Markian Hawryluk

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Lalit Bajaj, an emergency medicine doctor at Children’s Hospital Colorado, with fellow emergency physician Julia Fuzak Freeman. To reduce unnecessary X-rays and antibiotics, Bajaj and his colleagues implemented new protocols in 2015 to educate parents on bronchiolitis, how to manage symptoms until kids get better, and why imaging or medication is unlikely to help. | AUSTIN DAY/CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL COLORADO

Why it’s so tough to reduce unnecessary medical care

The U.S. spends huge amounts of money on health care that does little or nothing to help patients, and may even harm them

Nov 14, 2023

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STEFAN SCHWEIHOFER/PIXABAY

At least 1.7M Americans use health sharing arrangements, despite lack of protections

The number of people who use plans agreeing to pay one another’s medical bills is higher than previously realized

Jun 15, 2023

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FREESTOCKS/UNSPLASH

This panel will decide whose medicine to make affordable. Its choice will be tricky.

Colorado, like Maryland, is setting up a regulatory system that goes beyond what Oregon does to curb the soaring cost of prescription drugs

May 25, 2023

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ADAM SATRIA/UNSPLASH

States step in as telehealth and clinic patients get blindsided by hospital fees

States, including Washington, have implemented or are considering limits on facility fees that blindside millions of Americans who didn’t set foot inside a hospital

Apr 6, 2023

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FREESTOCKS/UNSPLASH

Pharmacies Face Extra Audit Burdens That Threaten Their Existence

Pharmacy benefit managers switched to virtual audits during the pandemic, which increased reviews, payment denials and their profits.

Aug 6, 2021

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Walden, Colorado has no hospital or pharmacy./Kyle Spradley/KHN

How One Rural Town Without a Pharmacy Is Crowdsourcing to Get Meds

With large pharmacy chains buying up independent drugstores and increasingly controlling the supply chain, small towns have had difficulty attracting a pharmacy.

Jul 1, 2021

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Mysterious Heart Damage, Not Just Lung Troubles, Befalling COVID-19 Patients

Apr 6, 2020

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HANNAH NORMAN/KAISER HEALTH NEWS ILLUSTRATION

During A Pandemic, States’ Patchwork Of Crisis Strategies Could Mean Uneven Care

Mar 5, 2020

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THE BRANSON FAMILY (FROM LEFT: MICHAEL, EMMA, LUCY AND KATY) WAS SURPRISED WHEN THEY RECEIVED A $2,659 BILL AFTER LUCY BRANSON NEEDED TO GET A TINY DOLL SHOE REMOVED FROM HER NOSE./HEIDI DE MARCO/KHN

Nothing To Sneeze At: The $2,659 Bill To Pluck Doll’s Shoe From Child’s Nostril

Dec 2, 2019