A monthly round-up of KFF Health News' original coverage on health care coverage and costs.
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Visit KFF Health News for the latest headlines | Health Care Costs | BILL OF THE MONTH Without Medicare Part B's Shield, Patient's Family
Owes $81,000 for a Single Air-Ambulance Flight
| | (LISA KRANTZ FOR KFF HEALTH NEWS) | By Tony Leys Debra Prichard was a retired factory worker who was careful with her money, including what she spent on medical care, said her daughter, Alicia Wieberg. "She was the kind of person who didn't go to the doctor for anything." That ended last year, when the rural Tennessee resident suffered a devastating stroke and several aneurysms. She twice was rushed from her local hospital to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, 79 miles away, where she was treated by brain specialists. She died Oct. 31 at age 70. One of Prichard's trips to the Nashville hospital was via helicopter ambulance. Wieberg said she had heard such flights could be pricey, but she didn't realize how extraordinary the charge would be — or how her mother's skimping on Medicare coverage could leave the family on the hook. Then the bill came. Read more here. ••• More on Medical Costs GoFundMe Has Become a Health Care Utility
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
Resorting to crowdfunding to pay medical bills has become so routine, in some cases health professionals recommend it. States Target Health Insurers' 'Prior Authorization' Red Tape
By Bram Sable-Smith
Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they'll pay for patients' drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further. Patients See First Savings From Biden's Drug Price Push, as Pharma Lines Up Its Lawyers
By Arthur Allen
A restructuring of the Medicare drug benefit has wiped out big drug bills for people who need expensive medicines. But the legal battle over drug negotiations means uncertainty over long-term savings. An Arm and a Leg: Wait, Is Insulin Cheaper Now?
By Dan Weissmann
Did the price of insulin go down? It's not quite that simple. On this episode of "An Arm and a Leg," producer Emily Pisacreta explores recent changes to the cost of the diabetes medication. ••• Hearing Aids Say That Again: Using Hearing Aids Can Be Frustrating for Older Adults, but Necessary
By Judith Graham
Hearing loss is more than a nuisance. It also raises the risk of cognitive decline, dementia, falls, depression, and social isolation. ••• Health Care Industry Hacking at UnitedHealth Unit Cripples a Swath of the US Health System: What to Know
By Darius Tahir
Change Healthcare, a firm recently bought by insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, reportedly suffered a cyberattack. The company processes 14 billion transactions annually, including payments and requests for insurance authorizations. In California, Faceoff Between Major Insurer and Health System Shows Hazards of Consolidation
By Annie Sciacca
Even as Anthem Blue Cross and University of California Health announced a contract agreement this month, analysts say patients are increasingly at risk of being affected by such disputes. ••• Reproductive Health Care If You're Poor, Fertility Treatment Can Be Out of Reach
By Michelle Andrews
For low-income people who are on Medicaid or whose employer health plan is skimpy, help for infertility seems unattainable. ••• Medicaid and Medicare Halfway Through 'Unwinding,' Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million
By Phil Galewitz
While more Medicaid beneficiaries have been purged in the span of a year than ever before, enrollment is on track to settle at pre-pandemic levels. Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
By Daniel Chang and Andy Miller
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder. Is Housing Health Care? State Medicaid Programs Increasingly Say 'Yes'
By Angela Hart
States are using their Medicaid programs to offer poor and sick people housing services, such as paying six months' rent or helping hunt for apartments. The trend comes in response to a growing homelessness epidemic, but experts caution this may not be the best use of limited health care money. In Fight Over Medicare Payments, the Hospital Lobby Shows Its Strength
By Phil Galewitz and Colleen DeGuzman
Medicare pays hospitals about double what it pays other providers for the same services. The hospital lobby is fighting hard to make sure a switch to "site-neutral payments" doesn't become law. ••• From Our Readers 
| | (OONA TEMPEST / KFF HEALTH NEWS) | For the Love of Health Care and Health Policy
KFF Health News shares the crème de la crème of reader-submitted health policy valentines. Two of our favorites melted our hearts and inspired original illustrations. Readers Call on Congress to Bolster Medicare and Fix Loopholes in Health Policy
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories. ••• Noticias En Español Noticias en español es una sección de KFF Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos. Cerca de 10 millones ya perdieron Medicaid, y todavía faltan meses de purga
By Phil Galewitz
Medicaid y el Programa de Seguro de Salud Infantil crecieron hasta alcanzar un récord de 94 millones de inscritos durante la pandemia. ¿Ofrecer vivienda gratis es atención médica? Programas de Medicaid dicen que sí
By Angela Hart
Estados están invirtiendo miles de millones de dólares en un experimento de atención médica de alto riesgo: utilizar fondos ya escasos de seguros de salud públicos para proporcionar vivienda a los estadounidenses más pobres y enfermos. | | | | | |
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