costs of care

Jeni Rae Peters and daughter embrace at their home in Rapid City, S.D. In 2020, Peters was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. After treatment, Peters estimates that her medical bills exceeded $30,000.

She was already battling cancer. Then she had to fight the bill collectors

5:00am July 09, 2022

by Noam Levey

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.

Dhaval Bhatt plays Monopoly with his children, Hridaya (left) and Martand, at their home in St. Peters, Missouri. Martand's mother took him to a children's hospital in April after he burned his hand, and the bill for the emergency room visit was more than

Health & Safety

The doctor didn't show up, but the hospital ER still billed $1,012

4:42pm January 24, 2022

by Noam N. Levey

A toddler burned his hand on the stove. The pediatrician told mom over the phone to take him to the emergency room. But after a long wait for a doctor who never showed, they left. Then the bill came.

Queue Listen Now

Health insurers are limiting which drugs they'll cover, in a bid to limit drug costs.

Health & Safety

Insurers Cover Fewer Drugs, Leaving Some Patients Struggling To Get Needed Treatments

8:24pm March 16, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

A new report finds insurers are becoming more selective about which medications they'll cover. Patients and doctors have to work harder to get treatments approved.

Jennifer Brooks, who had repeatedly visited the emergency room at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, was sued by Southeastern Emergency Physicians for $8,500 in unpaid medical bills.

Health & Safety

A Private Equity-Owned Doctors' Group Sued Poor Patients Until It Came Under Scrutiny

7:57pm November 27, 2019

After the Blackstone Group acquired a large national physician staffing firm in 2017, low-income patients faced far more debt collection lawsuits. They stopped only after news media investigated.

In The Price We Pay, published this fall, author Marty Makary shows how rising costs are eroding trust in medicine.

'The Price We Pay' Argues Rising Health Care Costs Undermine Public Trust In Medicine

9:26pm October 22, 2019

by Mara Gordon

Surgeon and researcher Marty Makary traveled the country talking to people about their experiences with health care. He learned that costs are poisoning Americans' relationships with medicine.