Health Care Costs

[Update: The federal Department of Justice has filed a notice that it intended to appeal the decision.] A federal judge on Thursday overturned a portion of the Affordable Care Act that makes preventive services, such as some cancer screenings, free to enrollees, a decision that could affect health insurance policyholders nationwide. The decision from the […]

For decades, U.S. hospitals have generally stonewalled patients who wanted to know ahead of time how much their care would cost. Now that’s changing — but there’s a vigorous debate over what hospitals are disclosing. Under a federal rule in effect since 2021, hospitals nationwide have been laboring to post a mountain of data online […]

Dr. Sara McLin thought she made the right choice by going to an in-network emergency room near her Florida home after her 4-year-old burned his hand on a stove last Memorial Day weekend. Her family is insured through her husband’s employer, HCA Healthcare, a Nashville-based health system that operates more hospitals than any other system […]

Some adults who take prescription medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are required to have their urine tested for drugs several times a year. Others never are tested. Such screenings are designed to check if ADHD patients are safely taking their pills, such as Adderall, and not selling them, taking too many, or using other drugs. Several […]

KHN senior correspondent Angela Hart discussed California’s contract with Civica to make lower-cost insulin on KQED’s “Forum” on March 23. She also discussed California’s potential plan to use Medicaid funding to cover up to six months of rent for low-income enrollees on KCBS’ “State of California” on March 22. Click here to hear Hart on […]

Andrew Johnson lets his clients choose what music to play in the car. As an employee of Family Outreach in Helena, Montana — an organization that assists developmentally disabled people — part of his workday involves driving around, picking up clients, and taking them to work or to run errands. “What’s up, gangsta?” Johnson said […]

A year after private equity-backed Noble Health shuttered two rural Missouri hospitals, patients and former employees grapple with a broken local health system or missing out on millions in unpaid wages and benefits. The hospitals in Audrain and Callaway counties remain closed as a slew of lawsuits and state and federal investigations grind forward. In […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday announced the selection of Utah-based generic drug manufacturer Civica to produce low-cost insulin for California, an unprecedented move that makes good on his promise to put state government in direct competition with the brand-name drug companies that dominate the market. “People should not be forced to go […]

SACRAMENTO, CA. — El gobernador Gavin Newsom anunció el sábado 18 de marzo que se había seleccionado al fabricante de medicamentos genéricos Civica, con sede en Utah, para producir insulina de bajo costo para el estado, una medida sin precedentes que cumple su promesa de poner al gobierno estatal en competencia directa con las versiones […]

KHN correspondent Rachana Pradhan untangled Medicaid unwinding on PBS’ “PBS News Weekend” on March 11. Click here to watch Pradhan on “PBS News Weekend” Read Pradhan’s “Why Millions on Medicaid Are at Risk of Losing Coverage in the Months Ahead” Former KHN senior editor Andy Miller discussed virtual visits on WUGA’s “The Georgia Health Report” […]