August 2023

US Health Care Sucks, Even If You Have Health Insurance Interview with Amy Finkelstein, interviewed by Sara Van Horn and Cal Turner Published August 21, 2023   It is a gross injustice that 30 million Americans lack health insurance — but the insured also face serious problems, paying through the nose for substandard care. We

Medical debt hits the middle class hardest By Tami Luhby, CNN Published August 21, 2023   Almost a quarter of middle-class Americans, or 17 million people, had unpaid health care bills in 2020, a larger share than those higher and lower on the income scale, according to a new report from Third Way, a center-left

10 Things to Know About Medicaid Managed Care By Elizabeth Hinton and Jada Raphael March 1, 2023   Managed care is the dominant delivery system for Medicaid enrollees. With 72% of Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in comprehensive managed care organizations (MCOs) nationally, plans have played a key role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and are

The Hidden Fee Costing Doctors Millions Every Year by Cezary Podkul August 14, 2023   A powerful lobbyist convinced a federal agency that doctors can be forced to pay fees on money that health insurers owe them. Big companies rake in profits while doctors are saddled with yet another cost in a burdensome health care

U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes By Munira Z. Gunja, Evan D. Gumas and January 31, 2023   Introduction   In the previous edition of U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, we reported that people in the United States experience the worst health outcomes overall of any high-income

Study reveals staggering toll of being Black in America: 1.6 million excess deaths over 22 years By Liz Szabo, KFF Health News May 16, 2023   Racism is at the heart of the American government’s failure to tackle the growing threat of deadly heatwaves, according to the author of an authoritative new book on the

Racism at heart of US failure to tackle deadly heatwaves, expert warns By Nina Lakhani, Climate justice reporter August 6, 2023   Racism is at the heart of the American government’s failure to tackle the growing threat of deadly heatwaves, according to the author of an authoritative new book on the heating planet.   Jeff

Inglewood hospital fined $75,000 for failures that led to maternal death By Emily Alpert Reyes, Staff Writer August 7, 2023   California regulators have fined Centinela Hospital Medical Center $75,000 after faulting the Inglewood hospital for “deficient practices” that led to a patient dying while admitted there for labor and delivery.   The California Department