“If I were a younger person, I think I would be able to rebound from all the difficulties I’m having,” she told me. “I just never foresaw myself being in this situation at the age I am now.” Elaine Ross “Please help! I just turned 65 and [am] disabled on … Read more
By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Wednesday, July 06, 2022 (Kaiser News) — An ounce of prevention … well, you know the rest. In medicine, prevention aims to spot problems before they worsen, affecting both a patient’s health and finances. One of the more popular parts of the Affordable Care Act, which allows patients to … Read more
By Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News Friday, July 01, 2022 (Kaiser News) — Consumers, employers, and just about everyone else interested in health care prices will soon get an unprecedented look at what insurers pay for care, perhaps helping answer a question that has long dogged those who buy insurance: Are we getting the best … Read more
By Fred Schulte, Kaiser Health News Wednesday, June 29, 2022 (Kaiser News) — Congress should crack down on Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors that sometimes deny patients vital medical care while overcharging the government billions of dollars every year, government watchdogs told a House panel Tuesday. Witnesses sharply criticized the fast-growing health plans at … Read more
By Dan Weissmann Wednesday, March 16, 2022 (Kaiser News) — Patients are no longer required to pay for out-of-network care given without their consent when they receive treatment at hospitals covered by their health insurance since a federal law took effect at the start of this year. But the law’s protections against the infuriating, expensive … Read more
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 (Kaiser News) — Caitlin Wells Salerno knew that some mammals — like the golden-mantled ground squirrels she studies in the Rocky Mountains — invest an insane amount of resources in their young. That didn’t prepare her for the resources the conservation biologist would owe after the birth of her second son. … Read more
“At the start of the pandemic, many providers and insurers removed copays for visits because they wanted to encourage telehealth,” says Ellimoottil. “Now we have copays coming back from big insurers. Ultimately, we don’t know yet what the net effect will be for patients, providers, or payers.” If telehealth leads to an increase in … Read more
Aug. 11, 2021 — Large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans believe that nurses and health care aides are underpaid, while many Americans say doctors, physical therapists, and pharmacists are paid about the right amount, according to a new poll. The bipartisan agreement on health care workers’ pay stands in contrast to the sharp … Read more
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR Friday, June 25, 2021 (Kaiser News) — One evening in late March, a mom called 911. Her daughter, she said, was threatening to kill herself. EMTs arrived at the home north of Boston, helped calm the 13-year-old, and took her to an emergency room. Melinda, like a growing number of children … Read more
By Daryl Austin Wednesday, May 19, 2021 (Kaiser News) — In 1993, Dr. David Silber, a dentist now practicing in Plano, Texas, was fired from the first dental clinic he worked for. He’d been assigned to a patient another dentist had scheduled for a crown preparation — a metal or porcelain cap for a broken … Read more