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More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.
While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills 鈥 or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.
Hospitals in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are among the first to apply for a new rural hospital payment model that shifts the focus of services away from overnight stays to outpatient and emergency care. Still, experts say the law needs to be amended to provide the right mix of care for rural communities.
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.
Social media marketing lures people to South Florida鈥檚 lucrative cosmetic surgery scene with the promise of cheap Brazilian butt lifts. But some researchers, patient advocates, and surgeon groups say that the risks of the procedure are generally not understood by prospective patients, and that an unsafe number of surgeries can be performed per day in office settings, maximizing profits.
A dental device called AGGA has been used on about 10,000 patients without FDA approval or proof that it works. In lawsuits, patients report irreparable harm. The AGGA鈥檚 inventor and manufacturer have denied all liability in court.
鈥淲hat happens in Texas doesn't stay in Texas,鈥 warns an abortion rights advocate bracing for a district judge鈥檚 ruling on whether the abortion pill mifepristone was properly authorized by the FDA. His decision could force the medication off the U.S. market.
CMS advanced two proposed changes that could affect Medicare Advantage plans. One would allow the government to recover past overpayments. As a result, it could reduce those insurers鈥 profits, leading them to increase enrollees' out-of-pocket costs or reduce benefits. But it's inaccurate to characterize the changes as "cuts."
Tennessee posts the names and photos of people arrested for alleged Medicaid fraud on a government website and social media. Some people even wind up on a "most wanted" list.
After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2020, Rodney Boblitt's job was to patrol a 14-mile stretch of coastline in the Florida Panhandle looking for signs of oil washing ashore. Today, the 54-year-old is among thousands of other cleanup workers who are experiencing health issues and suing BP. But proving their health conditions were caused by the oil has been challenging.
The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.
Hundreds of physicians came to Washington this week to lobby Congress about their 鈥渞ecovery plan鈥 for physicians, which includes a Medicare pay boost and an end to some frustrating insurance company requirements.
Responding to covid has taken so much attention and energy that some public health workers believe it pushed tuberculosis off people鈥檚 radar.
As a money-saving strategy, emergency rooms are turning to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other staffers who earn far less than physicians.
Since 2006, federal officials have been charged with setting up a network to let various parts of the U.S. health system share information during emergencies. It still hasn鈥檛 been built or even planned, even after the communication and data-sharing failures put on display during the pandemic.
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.
The industry has long relied on immigrants to bolster its ranks, and they鈥檒l be critical to meeting future staffing needs, experts say. But as the baby boom generation fills beds, policymakers are slow to open new pathways for foreign workers.
States are trying to reach millions of Medicaid enrollees to make sure those still eligible remain covered and help others find new health insurance.
Private equity groups are cashing in on rising rates of alcohol and drug addiction in the U.S. But they aren鈥檛 necessarily investing in centers with the best treatment standards, and they often cut extra services.
Experts say the Florida governor's conclusion could not be drawn from the study he cited, adding that the research focused on health care workers, who are likelier to be exposed to covid and more likely to be vaccinated. Those findings should not be applied to the general public.
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