After Appalachian Hospitals Merged Into a Monopoly, Their ERs Slowed to a Crawl
Ballad Health was granted the nation鈥檚 largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in 2018. Since then, its emergency rooms have become more than three times as slow.
Health Industry
721 - 740 of 3,988 Results
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The ACA Turns 14
Episode 339Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law 鈥 and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of 吃瓜不打烊 join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week鈥檚 Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
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Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop 鈥楥lawback Cruelty鈥
Commissioner Martin O鈥橫alley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the 鈥渋njustices鈥 of suspending people鈥檚 monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.
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吃瓜不打烊 & PolitiFact HealthCheck
Biden Said Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Cut the Deficit by $160B. That’s Years Away.
Savings estimated by the Congressional Budget Office from allowing the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices are based on a 10-year cumulative projection.
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Needle Pain Is a Big Problem for Kids. One California Doctor Has a Plan.
The pain and trauma from repeated needle sticks leads some kids to hold on to needle phobia into adulthood. Research shows the biggest source of pain for children in the health care system is needles. But one doctor thinks he has a solution and is putting it into practice at two children鈥檚 hospitals in Northern California.
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Georgia鈥檚 Medicaid Work Requirements Costing Taxpayers Millions Despite Low Enrollment
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp鈥檚 Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs 鈥 largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money鈥檚 being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare鈥檚 Medicaid expansion.
By Andy Miller and Renuka Rayasam -
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Perspective
How Your In-Network Health Coverage Can Vanish Before You Know It
One of the most unfair aspects of medical insurance is this: Patients can change insurance only during end-of-year enrollment periods or at the time of 鈥渜ualifying life events.鈥 But insurers鈥 contracts with doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies can change abruptly at any time.
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When Copay Assistance Backfires on Patients
Drugmakers offer copay assistance programs to patients, but insurers are tapping into those funds, not counting the amounts toward patient deductibles. That leads to unexpected charges. But the practice is under growing scrutiny.
Maybe It鈥檚 a Health Care Election After All
Episode 338Health care wasn鈥檛 expected to be a major theme for this year鈥檚 elections. But as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured their respective party nominations this week, the future of both Medicare and the Affordable Care Act appears to be up for debate. Meanwhile, the cyberattack of the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Change Healthcare continues to do damage to the companies鈥 finances with no quick end in sight. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kelly Henning of Bloomberg Philanthropies about a new, four-part documentary series on the history of public health, 鈥淭he Invisible Shield.鈥 Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
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Exclusive: Social Security Chief Vows to Fix 鈥楥ruel-Hearted鈥 Overpayment Clawbacks
New Social Security Commissioner Martin O鈥橫alley is promising to change how the agency reclaims billions of dollars it wrongly pays to beneficiaries, saying the existing process is 鈥渃ruel-hearted and mindless.鈥
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Concerns Grow Over Quality of Care as Investor Groups Buy Not-for-Profit Nursing Homes
For-profit groups own more than 70% of U.S. nursing homes. Industry leaders and researchers wonder whether corporations and investors can succeed where not-for-profit organizations have struggled. Or, will quality of care suffer in the name of making money?
By Harris Meyer -
How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Pits Parental Rights Against Public Health
Framed in the rhetoric of choice, Tennessee鈥檚 new law governing childhood vaccinations is among more than a dozen recently passed or pending nationwide that set parental freedom against community and children鈥檚 health.
By Amy Maxmen -
A New $16,000 Postpartum Depression Drug Is Here. How Will Insurers Handle It?
A pill form of an effective drug for postpartum depression hit the market in December, but most insurers do not yet have a policy on when or whether they will pay for it. The hurdles to obtain its predecessor medication have advocates worried.
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Biden Team, UnitedHealth Struggle to Restore Paralyzed Billing Systems After Cyberattack
The cyberattack on a unit of UnitedHealth Group鈥檚 Optum division is the worst on the health care industry in U.S. history, hospitals say. Providers struggling to get paid for care say the response by the insurer and the Biden administration has been inadequate.
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VIP Health System for Top US Officials Risked Jeopardizing Care for Soldiers
The historically troubled White House Medical Unit is just one part of a government health system that gives VIP care to top officials, military officers, military retirees, and families. Pentagon investigators say some were prioritized over rank-and-file soldiers.
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Operating in the Red: Half of Rural Hospitals Lose Money, as Many Cut Services
A recent report finds half of America鈥檚 rural hospitals are losing money, and many are struggling to stay open. Researchers and advocates worry the hospitals鈥 financial spiral will have immediate and long-term health effects on their communities.
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Whistleblower Accuses Aledade, Largest US Independent Primary Care Network, of Medicare Fraud
A recently unsealed lawsuit alleges Aledade Inc. developed billing software that boosted revenues by making patients appear sicker than they were.
By Fred Schulte