Health Care Costs

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Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Did Your Health Plan Deny You Care? Fight Back.

Most patients don’t argue when their health insurance won’t cover treatment or medication, but they should: Consumers win about half of their appeals. The process can sometimes be overwhelming, but there are ways to prepare and get help.

Hospitals Block ‘Surprise Billing’ Measure

California lawmakers on Wednesday pulled legislation that would have protected some patients from surprise medical bills for emergency care, citing opposition from hospitals. They vowed to resurrect the bill next year.

Watch: High Cost Of Insulin Sends Americans To Canada To Stock Up

KHN, in collaboration with PBS NewsHour, reports on the skyrocketing cost of insulin — and the trend’s deadly consequences. The price in the U.S. nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016, prompting some patients and activists to travel to Canada, where insulin can be 90% cheaper.

How To Get A Cheaper Prescription Before Leaving The Doctor’s Office

A pricing tool embedded in their electronic health record and prescribing system lets doctors see how much patients will pay out-of-pocket based on their insurance and the pharmacy. But doctors have been slow to adopt the technology, which has limitations.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About ‘Medicare for All’

Need to know more about “Medicare for All?” It’s a top issue in the Democratic presidential primary campaign. This holiday week, we are rerunning our explainer on the subject. But first, KHN’s “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner talks to KHN’s Shefali Luthra about how health played out in the first Democratic candidate debates last week.

Democratic Debate Brings ‘Medicare For All’ Divide Into Focus

Reverberations from the Democratic presidential debate last week continue. One of the key issues that the candidates discussed was health care, and they had some differences in their plans, especially their views of a “Medicare for All” policy. Julie Rovner, the chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, joined NPR’s Sarah McCammon on “Weekend Edition […]