Bill of the Month
吃瓜不打烊, in collaboration with The Washington Post, examines and decodes your perplexing medical bills.
Investigations
Priced Out
America鈥檚 Health Insurance Crisis
Common Ground
Americans are split over many issues, but helping people with cancer and other serious illnesses retains broad bipartisan support.
361-380 of 462 results
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In The Line Of Fire
Less-Lethal Weapons Blind, Maim and Kill. Victims Say Enough Is Enough.
Time and again over the past two decades, peace officers have targeted demonstrators with munitions designed only to stun and stop. Protests this year in reaction to George Floyd鈥檚 death in police custody have reignited a controversy surrounding their use.
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Ever Heard of a Surgical Assistant? Meet a New Boost to Your Medical Bills
A college student鈥檚 bill for outpatient knee surgery is a whopper 鈥 $96K 鈥 but the most mysterious part is a $1,167 charge from a health care provider she didn鈥檛 even know was in the operating room.
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Ex-West Virginia Health Chief Says Cuts Hurt Virus Response
The former West Virginia public health leader forced out by the governor says decades-old computer systems and cuts to staff over a period of years had made a challenging job even harder during a once-in-a-century pandemic.
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Bill Of The Month
COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn鈥檛 Test For Virus
Americans who had coronavirus symptoms in March and April are getting big hospital bills 鈥 because they were not sick enough to get then-scarce COVID tests. Some insurers say they are trying to correct these bills, but patients may have to put up a fight.
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Hollowed-Out Public Health System Faces More Cuts Amid Virus
The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources necessary to confront the worst health crisis in a century. An investigation by The Associated Press and KHN has found that since 2010, spending for state public health departments has dropped by 16% per capita and for local health departments by 18%. At least 38,000 public health jobs have disappeared, leaving a skeletal workforce for what was once viewed as one of the world鈥檚 top public health systems. That has left the nation unprepared to deal with a virus that has sickened at least 2.6 million people and killed more than 126,000.
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How We Reported ‘Underfunded And Under Threat’
To assess the state of the public health system in the United States, KHN and The Associated Press analyzed data on government spending and staffing at national, state and local levels. Here's what data we used and how we did it.
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Six Takeaways Of The KHN-AP Investigation Into The Erosion Of Public Health
KHN and The Associated Press sought to understand how decades of cuts to public health departments by federal, state and local governments has affected the system meant to protect the nation鈥檚 health. Here are six key takeaways from the KHN-AP investigation.
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Essential Worker Shoulders $1,840 Pandemic Debt Due To COVID Cost Loophole
Carmen Quintero had symptoms of COVID-19, couldn鈥檛 get tested and ended up with a huge bill. She also was told to self-isolate and assume she had the coronavirus 鈥 which is hard when you live with elders.
By Sarah Varney -
Workers Filed More Than 4,100 Complaints About Protective Gear. Some Still Died.
As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear.
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In The Line Of Fire
Fractured Skulls, Lost Eyes: Police Often Break Own Rules Using ‘Rubber Bullets’
Around the country, police responded to protests in the wake of George Floyd鈥檚 death by shooting 鈥渓ess lethal鈥 projectiles, which can seriously hurt and kill. In a joint investigation, KHN and USA TODAY found some officers appear to have violated their department鈥檚 own rules when they fired.
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Public Health Officials Face Wave Of Threats, Pressure Amid Coronavirus Response
Public health officials are confronting growing pressure 鈥 and threats 鈥 across the country as the backlash to the coronavirus response continues. At least 27 state and local health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 13 states.
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Exclusive: Nearly 600 鈥 And Counting 鈥 US Health Workers Have Died Of COVID-19
The Guardian and KHN release new figures Saturday showing the harsh toll that the pandemic is taking on the front-line health workers.
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Bill Of The Month
COVID-Like Cough Sent Him To ER 鈥 Where He Got A $3,278 Bill
A dad in Denver tried to do everything right when COVID symptoms surfaced. Still, he ended up with a huge bill from an insurer that had said it waived cost sharing for coronavirus treatment. What gives?
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Congress Said COVID-19 Tests Should Be Free 鈥 But Who’s Paying?
Some large employers interpreted themselves as exempt from new federal laws that say tests for the coronavirus should be free to patients. Large academic medical centers are holding back from sending bills to these patients to avoid a backlash over surprise billing.
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COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They鈥檙e Not
Her doctor worried she had COVID-19 but couldn鈥檛 test her for it until she ruled out other things. That test cost a bundle.
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Her Genetic Test Revealed A Microscopic Problem 鈥 And A Jumbo Price Tag
Molecular diagnostics are at the frontier of science, but insurance and billing questions create a minefield for patients.
By Liz Szabo -
Hormone Blocker Shocker: Drug Costs 8 Times More When Used For Kids
Two drug implants are nearly identical. The one for children has a list price of $37,300. For adults, the list price is $4,400. One dad fought for his daughter to be able to use the cheaper drug.
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Appendicitis Is Painful 鈥 Add A $41,212 Surgery Bill To The Misery
A young man averted medical disaster after a friend took him to the nearest hospital just before his appendix burst. But more than a year later, he鈥檚 still facing a $28,000 balance bill for his out-of-network surgery.
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Hospital Group Mum As Members Pursue Patients With Lawsuits And Debt Collectors
The influential trade association has said little over the years as health systems, including those of its own trustees, seized patients鈥 incomes and assets. Now it is reevaluating.
By Jay Hancock -
Electronic Health Records Creating A 鈥楴ew Era鈥 Of Health Care Fraud
The federal government funneled billions in subsidies to software vendors and some overstated or deceived the government about what their products could do, according to whistleblowers.
By Fred Schulte and Erika Fry, Fortune