Health Care Costs

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). Denise Roberts is still coping with complications from a life-threatening bout of Valley Fever three years ago that claimed part of a lung. Roberts, who lives in Doyle, Calif., a tiny rural community near the Nevada border, typically drives to Reno for the care […]

This story also ran on NPR. This story can be republished for free (details). Like millions of Americans in this final week of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, Diane McCabe is shopping for health insurance. “At my age, I can’t go without it even though I’m healthy now,” said McCabe, 62, a […]

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday it was joining a lawsuit accusing Sutter Health of submitting false information about the health of certain Medicare patients in order to inflate payments from the government. The Sacramento-based hospital chain, one of the largest in the country, […]

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). When the powerful leaders of California’s legislative health committees return to Sacramento, they will arrive with a clear mandate from voters who ranked health care as their No. 1 issue. But voters’ voices weren’t the only ones that resonated: Health care interest groups financed […]

This story also ran on NBC News. This story can be republished for free (details). AUSTIN, Texas — The booming $1.8 trillion Texas economy rivals that of many countries and puts the state at the top of a host of rankings for its fast-growing cities, low unemployment and job growth. But the familiar Texas braggadocio […]

This story also ran on The New York Times. This story can be republished for free (details). Joaquin Lopez had emergency gallbladder surgery after rushing to an ER last year. He has been haggling with Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis over what he owes ever since. The 37-year-old college professor was hit with a nearly […]

This story also ran on NPR. This story can be republished for free (details). Sarah Witter had to pay for a second surgery to repair her broken leg after a metal plate installed during the first surgery broke. On Friday, she got a more welcome break — a $6,358.26 refund from the hospital and her […]

This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. This story can be republished for free (details). ( function() { var func = function() { var iframe = document.getElementById(‘wpcom-iframe-b285cd512453d120662d5a0859052f27-7618883-97277977’) if ( iframe ) { iframe.onload = function() { iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( { ‘msg_type’: ‘poll_size’, ‘frame_id’: ‘wpcom-iframe-b285cd512453d120662d5a0859052f27-7618883-97277977’ }, “https://embeds.kff.org” ); } } […]

This story also ran on Los Angeles Times. This story can be republished for free (details). Marcela Villa isn’t a big name in health care — but she played a crucial role in the lives of thousands of Medicaid patients in California. Her official title: denial nurse. Each week, dozens of requests for treatment landed […]

Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details). As of Jan. 1, in the name of transparency, the Trump administration required that all hospitals post their list prices online. But what is popping up on medical center websites is a dog’s breakfast of medical codes, abbreviations and dollar signs — in little […]