Latest News On Surprise Bills

Latest California Healthline Stories

‘So Rudderless’: A Couple’s Quest for Autism Treatment for Their Son Hits Repeated Obstacles

Amparo and Victor Rios began searching for answers about their son’s development when he didn’t hit some milestones after turning 2. Three years later, they are still trying to get their insurance to pay for expensive therapy to help him.

Betting on ‘Golden Age’ of Colonoscopies, Private Equity Invests in Gastro Docs

An aging population in need of regular cancer screenings has driven private equity companies, seeking profits, to invest in many gastroenterology practices and set up aggressive billing practices. Steep prices on routine tests are one consequence for patients.

The Case of the $489,000 Air Ambulance Ride

Diagnosed with aggressive leukemia on a Western trip, a young man thought his insurance would cover an air ambulance ride home to North Carolina. Instead, questions about medical necessity left him with an astronomical bill.

How to Avoid Surprise Bills — And the Pitfalls in the New Law

The No Surprises Act offers protection from many surprise medical bills — but that protection may be only as good as a patient’s knowledge of the law and ability to make sure it’s enforced. Here’s what you need to know.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Congress Shelves Covid Funding for Now

The Biden administration’s request for billions more in funding to fight covid-19 hit a snag on Capitol Hill this week, as Democrats objected to Republican demands that money allocated to states but not yet spent be reclaimed. Meanwhile, the big annual spending bill about to cross the finish line addresses other health policy changes, such as giving the FDA authority to regulate “synthetic” nicotine. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Jessie Hellmann of Modern Healthcare join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.