Temp Nurses Cost Hospitals Big During Pandemic. Lawmakers Are Now Mulling Limits.
By Bram Sable-Smith
Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. It’s one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.
Journalists Cover the Gamut, From Rising Insulin Costs to Delays in Autism Care for Kids
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Armed With Hashtags, These Activists Made Insulin Prices a Presidential Talking Point
By Bram Sable-Smith
Twitter has been a hotbed for the burgeoning insulin access movement and activism surrounding other medical conditions. For people with diabetes, the platform has helped propel concern about insulin prices into policy. Can it continue to win with hashtags?
A Billing Expert Saved Big After Finding an Incorrect Charge in Her Husband’s ER Bill
By Bram Sable-Smith
A medical billing specialist investigated her husband’s ER bill. Her sleuthing took over a year but knocked thousands of dollars off the hospital’s charges — and provides a playbook for other consumers.
$2,700 Ambulance Bill Pulled Back From Collections
By Bram Sable-Smith
After reporting from KHN, NPR, and CBS News, a patient’s $2,700 ambulance bill was pulled back from collections.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kansas Makes a Statement
In the first official test vote since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, voters in Kansas’ primary said in no uncertain terms they want to keep a right to abortion in their state constitution. Meanwhile, the Senate is still working to reach a vote before summer recess on its health care-climate-tax measure, but progress is slow. Tami Luhby of CNN, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Bram Sable-Smith, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about a very expensive ambulance trip.
How National Political Ambition Could Fuel, or Fail, Initiatives to Protect Abortion Rights in States
By Bram Sable-Smith and Rachana Pradhan
As money flows to abortion rights initiatives in states, some donors focus on where anger over the “Dobbs” ruling could propel voter turnout and spur Democratic victories up and down the ballot, including in key Senate races and the White House.
The Ambulance Chased One Patient Into Collections
By Bram Sable-Smith
After a car wreck, three siblings were transported to the same hospital by ambulances from three separate districts. The sibling with the most minor injuries got the biggest bill.
Journalists Explore Shadow Pandemics of Hospital Violence and Grieving Children
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
They Thought They Were Buying Obamacare Plans. What They Got Wasn’t Insurance.
By Bram Sable-Smith
Some consumers who think they are signing up for Obamacare insurance find out later they actually purchased a membership to a health care sharing ministry. But regulators and online advertising sites don’t do much about it.