Latest Morning Briefing Stories
How ERs Fail Patients With Addiction: One Patient’s Tragic Death
Two intractable failings of the U.S. health care system — addiction treatment and medical costs — come to a head in the ER, where patients desperate for addiction treatment arrive, only to find the facility may not be equipped to deal with substance use or, if they are, treatment is prohibitively expensive.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Becerra Urges Congress to Expand Medicare, Address Rx Prices
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is the special guest for this bonus episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast. He and host Julie Rovner discuss a breadth of topics the secretary oversees, including covid-19, prescription drug prices, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
As Congress Wrestles With Plans to Expand Medicare, Becerra Says Any One Will Do
In an interview for KHN’s “What the Health?” podcast, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra says the administration is eager for Congress to make changes to Medicare that will provide more benefits and make more older adults eligible for the program. He also said a priority will be making permanent the enhanced premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
Why We May Never Know Whether the $56,000-a-Year Alzheimer’s Drug Actually Works
It could take years for follow-up studies to prove Aduhelm slows the disease — or doesn’t. Meanwhile, its maker will profit.
Journalists Tackle Delta Variant, Hospital Prices and Public Health Spending
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.
Effort to Decipher Hospital Prices Yields Key Finding: Don’t Try It at Home
Your dutiful columnist tried to make use of a federal “transparency” rule to compare the prices of common medical procedures in two California health care systems. It was a futile exercise.
Drugmakers’ Spending on Stock, Dividends and Executive Pay Exceeds Research, Democrats Say
The pharmaceutical industry argues that large profits are needed to fund extensive research and innovation. But Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, seeking to bolster their effort to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, say major drug companies plow more of their billions in earnings back into propping up their stock and enriching executives and shareholders.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Tips for Fighting Medical Bills from ProPublica’s Marshall Allen
Veteran health journalist Marshall Allen has been exposing health care grifters for years. Now he’s written a book about how to fight them. Host Dan Weissmann spoke with Allen about some of the best tips from “Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.”
Rural Ambulance Services Are in Jeopardy as Volunteers Age and Expenses Mount
Experts say rural communities must find new models to keep emergency services afloat as more 911 calls go unanswered.
Hospital Prices Must Now Be Transparent. For Many Consumers, They’re Still Anyone’s Guess.
A Trump administration rule mandating that hospitals disclose true prices on their websites took effect this year. But compliance is spotty and even when the data is public, it’s hard to find and understand.