Health Care Costs

Leigh Fava wound up in the emergency room after injuring her thumb at her New Orleans home. She said she received a tetanus shot and a badly wrapped bandage — and an unexpectedly high bill. Her experiences trying to dispute the hospital’s charges left her feeling ignored, she said. In this installment of InvestigateTV and […]

Sam Chavarría said her doctor was clear about the birth defects her medication could cause if she became pregnant but agreed to keep her on it as long as she had an IUD. As she was waiting to get her contraceptive intrauterine device replaced at her local clinic, however, the billing nurse told her that […]

Dozens of advocates for patients and consumers, citing widespread harm caused by medical debt, are pushing the Biden administration to take more aggressive steps to protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors. In letters to the IRS and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the groups call for new federal rules that among other things […]

Justo al lado de la histórica Ruta 66, en el este de Nuevo México, un hospital de 10 camas ha brindado atención de emergencia durante décadas a un flujo constante de personas lesionadas en accidentes automovilísticos y accidentes de ganadería. También ha servido como una opción cercana al hogar para el paciente ocasional que pasa […]

An unproven and unregulated dental device at the center of patient lawsuits has not been evaluated by the FDA, according to a months-long joint investigation by KHN and CBS News.  More than 10,000 dental patients have been fitted with an Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or AGGA, according to court records.  CBS News national correspondent Anna Werner […]

Cuando la farmacéutica Eli Lilly anunció el miércoles 1 de marzo que reducirá drásticamente el precio de lista de algunos de sus productos de insulina —luego de años de críticas de legisladores y activistas de que el precio de la hormona que salva vidas se había vuelto inasequible—, la noticia generó dudas sobre qué sucederá […]

The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.bsky.social Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A […]

When drugmaker Eli Lilly announced Wednesday it will slash the list price for some of its insulin products following years of criticism from lawmakers and activists that the price of the lifesaving hormone had become unaffordable, the news raised questions about what will happen to other efforts to provide low-cost insulin. Civica, a nonprofit drugmaker […]

Boja Kragulj, an accomplished clarinetist who once performed with orchestras in New York, Philadelphia, and Jacksonville, Florida, has already lost four teeth. And she expects to lose at least a dozen more. Five years ago, seeking to correct her bite and improve her breathing, Kragulj tried a dental device that she was told would put […]

Most lawmakers — Republicans and Democrats alike — have declared the marquee safety-net programs of Medicare and Social Security off-limits for cuts as a divided Washington heads for a showdown over the national debt and government spending. Health programs for lower-income Americans, though, have gotten no such bipartisan assurances. More than 20 million people gained […]