Hospitals Archives - Page 20 of 58

Readers and Tweeters Take Positions on Sleep Apnea Treatment

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Oct. 27, 2022

A photo shows an exterior of Carolinas Medical Center. A large sign in front of the building bears the name of the hospital and Atrium Health, its owner.

Hospitals Said They Lost Money on Medicare Patients. Some Made Millions, a State Report Finds.

A North Carolina state treasurer’s report found hospitals give conflicting information about whether they profit from Medicare patients. Experts said the findings are significant because they suggest the federal government has failed to closely watch the billions of dollars in tax breaks that nonprofit hospitals have received.

By Fred Clasen-Kelly

Oct. 25, 2022

Dr. Bhavin Shah, who wears a dress shirt and tie, stands beside his wife, Sunita Kalsariya, who wears a black cardigan over a white patterned shirt. They are in an office room next to a window, and look towards the camera.

A Billing Expert Saved Big After Finding an Incorrect Charge in Her Husband’s ER Bill

A medical billing specialist investigated her husband’s ER bill. Her sleuthing took over a year but knocked thousands of dollars off the hospital’s charges — and provides a playbook for other consumers.

By Bram Sable-Smith

Oct. 25, 2022

A digital illustration in watercolor and pencil. It is a nighttime scene. The artwork shows an off-shore oil rig, drawn in bright red pencil, out at sea. The water is dark black with hints of reflection from a full moon overhead. In the center of the image there are two Louisiana brown pelicans. One is taking flight, highlighted by the gold light of the moon. The other bird, which has its wings tightly closed, appears somewhat ghostly, drawn in red pencil over a black silhouette.

For the Houma People, Displacement Looms With Every Storm

The Houma, an Indigenous tribe, has seen much of its Gulf Coast community washed away by rising sea levels and dangerous storms. Its leaders say the tribe’s lack of federal recognition makes it harder to keep rebuilding.

By Emmarie Huetteman

Oct. 24, 2022

A photo shows Mattie Ruffin chanting with other protesters outside of Los Angeles City Hall. Some hold signs that read, "Fair wages."

Labor Tries City-by-City Push in California for $25 Minimum Wage at Private Medical Facilities

Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is testing the waters on a $25 minimum wage for support staff at health care facilities in Southern California. Opposition from hospitals and health facilities is driving an expensive battle.

By Rachel Bluth

Oct. 21, 2022

A mother with dark brown hair and a yellow sweater sits on a couch and watches her young daughter, about one year old, play with a toy.

Patients For Profit: How Private Equity Hijacked Health Care

Baby, That Bill Is High: Private Equity ‘Gambit’ Squeezes Excessive ER Charges From Routine Births

Hospitals, boosted by private equity-backed staffing companies, have embraced a new idea: the obstetrics emergency department. Often, it is just a triage room in the labor-and-delivery area, but it bills like the main emergency department.

By Rae Ellen Bichell

Oct. 13, 2022

A photo shows Dr. Andrew Bush stasnding outside of his orthopedic practice.

As Giant Hospitals Get Bigger, an Independent Doctor Feels the Pinch

Independent medical practices keep closing as doctors join behemoth hospital groups or leave the field. Research suggests that’s bad news for patients. Studies repeatedly conclude that consolidation in the health care industry is driving up costs while showing no clear evidence of improved care.

By Fred Clasen-Kelly

Oct. 13, 2022

A photo shows Edward Green conversing with a doctor.

‘Separate and Unequal’: Critics Say Newsom’s Pricey Medicaid Reforms Leave Most Patients Behind

MLK Community Hospital in South Los Angeles is surrounded by poverty, homeless encampments, and food deserts. Even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom is funneling billions of taxpayer money into an ambitious initiative to provide some low-income patients with social services, hospital executives and other critics say it won’t improve access to basic care.

By Angela Hart

Oct. 12, 2022

A photo shows David Cave standing outside Salem Hospital's emergency department.

Hospitals Have Been Slow to Bring On Addiction Specialists

Hospitals have specialists ready to offer consult and care for concerns from cancer to childbirth but often no one with expertise in addiction medicine. Patients with a history of substance use — who are discharged without care — are at risk for overdose.

By Martha Bebinger, WBUR

Oct. 11, 2022

A photo shows a crushed car and debris, the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Florida.

Hurricane Ian Shows That Coastal Hospitals Aren’t Ready for Climate Change

Hundreds of medical centers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts face serious risks from even relatively weak storms as climate change accelerates sea-level rise — not to mention big ones like Category 4 Hurricane Ian.

By Daniel Chang and Lauren Sausser

Oct. 7, 2022

A photo shows a woman wearing a hospital gown and sitting at the edge of a hospital bed.

$80,000 and 5 ER Visits: An Ectopic Pregnancy Takes a Toll Despite NY’s Liberal Abortion Law

If an embryo has implanted in a fallopian tube, ending the pregnancy is imperative to protect the patient’s life. Women’s health advocates have raised concerns that the needed treatment may be hampered by restrictive abortion laws in some states. Yet women seeking treatment in states with more liberal abortion laws may still find the process expensive and harrowing.

By Michelle Andrews

Oct. 5, 2022

KHN On Air

Journalists Dig In on the Fiscal Health of the Nation and Hospital Closures in Rural Missouri

KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Oct. 1, 2022

A photo shows Bennett Markow looking at his brother, Eli, in a hospital bed during a family visit.

The Cruelest Bills

Listen: Grieving Families Face the Cruelest Bills

KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber talks with NPR's "Consider This" podcast about her reporting on families confronted with medical bills while grieving the loss of a baby who received expensive hospital care.

Sept. 30, 2022

A still from a video shows Sterling Raspe lying down and wearing a nasal cannula.

KHN On Air

Watch: Their Baby Died. The Medical Bills Haunted Them.

Sterling Raspe lived just eight months. In this KHN video, her father shows the 2-inch stack of medical bills generated by Sterling’s care.

Sept. 30, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: On Government Spending, Congress Decides Not to Decide

Congress has once again decided not to decide how to fund the federal government in time for the start of the fiscal year, racing toward a midnight Sept. 30 deadline to pass a stopgap bill that would keep the lights on for two more months. However, it does appear the FDA’s program that gets drugmakers to help fund some of the agency’s review staff will be renewed in time to stop pink slips from being sent. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews filmmaker Cynthia Lowen, whose new documentary, “Battleground,” explores how anti-abortion forces played the long game to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Sept. 29, 2022

A photo shows Frankie and Russell Cook sitting on a porch swing together at home.

Bill Of The Month

Turned Away From Urgent Care — And Toward a Big ER Bill

Russell Cook was expecting a quick and inexpensive visit to an urgent care center for his daughter, Frankie, after she had a car wreck. Instead, they were advised to go to an emergency room and got a much larger bill.

By Sam Whitehead

Sept. 29, 2022

A digital illustration in watercolor and pencil. A woman with long, braided black hair sits in the center of the image. She looks towards the viewer out of the corner of her eye with a slightly concerned expression. Beside her is a doctor, whose body is transparent and face has completely faded into the background. Behind them is an urban landscape with buildings colored in magenta, yellow, and grey. It is night.

Podcast

‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 12: When Indigenous People Move to Cities, Health Care Funding Doesn’t Follow

When Indigenous people started moving to cities in large numbers after World War II, many found hardship and discrimination there … but not the health care they were entitled to. Episode 12, the season finale, explores the efforts of urban Indian health providers to close those gaps by providing affordable, culturally competent care.

Sept. 28, 2022