Employers Use Patient Assistance Programs to Offset Their Own Costs
Some insurers and employers are tapping into assistance programs meant for individual patients. The concern: Some costly drugs could be harder for patients to access.
Cost Transparency
21-40 of 83 results
-
-
A Billing Expert Saved Big After Finding an Incorrect Charge in Her Husband鈥檚 ER Bill
A medical billing specialist investigated her husband鈥檚 ER bill. Her sleuthing took over a year but knocked thousands of dollars off the hospital鈥檚 charges 鈥 and provides a playbook for other consumers.
-
Private Equity Sees the Billions in Eye Care as Firms Target High-Profit Procedures
As private equity groups are swarming into aging America鈥檚 eye care, the consolidation is costing the U.S. health care system and patients more money.
By Lauren Weber -
The $18,000 Breast Biopsy: When Having Insurance Costs You a Bundle
An online calculator told a young woman that a procedure to rule out cancer would cost an uninsured person about $1,400. Instead, the hospital initially charged almost $18,000 and, with her high-deductible health insurance, she owed more than $5,000.
-
Rapper Fat Joe Says No One Is Making Sure Hospitals Post Their Prices
A TV and social media ad offers a reason to check on the enforcement of a sweeping rule that requires hospitals to post information about what they charge insurers and cash-paying patients.
-
Journalists Put Polio, Price Transparency, and a Personal Covid Battle in Perspective
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
-
Health Insurance Price Data: It’s Out There, but It’s Not for the Faint of Heart
Health insurers and self-insured employer plans are now required to post their negotiated rates for almost every type of medical service. But navigating through the trove of information is no easy task.
-
How to Get Rid of Medical Debt 鈥 Or Avoid It in the First Place
Medical bills can add stress to the already stressful experience of dealing with a medical crisis. And if you can鈥檛 pay those bills, they can linger, wreaking havoc on your financial goals and credit. Here鈥檚 how to protect yourself.
-
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Taking a Shot at Gun Control
The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare鈥檚 trustees board.
-
Medicare Surprise: Drug Plan Prices Touted During Open Enrollment Can Rise Within a Month
Even the savviest Medicare drug plan shoppers can get a shock when they fill prescriptions: That great deal on medications is no bargain after prices go up.
By Susan Jaffe -
Pharmacies Face Extra Audit Burdens That Threaten Their Existence
Pharmacy benefit managers have curtailed in-person audits of pharmacy claims during the pandemic, switching to virtual audits done by computer. That has markedly increased the number of claims they can review 鈥 and the chances for payment denials 鈥 squeezing pharmacies and bringing in more cash for the benefit companies.
-
Journalists Tackle Delta Variant, Hospital Prices and Public Health Spending
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
-
Hospital Prices Must Now Be Transparent. For Many Consumers, They’re Still Anyone鈥檚 Guess.
A Trump administration rule mandating that hospitals disclose true prices on their websites took effect this year. But compliance is spotty and even when the data is public, it鈥檚 hard to find and understand.
-
Journalists Track Biden’s First 100 Days
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
-
How Much of Trump鈥檚 Health Agenda Has Biden Undone?
In his campaign, President Joe Biden promised to undo policies, particularly health policies, implemented by former President Donald Trump. Yet, despite immense executive power, reversing four years of action takes time and resources.
By Julie Rovner -
Hospital Prices Just Got a Lot More Transparent. What Does This Mean for You?
Under a rule that kicked in Jan. 1, hospitals are required to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers. That鈥檚 a lot more information than was previously required, which was only the posting of 鈥渃hargemasters鈥 鈥 the hospital-generated list prices that few consumers or health plans actually pay.
-
Surprise Federal Drug Rule Directs Insurers to Reveal What They Pay for Prescription Drugs
A provision the Trump administration tucked into its final rule on health plan price transparency requires telling consumers what they will pay out-of-pocket for drugs and showing them what the plan paid.
By Harris Meyer -
New Laws Keep Pandemic-Weary California at Forefront of Health Policy Innovation
Gov. Gavin Newsom approved many consequential health care bills by his bill-signing deadline Wednesday, including a ban on the sale of menthol and other flavored tobacco products, the creation of a state generic drug label and better coverage for mental health disorders.
By Samantha Young and Angela Hart -
Watch: Woman Hit With $28K Bill For A Throat Swab
A routine doctor's visit for a sore throat brought more than $28,000 in charges for one New York City woman in our latest "Bill of the Month" installment.
-
Paying It Forward: 鈥楤ill Of The Month鈥 Series, A Vital Toolkit For Patients, Wraps Year 2
In our ongoing, crowdsourced investigation with NPR and CBS, we鈥檝e armed future health system pilgrims with the tools they need to avoid exorbitant medical bills and fight back against unfair charges. Here鈥檚 a look back at 2019鈥檚 stories.