Can you buy health care like computers? For years, health policy gurus, employers and entrepreneurs have argued you could. But growing evidence tells us that the focus on turning patients into shoppers has real limits.
Health Insurance and Costs
On Monday, Montana became the 30th state to expand Medicaid. On Tuesday, election results cast Kentucky's Medicaid expansion into doubt. What does this all have to do with kids' health? When it comes to children's health insurance, a state's Medicaid status can make a big difference.
Health insurance premium hikes have been modest in recent years, but out-of-pockets costs are another story. Our Thursday webinar on "Out of Pocket: Surprise Costs After Health Reform" offered a primer on the trends and a host of story ideas for reporting on these topics.
Across the country, patients who receive out-of-network care can face “exorbitant” charges for medical services compared to Medicare’s rates for the same procedures, and the prices can vary dramatically. But what explains these differences? It depends on who you ask.
C-sections have been in the news a lot lately, and the seemingly conflicting messages are enough to sow confusion. But the fact remains that the procedure is way too common in the majority of hospitals throughout the country. And that has consequences for both moms' health and health care costs.
When it comes to getting kids into health coverage, the numbers have never been better. By the first quarter of 2015, the percentage of kids without insurance was less than 5 percent. But despite the gains made in improving children’s coverage, big challenges remain on the horizon.
Out-of-network "surprise bills" are a growing problem. Patients think they're staying in their coverage network only to receive a bill for thousands of dollars after a procedure from, say, an anesthesiologist who wasn't included in their plan. So far, proposed solutions have proven controversial.
Medicare levies penalties against hospitals in an effort to reduce the number of infections patients pick up at these facilities.
Medicare levies penalties against hospitals for lack of quality care, but does the system punish those facilities that accept lower-income patients?
By now you’ve heard about the launch of the new California Healthcare Compare website, which allows users to compare cost and quality on common procedures throughout the state. Less noted, however, are some of the site’s serious limitations. Bill Heisel breaks them down for us.