How Banks and Private Equity Cash In When Patients Can鈥檛 Pay Their Medical Bills
Hospitals strike deals with financing companies, generating profits for lenders, and more debt for patients.
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641-660 of 1,478 results
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Watch: As Health Costs Spike, the Role of Hospitals Often Gets Overlooked
A new documentary, 鈥淚nHospitable,鈥 explores how disputes between big hospitals can leave patients with few options for care and imperil their health.
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Sick Profit: Investigating Private Equity鈥檚 Stealthy Takeover of Health Care Across Cities and Specialties
Private equity firms have shelled out almost $1 trillion to acquire nearly 8,000 health care businesses, in deals almost always hidden from federal regulators. The result: higher prices, lawsuits, and complaints about care.
By Fred Schulte -
California Stockpiles Penalties From Uninsured Residents Instead of Lowering Care Costs
California is collecting hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax penalties from uninsured residents. The state was supposed to use the money to help lower costs for Californians who couldn鈥檛 afford insurance but hasn鈥檛 distributed any of the revenue it has collected 鈥 citing uncertain economic times.
By Angela Hart -
鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: No Money, No Job, No Health Care? Not Always.
For many Americans, it鈥檚 open enrollment season for 2023 health insurance. One listener asked: If you don鈥檛 have a job and are too old to be on your parents鈥 plan, does it make sense to rely on charity care? This episode breaks it all down.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: The Midterm Shake-Up
Election night went better than expected for Democrats. Although they could still lose control of one or both houses of Congress, the predicted 鈥渞ed wave鈥 for Republicans failed to materialize. Meanwhile, voters in both red and blue states approved ballot measures to protect abortion rights. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Carolee Lee, the former jewelry magnate, about her efforts to boost gender equity in medical research.
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Homelessness Among Older People Is on the Rise, Driven by Inflation and the Housing Crunch
In Montana and across the nation, homeless shelters are reporting that people older than 60 are a growing proportion of their populations.
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Listen: With Abortion Rights on the Ballot in Michigan, Women Tell Their Stories
Women who need abortion care come to Michigan from surrounding states that already have banned the procedure. A clinic in suburban Detroit allowed a reporter to interview patients, doctors, and nurses to understand what is at stake as voters decide whether to guarantee abortion access in the Michigan Constitution.
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Post-鈥楻oe,鈥 Contraceptive Failures Carry Bigger Stakes
Science Friday and KHN ran the numbers on birth control failure. Depending on the contraception method, typical-use error rates can add up to hundreds of thousands of unplanned pregnancies each year.
By Sarah Varney -
Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations
Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: ACA Open Enrollment Without the Drama
The Affordable Care Act鈥檚 10th annual open-enrollment period began Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15, 2023, in most states. But for the first time, the health law seems to be enrolling Americans with far less controversy than in previous years. Meanwhile, as Election Day approaches, Democrats are focusing on GOP efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Julie Appleby of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Arthur Allen, who wrote the latest KNH-NPR Bill of the Month, about an old but still very expensive cancer drug.
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Diagnosis: Debt
Knoxville鈥檚 Black Community Endured Deeply Rooted Racism. Now There Is Medical Debt.
Despite the end of Jim Crow segregation, its legacy lives on in medical debt that disproportionately burdens Black communities.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Voters Will Get Their Say on Multiple Health Issues
Abortion isn鈥檛 the only health issue voters will be asked to decide in state ballot questions next month. Proposals about medical debt, Medicaid expansion, and whether health care should be a right are on ballots in various states. Meanwhile, the latest lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act has expanded to cover all preventive care. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more.
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How Private Equity Is Investing in Health Care: A Video Primer
Investors are putting money into everything from emergency room obstetrics units and dermatology practices to nursing homes and hospice care 鈥 from cradle to grave.
By Hannah Norman and Oona Zenda -
$38,398 for a Single Shot of a Very Old Cancer Drug
Lupron, a drug patented half a century ago, treats advanced prostate cancer. It鈥檚 sold to physicians for $260 in the U.K. and administered at no charge. Why are U.S. hospitals 鈥 which may pay nearly as little for the drug 鈥 charging so much more to administer it?
By Arthur Allen -
Listen: How Does Human Composting Work?
California Healthline鈥檚 Bernard J. Wolfson went on the air to explain a new California law that will allow people to have their bodies reduced to compost after death, an alternative to the traditional-but-toxic methods of cremation and burial.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Biden Hits the Road to Sell Democrats鈥 Record
With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, President Joe Biden has taken to the road to convince voters that he and congressional Democrats have delivered for them during two years in power. Among the health issues highlighted by the administration this week are pandemic preparedness and the availability of over-the-counter hearing aids. The president also promised to sign a bill codifying the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade if Democrats maintain control of the House and Senate 鈥 even though it鈥檚 a long shot that there will be enough votes for that. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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Family Caregivers Find Support on #dementia TikTok
The TikTok hashtag "dementia" has billions of views. Caregivers of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias have been using the site to swap tips and share the burdens of life with dementia.
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Listen: Why Childbirth Is So Dangerous for Many Young Teens
KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney talks with NPR鈥檚 鈥淲eekend Edition Sunday鈥 about how the abortion bans proliferating in many U.S. states will affect teenage birth rates and the physical risks that trend poses for girls.
By Sarah Varney -
KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Finally Fixing the ‘Family Glitch’
The Biden administration has decided to try to fix the so-called 鈥渇amily glitch鈥 in the Affordable Care Act without an act of Congress. The provision has prevented workers鈥 families from getting subsidized coverage if an employer offer is unaffordable. Meanwhile, Medicare鈥檚 open enrollment period begins Oct. 15, and private Medicare Advantage plans are poised to cover more than half of Medicare鈥檚 65 million enrollees. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read.