MONEY

Drugmakers hiked prices for hundreds of drugs in early January

Heard on All Things Considered – Drugmakers raised the list prices on 575 name-brand drugs in just the first two days of the new year, according to drug price research firm 46brooklyn. Drugs for diabetes, HIV, cancer saw price hikes, among others. For years a 10% annual price hike was fairly normal, but they've started coming down in recent years. This year's median price hike so far is only 4%, says Antonio Ciaccia, CEO of 46brooklyn. "While...

A record 24 million people now get Obamacare health plans. Will it last under Trump?

Shots Health News – Nearly 24 million Americans are buying their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act — and there's still a week to go for open enrollment sign-ups. "We've once again set a new all-time record for marketplace enrollment," Neera Tanden, domestic policy adviser to President Biden, said on a press call Tuesday. "In fact, every year of the Biden-Harris administration, we've set a new all-time record for ACA marketplace enrollment." As ACA sign ups...

Insurers Are Dictating Care and We’re Sick, Sick, Sick of It!

N. Adam Brown is a practicing emergency physician, entrepreneur, and healthcare executive. He is the founder of ABIG Health, a healthcare growth strategy firm, and a professor at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School. MedPage Today –The killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson sent shockwaves through the medical community, Wall Street, and social media. The motive behind the killing appears to be obvious: the bullets were reportedly inscribedopens in a new tab or window...

He Went in for a Colonoscopy. The Hospital Charged $19,000 for Two.

KFF HEALTH NEWS – Tom Contos is an avid runner. When he started experiencing rectal bleeding in March, he thought exercise could be the cause and tried to ignore it. But he became increasingly worried when the bleeding continued for weeks. The Chicago health care consultant contacted his physician at Northwestern Medicine, who referred him for a diagnostic colonoscopy, at least partly because Contos, 45, has a family history of colon issues. “I work out a...

Giant Companies Took Secret Payments to Allow Free Flow of Opioids

The P.B.M.s are hired by insurers and employers to control their drug costs by negotiating discounts with pharmaceutical manufacturers. But a Times investigation this year found that they often pursue their own financial interests in ways that increase costs for patients.

A Toddler Got a Nasal Swab Test but Left Before Seeing a Doctor. The Bill was $445.

KFF HEALTH NEWS – Ryan Wettstein Nauman was inconsolable one evening last December. After being put down for bed, the 3-year-old from Peoria, Illinois, just kept crying and crying and crying, and nothing would calm her down. Her mother, Maggi Wettstein, remembered fearing it could be a yeast or urinary tract infection, something they had been dealing with during potty training. The urgent care centers around them were closed for the night, so around 10:30...

12 Grocery Stores Giving Out Free Turkeys in 2024

EAT THIS, NOT THAT! – If you're in the market to buy a turkey this November, the following grocery chains want to give you one at no additional cost. Find your nearest grocery chain below and read the fine print, as these promotions come with certain spending thresholds to be eligible. H-E-B Texas-based grocery chain H-E-B is a popular go-to destination for shoppers. Named America's #1 Grocery Chain in 2024, the regional brand gives customers many good...

Millions will now have to pay for their own health care after Trump victory

Subsidies to buy insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are set to expire at the end of 2025. If they're not extended, coverage could become unaffordable for many.

In Vermont, Where Almost Everyone Has Insurance, Many Can’t Find or Afford Care

“Vermont is seen as the most progressive state, so how is health care here so screwed up?”

Toddler’s Backyard Snakebite Bills Totaled More Than a Quarter Million Dollars

KFF HEALTH NEWS – This spring, a few days after his 2nd birthday, Brigland Pfeffer was playing with his siblings in their San Diego backyard. His mother, Lindsay Pfeffer, was a few feet away when Brigland made a noise and came running from the stone firepit, holding his right hand. She noticed a pinprick of blood between his thumb and forefinger when her older son called out, “Snake!” “I saw a small rattlesnake coiled up by...

The Cause of Out-of-Control Healthcare Prices: Washington

Washington directly controls payments for 186 million Americans, 56 percent of the population, through Medicaid/CHIP, Medicare, Tricare, and Emergency Medical Transport and Labor Act of 1986.

The Medicare Advantage Influence Machine

KFF Health News – Federal officials resolved more than a decade ago to crack down on whopping government overpayments to private Medicare Advantage health insurance plans, which were siphoning off billions of tax dollars every year. But Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials have yet to demand any refunds — and over the years the private insurance plans have morphed into a politically potent juggernaut that has signed up more than 33 million seniors...

How a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps Patients

Acadia Healthcare is holding people against their will to maximize insurance payouts, a Times investigation found.

96-year-old California woman facing eviction from seniors home unless she coughs up $110K

Pacific Senior Living, the San Diego-based parent company of Pacific Grove Senior Living, served the 96-year-old with the eviction notice on Aug. 16, saying she had three days to send them $110,000 or face eviction.

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