Even after their babies died, hospital bills kept coming. These parents of fragile, very sick infants faced exorbitant bills — though they had insurance. "The process was just so heartless," one says.
The health care industry is obsessed with consumer satisfaction. But national patient surveys still don't get at an important question: Are hospitals delivering culturally competent care?
Religious rules guiding Catholic health care systems often mean their doctors can't prescribe contraceptives or perform tubal ligations. And sometimes that leaves patients with few other options.
A probe found troubling lapses in the country's organ transplant system. Blood types mismatched, diseased organs accidentally transplanted and donor organs lost or damaged in transit.
Some rural hospitals are in such bad shape, they're selling for next to nothing. One company is snapping several distressed or closed hospitals in rural Tennessee, hoping to turn a profit.
A deal on the table in Congress would help deliver on a long-time promise: to make prescription drugs more affordable. It includes a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare patients.
Delta-8 is a hemp product designed to get users high, but misleading labels or added chemicals have caused people to get sick. And a lack of federal regulation or guidance has states stepping in.
Debt lawsuits — a byproduct of America's medical debt crisis — can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
An NPR investigation found stalled confirmatory trials and lax enforcement are plaguing the FDA's accelerated approval of drugs for urgent medical needs.
Stalled confirmatory trials and lax enforcement plague the Food and Drug Administration's accelerated approval pathway for pharmaceuticals that target urgent medical needs.
Pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for medications used for abortion could be violating civil rights law. The meds are also used to treat miscarriages, arthritis and ulcers.
Even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, whether a health plan paid for abortion varied widely. Now it's become even more complex, with conflicts and court challenges on the horizon.
For one South Dakota mom, cancer treatment saved her life, but left her $30,000 in debt. The cost of care in the U.S. can make patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes.
New government rules are forcing insurers to post on websites what they pay for care or be fined, allowing consumers and employers to comparison shop for health services or negotiate better rates.
First, they were struck by illness and then by medical bills they couldn't pay. Here are seven stories of Americans living under the shadow of health care debt.
