How Trump Aims To Slash Federal Support for Research, Public Health, and Medicaid
One thing experts agree on: The damage from the funding cuts will be varied and immense.
‘Bill of the Month’: The Series That Dissects and Slashes Medical Bills
Since 2018, readers and listeners sent KFF Health News-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” thousands of questionable bills. Our crowdsourced investigation paved the way for landmark legislation and highlighted cost-saving strategies for all patients.
Removing a Splinter? Treating a Wart? If a Doctor Does It, It Can Be Billed as Surgery
Minor interventions are increasingly being rebranded and billed as surgery, for profit. This means a neurologist spending 40 minutes with a patient to tease out a diagnosis can be paid less for that time than a dermatologist spending a few seconds squirting a dollop of liquid nitrogen onto the skin.
With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get
The pharmaceutical industry has invented a new art form: finding ways to make their wares seem like joyous must-have treatments, while often minimizing lackluster efficacy and risks.
En los comerciales de medicamentos en TV, lo que ves no siempre es lo que es
Los anuncios de medicamentos han sido omnipresentes en la televisión desde finales de la década de 1990 y se han extendido a internet y las redes sociales. Pocas naciones en el mundo los permiten
Why Many Nonprofit (Wink, Wink) Hospitals Are Rolling in Money
Legal maneuvering, industry lobbying, and lax IRS oversight leave lots of room for “operating surpluses.”
Her Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.
Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. It’s stressful and annoying — but legal.
Pain Doesn’t Belong on a Scale of Zero to 10
A popular scale for measuring pain doesn’t work, but medicine still has no better alternative.
El dolor ya no se puede medir en una escala de cero a 10
Los médicos de hoy tienen una comprensión más completa del tratamiento del dolor, así como de las terribles consecuencias de recetar opioides con liviandad. Lo que están aprendiendo ahora es cómo medir mejor el dolor y tratar sus muchas formas.
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 “qualifying life events.” But insurers’ contracts with doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies can change abruptly at any time.