鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: A Fight for the Right to Help
It's illegal for a person who isn't a lawyer to give even basic legal advice to people being sued for medical debt. Two New Yorkers are suing to change that.
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It's illegal for a person who isn't a lawyer to give even basic legal advice to people being sued for medical debt. Two New Yorkers are suing to change that.
RaDonda Vaught, a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, could spend years in prison after being convicted of two felonies in Nashville, Tennessee, on Friday.
Nashville nurse RaDonda Vaught is charged with reckless homicide for giving the wrong medication to a patient at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The Biden administration鈥檚 request for billions more in funding to fight covid-19 hit a snag on Capitol Hill this week, as Democrats objected to Republican demands that money allocated to states but not yet spent be reclaimed. Meanwhile, the big annual spending bill about to cross the finish line addresses other health policy changes, such as giving the FDA authority to regulate 鈥渟ynthetic鈥 nicotine. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Jessie Hellmann of Modern Healthcare join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Conservative lawmakers may find their anti-abortion agendas complicated by state constitutions that explicitly grant citizens the right to privacy, regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court does.
Investigators allege a Texas company that arranges spine surgery and other medical care for people injured in car crashes accepted bribes in violation of 1960s-era racketeering law.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is drawing criticism for his hands-off handling of the covid crisis even though the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA report to him. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor looks to enforce mental health 鈥減arity laws鈥 that have failed to achieve their goals. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Noam N. Levey, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a large emergency room bill for a small amount of medical care.
If federal officials accept a court鈥檚 decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.
Temporary subsidies helped boost enrollment under the Affordable Care Act to a record 14.5 million, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But unless Democrats in Congress extend those subsidies, many of those new enrollees will be in for a rude surprise just ahead of midterm elections. Meanwhile, the need to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer further crowds an already tight legislative schedule. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Diana Greene Foster, author of 鈥淭he Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having 鈥 Or Being Denied 鈥 An Abortion.鈥
Jan. 22 marks the 49th 鈥 and very likely last 鈥 anniversary of the Supreme Court鈥檚 landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court鈥檚 conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like.
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated.
Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer鈥檚 drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money.
The court is considering whether to let the rules go into effect as opponents fight them in lower courts. Conservative justices pressed lawyers hard about whether the administration overstepped its authority, but liberal members of the high court questioned why the government shouldn鈥檛 be expected to move forcefully when facing a severe health crisis.
If a judge decides someone cannot make their own decisions, the person can be placed under a court-appointed guardianship, also known as a conservatorship. Some states are beginning to allow less-restrictive alternatives.
It鈥檚 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden鈥檚 big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this year鈥檚 health agenda, including abortion, the state of the health care workforce, and prescription drug prices. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode.
The letters function as liens that 鈥減rotect鈥 spine surgery clinics while patients could be left with inflated medical bills and unexpected health risks.
Even before the omicron variant of covid starts to spread widely in the U.S., hospitals are filling up with post-holiday delta cases. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals 鈥 loudly 鈥 that 2022 will be the year it rolls back abortion rights in a big way. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
The decision does not address the fate of abortion rights nationally, but the justices took up those arguments in a separate case earlier this month that will likely be decided in the summer.
The American Medical Association and American Hospital Association are not arguing to halt the law that protects patients from unexpected bills from providers they didn鈥檛 know were outside their insurance network. Instead, they want to change the rules for the mediators who will settle the dispute between insurers and providers.
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