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Oregon passed a law to require hospitals to proactively screen patients to see if they qualify for financial aid. Patients got immediate relief. Hospitals pushed to roll back the law following federal cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Most of Georgia鈥檚 counties are without a labor and delivery unit. To fill the gap, the state is looking to equip emergency rooms to handle obstetric emergencies. Advocates and doctors worry, however, that the ER is being used as a stopgap.
A year after launching an inquiry into companies, including Deloitte, that receive billions in taxpayer dollars to build complex computer systems determining Medicaid eligibility, senators are urging the federal government to impose stricter rules.
The rapid emergence of the Chinese biotech industry has panicked U.S. politicians, but investors and patients caution that a clampdown on pharmaceutical collaboration could hurt everyone.
吃瓜不打烊 gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Experimental peptides are all the rage on longevity and 鈥渙ptimization鈥 podcasts, but a lot of the chatter is misleading.
The Trump administration has provided few details about its process for canceling hundreds of thousands of Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollments 鈥 even as the next stage of the anti-fraud effort is underway.
As early voting begins in some states, the Trump administration is working to keep its crackdown on healthcare fraud, waste, and abuse in the headlines. Also, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has unveiled a new initiative to identify vaccine injuries. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Sun join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also, 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann, host of the podcast 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg.鈥
Hospitals can prevent medical debt by offering financial help before sending big bills. A Tradeoffs investigation found that nearly half of nonprofit facilities in Texas say they will bill patients before screening them for aid. And most will not offer refunds to patients who pay and are later found to qualify for free care.
Hospitals can prevent medical debt by preemptively wiping out a patient鈥檚 bill. But a Tradeoffs analysis finds that few nonprofit facilities in Texas use this tool to the maximum benefit of patients.
An initiative on the California ballot would levy the nation鈥檚 first wealth tax on billionaires. Supporters say the proceeds would help offset President Donald Trump鈥檚 sweeping healthcare cuts. But critics argue that the temporary infusion of cash is a giveaway to politicians.
These service providers, formerly known as geriatric care managers, can arrange a move to a senior living facility, deal with Medicare and Medicaid, recommend doctors, drive a client to the dentist, and much more.
A doctor has recommended a course of action that is invasive, expensive, or somehow different from what you'd prefer. Is it OK to get a second opinion? The answer is yes. Here鈥檚 how to make the ask a little less awkward.
People who have taken experimental peptides, such as BPC-157, complain of migraines, eye pain, fatigue, and more. Learning whether these popular but unproven drugs are to blame may become harder if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fulfills a promise to make them more accessible.
A Slack workspace managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has served as an extraordinary war room for AI industry insiders and Trump administration officials to launch a rapid campaign aimed at persuading Americans to manage their healthcare and medical records on apps.
In Los Angeles County, the nation鈥檚 most populous, a new system could screen hospital patients for financial aid, preventing hundreds of thousands from getting bills they can鈥檛 pay.
Catherine Sweeney was one of the reporters in the witness room during the attempted execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. The journalists knew that a recent execution hadn鈥檛 gone according to plan and that Pike鈥檚 lawyers had predicted failure because of a health condition. They鈥檇 even asked for her to be hanged instead.
Tests like full-body scans marketed directly to consumers are pitched as a way to detect diseases early and establish a baseline of health markers. But there are financial, physical, and psychological risks to all medical tests 鈥 and in some cases, not getting a test could be better for your health.
At least 2 million seniors will receive notice this fall that their Medicare Advantage plans will disappear at year鈥檚 end, some without a comparable alternative. Here鈥檚 a look at this increasingly common problem with Medicare Advantage, and what it says about Medicare as a whole.
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