Two weeks later, the door closed behind him. To prevent the spread of covid-19, Vietnam shut its borders. No commercial flights would be allowed into the country for the next 18 months. Tran’s daughter, […]
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Boosting Confusion
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on PRX. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here for a transcript of the episode. With covid caseloads rising across much of the country, several governors and mayors are unilaterally expanding access to booster […]
Congressional Doctors Lead Bipartisan Revolt Over Policy on Surprise Medical Bills
The detente that allowed Congress to pass a law curbing surprise medical bills has disintegrated, with a bipartisan group of 152 lawmakers assailing the administration’s plan to regulate the law and medical providers warning of grim consequences for underserved patients. For years, people have faced these massive, unexpected bills when they get treatment from hospitals […]
Patients Get Stranded Out of Network as Insurer-Hospital Contract Talks Fall Apart
In September, when Shelly Azzopardi went to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with abdominal pain, she didn’t worry about her insurance. Doctors said she had a case of appendicitis. But she also tested positive at the hospital in Marietta, Georgia, for covid-19. Physicians decided not to do surgery and treated her with antibiotics and painkillers. Azzopardi, 47, […]
As Big Pharma and Hospitals Battle Over Drug Discounts, Patients Miss Out on Millions in Benefits
In early July, as the covid-19 pandemic slammed rural America, the president of a small Kansas hospital sat down on a Friday afternoon and wrote the president of the United States to plead for help. “I do not intend to add to your burden,” said Brian Williams, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and Desert Storm […]
Grandes farmacéuticas y hospitales pelean por los descuentos en medicamentos, y los pacientes pierden millones en beneficios
A principios de julio, mientras la pandemia de covid-19 azotaba la América rural, el presidente de un pequeño hospital de Kansas se sentó, un viernes por la tarde, para escribirle al presidente de los Estados Unidos y pedirle ayuda. “No pretendo aumentar su carga”, escribió Brian Williams, teniente coronel retirado del ejército y veterano de […]
Quarantine and Tracing Rules Are All Over the Map for Students
At this point in the pandemic, most parents are familiar with “covid notification” letters. But the letters’ instruction on whether your kid must quarantine or not varies wildly from school to school. In Minneapolis, students exposed to covid-19 at school are supposed to quarantine for 10 days. In the suburban Anoka-Hennepin school district, a single […]
Your Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs Need Not Be a Mystery
If you’ve ever had a serious illness or cared for someone who has, you know how quickly the medical bills can pile up: from labs, radiology clinics, pharmacies, doctors, different departments within the same hospital — some of them in your insurance network, others not. It can be extremely confusing, no matter how clever you […]