After Wiping Out $6.7 Billion in Medical Debt, This Nonprofit Is Just Getting Started
Nonprofit RIP Medical Debt buys up unpaid hospital bills plaguing low-income patients and frees them from having to pay.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: A Big Week for Biden
Congress is leaving for its annual summer break having accomplished far more than many expected, including, barring unforeseen snags, a bill to address the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and extend the enhanced subsidies for insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the abortion issue continues to roil the nation as Indiana becomes the first state to ban the procedure in almost all cases since the Supreme Court overruled the constitutional right to abortion in June. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
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Social Media Posts Criticize the 988 Suicide Hotline for Calling Police. Here鈥檚 What You Need to Know.
The July launch of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline was celebrated by many mental health providers and advocates, but it triggered concerns, too, from people who say using the service could lead to increased law enforcement involvement or forced hospitalization.
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They Call It 鈥楾ranq鈥 鈥 And It鈥檚 Making Street Drugs Even More Dangerous
Xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, has made it into the illegal drug supply of opioids and cocaine. It is changing the way outreach workers treat overdoses and may be responsible for grisly injuries and infections among people who unknowingly inject it.
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‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 10: 鈥榃e Need to Be at the Table鈥: Native-Led Medical Research Aims to Rebuild Trust
Exploitative practices in medical research have contributed to the underrepresentation of Native people in clinical trials. Episode 10 explores the efforts of Indigenous scientists to rebuild this broken trust through tribally controlled research.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Kansas Makes a Statement
In the first official test vote since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, voters in Kansas鈥 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鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Bram Sable-Smith, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 installment about a very expensive ambulance trip.
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鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: Her Bill for a Prenatal Test Felt Like a ‘Bait-and-Switch’ Scheme
Her doctor told her the noninvasive genetic test would be $99. When she called, she was told $250 and if she didn't pay quickly it could be $800.
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Because of Texas Abortion Law, Her Wanted Pregnancy Became a Medical Nightmare
A Houston woman was 18 weeks pregnant when her water broke. That means her fetus had virtually no chance of survival, and she was at risk of an infection that could threaten her future fertility and even her life. Following Texas' law, the hospital made her wait until she was showing signs of serious infection to terminate the pregnancy.
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Hospices Have Become Big Business for Private Equity Firms, Raising Concerns About End-of-Life Care
Private equity firms are seeing opportunities for profit in hospice care, once the domain of nonprofit organizations. The investment companies are transforming the industry 鈥 and might be jeopardizing patient care 鈥 in the process.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Manchin Makes a Deal
In a rare surprise for official Washington, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced a deal to expand the planned health bill in the Senate to include provisions raising taxes and addressing climate change. The measure would include a third year of expanded subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, but not health care coverage for people left out of Medicaid in states that failed to expand the program. Meanwhile, the ACA goes back to court, and the Biden administration restores anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people that were rolled back by the Trump administration. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. C茅line Gounder of KHN about the latest on the monkeypox outbreak.
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Nursing Homes Are Suing the Friends and Family of Residents to Collect Debts
Debt lawsuits 鈥 long a byproduct of America鈥檚 medical debt crisis 鈥 can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
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KHN Spotlight
Watch: Navigating Social Media After Mass Shootings
A University of Pennsylvania professor shares advice on navigating the intersection of gun violence and social media as part of KHN鈥檚 new 鈥淪potlight鈥 interview series.
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The Ambulance Chased One Patient Into Collections
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.
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Listen: Can California Lower the Price of Insulin?
California Healthline senior correspondent Angela Hart describes California鈥檚 ambitious plan to manufacture generic insulin under the state鈥檚 new 鈥淐alRx鈥 drug label.
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‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 9: Two Indigenous Students Share Their Path to Medicine
A lack of Native physicians means many tribal communities rely on doctors who don鈥檛 share their lived experience, culture, or spiritual beliefs. In Episode 9, meet two medical students working to join the ranks of Indigenous physicians.
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鈥楾rue Cost of Aging鈥 Index Shows Many Seniors Can鈥檛 Afford Basic Necessities
The Elder Index, developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, shows that nearly 5 million older women living alone, 2 million older men living alone, and more than 2 million older couples have incomes that make them economically insecure.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Drug Price Bill Is a Go in the Senate
Two things happened in Washington this week that were inevitable: President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19, and the Senate agreed to move forward on a budget bill that includes only a sliver of what Biden hoped it would. Still, the bill to allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices, cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and extend temporary subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance premiums would represent a major step if Democrats can get it across the finish line. Meanwhile, abortion battles continue to escalate around the country, with Texas leading the way in restrictions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., the new president of the American Medical Association.
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In Some States, Voters Will Get to Decide the Future of Abortion Rights
Measures to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution will be on the ballot in California and Vermont this fall. Abortion-rights advocates in Michigan are hoping their state will follow suit.
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Listen: Why Medical Debt Touches Every Corner of America
KHN senior correspondent Noam N. Levey joined WBEZ and Wisconsin Public Radio to talk about medical debt and health care costs in the U.S.