窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Lands in Senate. Our 400th Episode!
The Houses gigantic tax-and-spending budget reconciliation bill has landed with a thud in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided in their criticism over whether it increases the deficit too much or cuts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act too deeply. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Offices estimate that the bill, if enacted, could increase the ranks of the uninsured by nearly 11 million people over a decade wont make it an easy sell. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Arielle Zionts, who reported and wrote the latest Bill of the Month feature, about a Medicaid patient who had an out-of-state emergency.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Cutting Medicaid Is Hard Even for the GOP
Republicans on Capitol Hill are struggling to reach consensus on cutting the Medicaid program as they search for nearly a trillion dollars in savings over the next decade as many observers predicted. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at the Department of Health and Human Services, with more controversial cuts and personnel moves, including the sudden nomination of Casey Means, an ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s, to become surgeon general. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Maya Goldman of Axios, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Lauren Sausser, who co-reported the latest Bill of the Month feature, about an unexpected bill for what seemed like preventive care.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': American Health Gets a Pink Slip
The Department of Health and Human Services underwent an unprecedented purge this week, as thousands of employees from the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies were fired, placed on administrative leave, or offered transfers to far-flung Indian Health Service facilities. Altogether, the layoffs mean the federal government, in a single day, shed hundreds if not thousands of combined years of health and science expertise. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss this enormous breaking story and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Appleby, who reported and wrote the latest Bill of the Month feature about a short-term health plan and a very expensive colonoscopy.
In Year 7, Bill of the Month Gives Patients a Voice
In the seventh year of 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Bill of the Month series, patients shared their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills, and reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.
Bill of the Month: The Series That Dissects and Slashes Medical Bills
Since 2018, readers and listeners sent 窪蹋勛圖厙 News-NPRs Bill of the Month thousands of questionable bills. Our crowdsourced investigation paved the way for landmark legislation and highlighted cost-saving strategies for all patients.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Trump 2.0
As Donald Trump readies for his return to the White House with the backing of a GOP majority in the Senate and, possibly, the House the entire health care industry is waiting to see what happens next. Clearly on the agenda: the future of abortion and reproductive rights, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and public healths infrastructure. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Jackie Forti矇r, who reported and wrote the latest 窪蹋勛圖厙 News-Washington Post Bill of the Month feature, about a 2-year-old who had a very expensive run-in with a rattlesnake.
Patient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.
A collection agency sought court authority to garnish a patients wages to pay a disputed surgery bill. But after the patient showed up in court to argue the bill was bogus, the judge declined to let the bill collector seize her money.
Her Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.
Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. Its stressful and annoying but legal.
Its Called an Urgent Care Emergency Center But Which Is It?
Suffering stomach pain, a Dallas man visited his local urgent care clinic or so he thought, until he got a bill 10 times what hed expected.
He Fell Ill on a Cruise. Before He Boarded the Rescue Boat, They Handed Him the Bill.
A man from Michigan was evacuated from a cruise ship after having seizures. First, he drained his bank account to pay his medical bills.
Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Drivers Seat
Agreeing to an out-of-network doctors own financial policy which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.
窪蹋勛圖厙 News' 'What the Health?': Arizona Turns Back the Clock on Abortion Access
A week after the Florida Supreme Court said the state could enforce an abortion ban passed in 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that state could enforce a near-total ban passed in 1864 over a half-century before Arizona became a state. The move further scrambled the abortion issue for Republicans and posed an immediate quandary for former President Donald Trump, who has been seeking an elusive middle ground in the polarized debate. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 窪蹋勛圖厙 News Molly Castle Work, who reported and wrote the latest 窪蹋勛圖厙 News-NPR Bill of the Month feature, about an air-ambulance ride for an infant with RSV that his insurer deemed not medically necessary.
