Chad Terhune

Chad Terhune was a senior correspondent for KFF Health News until November 2018.

@chadterhune

Coverage Denied: Medicaid Patients Suffer As Layers Of Private Companies Profit

Managed-care plans, which reap billions in taxpayer dollars to coordinate care for low-income Americans on Medicaid, outsource crucial treatment decisions to subcontractors that aren’t directly accountable to the government. In California, health officials say one firm improperly withheld or delayed care for hundreds of people.

As Billions In Tax Dollars Flow To Private Medicaid Plans, Who’s Minding The Store?

Insurance companies profit from government contracts but are subject to little oversight of how they spend the money or care for patients. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has only exacerbated the problem.

The $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Down To $332. What About Other Surprise Bills?

“I don’t feel any consumer should have to go through this,” says Drew Calver, who faced a life-changing surprise bill from an Austin hospital after a heart attack last year. After attention as a “Bill of the Month” patient, he paid the hospital $332. But he worries about other patients with surprise bills.

A Black Eye For Blue Shield: Consumers Lash Out Over Coverage Lapses

The state’s third-largest insurer faces anger from customers in the individual market who unexpectedly lost their insurance despite paying premiums faithfully. In its recently filed lawsuit, the company blamed a contractor for “egregious” billing problems.