Why One New York Health System Stopped Suing Its Patients
Most U.S. hospitals aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills. One New York hospital system decided to work with them instead.
Listen to the Latest ‘蘑菇影院 Health News Minute’
鈥淗ealth Minute鈥 brings original health care and health policy reporting from the 蘑菇影院 Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.
Paid Sick Leave Sticks After Many Pandemic Protections Vanish
The U.S. is one of nine countries that do not guarantee paid sick leave. Since the covid pandemic, advocates in states including Missouri, Alaska, and Nebraska are organizing to take the issue to voters with ballot initiatives this November.
Three People Shot at Super Bowl Parade Grapple With Bullets Left in Their Bodies
Despite the rise of gun violence in America, few medical guidelines exist on removing bullets from survivors鈥 bodies. In the second installment of our series 鈥淭he Injured,鈥 we meet three people shot at the Kansas City Super Bowl parade who are dealing with the bullets inside them in different ways.
Could Better Inhalers Help Patients, and the Planet?
Puff inhalers can be lifesavers for people with asthma and other respiratory diseases, but some types release potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. That, in turn, worsens wildfires, contributes to air pollution, and intensifies allergy seasons 鈥 which can increase the need for inhalers. Some doctors are helping patients switch to more eco-sensitive inhalers.
Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver鈥檚 Seat
Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor鈥檚 own financial policy 鈥 which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon 鈥 can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.
Unsheltered People Are Losing Medicaid in Redetermination Mix-Ups
Some of the nearly 130,000 Montanans who have lost Medicaid coverage as the state reevaluates eligibility are homeless. That鈥檚 in part because Montana kicked more than 80,000 people off the program for technical reasons rather than income ineligibility. For unhoused people who were disenrolled, getting back on Medicaid can be extraordinarily difficult.
He Thinks His Wife Died in an Understaffed Hospital. Now He鈥檚 Trying to Change the Industry.
Nurses are telling lawmakers that there are not enough of them working in hospitals and that it risks patients鈥 lives. California and Oregon legally limit the number of patients under a nurse鈥檚 care. Other states trying to do the same were blocked by the hospital industry. Now patients鈥 relatives are joining the fight.
More Patients Are Losing Their Doctors 鈥 And Trust in the Primary Care System
A shortage of primary care providers is driving more people to seek routine care in emergency settings. In Rhode Island, safety-net clinics are under pressure as clinicians retire or burn out, and patients say it鈥檚 harder to find care as they lose connections to familiar doctors.
California Is Expanding Insurance Access for Teenagers Seeking Therapy on Their Own
A California law that takes effect this summer will grant minors on public insurance the ability to get mental health treatment without their parents鈥 consent, a privilege that their peers with private insurance have had for years. But the law has become a flashpoint in the state鈥檚 culture wars.
Needle Pain Is a Big Problem for Kids. One California Doctor Has a Plan.
The pain and trauma from repeated needle sticks leads some kids to hold on to needle phobia into adulthood. Research shows the biggest source of pain for children in the health care system is needles. But one doctor thinks he has a solution and is putting it into practice at two children鈥檚 hospitals in Northern California.
Statistical Models vs. Front-Line Workers: Who Knows Best How to Spend Opioid Settlement Cash?
A mathematical model designed to direct spending of opioid settlement funds is at the center of a debate over whether to invest in technology to guide long-term decisions or focus on the immediate needs of people in addiction.
Cities Know That the Way Police Respond to Mental Crisis Calls Must Change. But How?
Cities are experimenting with new ways to meet the rapidly increasing demand for behavioral health crisis intervention, at a time when incidents of police shooting and killing people in mental health crisis have become painfully familiar.
Listen to 鈥楾radeoffs鈥: How the Loss of a Rural Hospital Compounds the Collapse of Care
Six years ago, the hospital in Fort Scott, Kansas, shuttered, leaving residents in the small community without a cornerstone health care institution. In the years since, despite new programs meant to save small hospitals, dozens of other communities have watched theirs close.
Listen to the Latest ‘蘑菇影院 Health News Minute’
鈥淗ealth Minute鈥 brings original health care and health policy reporting from the 蘑菇影院 Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.
When a Quick Telehealth Visit Yields Multiple Surprises Beyond a Big Bill
For the patient, it was a quick and inexpensive virtual appointment. Why it cost 10 times what she expected became a mystery.
Listen: What Our 2-Year-Long Investigation Into Medical Debt Reveals
An award-winning project by 蘑菇影院 Health News and NPR found that at least 100 million people in the United States are saddled with medical bills they cannot pay 鈥 and exposed a health care system that systematically pushes people into debt.
Storing Guns Away From Home Could Reduce Suicides, but Legal Hurdles Loom
Safe storage maps show gun owners where to put their firearms for safekeeping if they experience a mental health crisis. The idea has support among some gun enthusiasts, but legal obstacles threaten wider adoption.
Listen: Inroads for Women in California鈥檚 Health Care Workforce
蘑菇影院 Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart leads a discussion about the role women play as California grapples with a shortage of health care providers.
Abortion Bans Fuel a Rise in High-Risk Patients Heading to Illinois Hospitals
High-risk patients from states that heavily restrict abortion are coming to hospitals in states such as Illinois that protect abortion rights. The journey can mean more medical risks and higher bills.
