Krutika B. Amin

Mar 19, 2024 | kff.org | Krutika B. Amin |Kaye Pestaina |Cynthia Cox

For privately insured patients, surprise medical bills can arise from either having to pay a high deductible, or from “balance billing.” Typically, health plans negotiate payments to in-network providers. Out-of-network providers may directly bill privately insured patients the difference between the typical in-network health plan payment and the full charge, also known as “balance bills”.

Mar 6, 2024 | kff.org | Justin Lo |Krutika B. Amin |Cynthia Cox

Patient-provider email messaging accelerated early in the COVID-19 pandemic as more patients sought medical care remotely, and the addition of billing codes for digital health services and subsequent changes in insurers’ payment policies have enabled providers to bill insurers and patients for messaging. This analysis examines the typical cost of patient-provider email messaging in 2020 and 2021 using private health insurance claims data.

Jul 18, 2023 | kff.org | Matt McGough |Krutika B. Amin |Nirmita Panchal |Cynthia Cox

Editor’s Note: This brief was updated on July 18, 2023, with newer data. In 2020 and 2021, firearms contributed to the deaths of more children ages 1-17 years in the U.S. than any other type of injury or illness. The child firearm mortality rate has doubled in the U.S. from a recent low of 1.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2013 to 3.7 in 2021. The United States has by far the highest rate of child and teen firearm mortality among peer nations.