Fred Schulte

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Feds killed plan to curb Medicare Advantage overbilling after industry opposition

A private 2014 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services faces new scrutiny in a multibillion-dollar Justice Department fraud case against UnitedHealth Group

Aug 27, 2024

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Nursing homes wield pandemic immunity laws to duck wrongful death suits

More than four years after COVID first raged through many U.S. nursing homes, hundreds of lawsuits blaming patient deaths on negligent care have been tossed out or languished in the courts

May 14, 2024

Image

Ron Irby had an Optetrak artificial knee implanted in his right leg in September 2018. Most implants last 15 years or more, but Irby’s Optetrak implant, made by Exactech in Gainesville, Florida, wore out in 2021, according to a lawsuit he filed against the company. | MATT PENDLETON/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Thousands got Exactech knee or hip replacements. Then, patients say, the parts began to fail.

More than 1,100 patients have sued, with some claiming the company tried to conceal or delay problems before recalling artificial hips, knees and ankles

Oct 12, 2023

Image

Paul Davis is a retired physician in Findlay, Ohio, who calls his uveal melanoma “one of the rarest tumors on the planet.” The rare eye cancer requires $50,000-a-week drug treatments to keep Davis alive, and he worries that cost may saddle his family with a crushing medical debt when he’s gone. | MADDIE MCGARVEY/KHN

Your money or your life: Patient on $50,000-a-week cancer drug fears leaving behind huge medical debt

Prices for cancer drugs have soared to from less than $10,000 annually in the 1990s to more than $200,000 today, expert says.

Feb 16, 2023

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Government lets health plans that ripped off Medicare keep the money

Health insurers had feared the federal government would demand repayment of billions of dollars in overcharges received as far back as 2011.

Jan 31, 2023

Image

TWO-YEAR-OLD ZION GASTELUM DIED FOUR DAYS AFTER RECEIVING BABY ROOT CANALS AND CROWNS AT KOOL SMILES, A PRIVATE EQUITY-AFFILIATED DENTAL CLINIC IN YUMA, ARIZONA./SCREENGRAB OF ABC15 ARIZONA BROADCAST

Investigating Private Equity’s Stealthy Takeover of Health Care

As private equity extends into health care, evidence is mounting it’s led to higher prices and diminished quality of care, a KHN investigation has found.

Nov 17, 2022

Image

JOHN SALTIS IS SUING SPINAL DEVICE COMPANY NUVASIVE./HANS PENNINK/KAISER HEALTH NEWS

Injuries Mount As Sales Reps For Device Makers Cozy Up To Surgeons

Aggressive sales tactics have allegedly led surgeons to use defective or wrong-size implants, screws or other products on patients.

Aug 9, 2021

Image

Humana sells health insurance across the U.S. including from this location in Louisville, Kentucky./Shutterstock

Humana Health Plan Overcharged Medicare by Nearly $200 Million, Federal Audit Finds

The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General's recommendation to repay, if finalized, would be “by far the largest” audit penalty ever imposed on a Medicare Advantage company.

Apr 20, 2021

Coronavirus Fuels Explosive Growth In Telehealth ― And Concern About Fraud

“There are unscrupulous providers out there, and they have much greater reach with telehealth,” said Mike Cohen, an operations officer with the Health and Human Services Inspector General’s Office.

Jun 29, 2020