Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health’ Surprise! Fixing surprise medical bills is harder than it looks

Surprise medical bills — when patients receive an unexpected bill from a health provider not in their insurance network — are among the few problems in health care just about everyone wants to solve. But it turns out that no one in the health industry wants to take responsibility for paying those bills. That could complicate efforts toward a legislative fix, despite bipartisan support.

And the 2020 presidential campaign is already in full swing, with candidates staking out some surprisingly diverse positions on how to expand access to health care.

This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

Also, Rovner interviews Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, who is stepping down in early April.

Among the takeaways from this week's podcast:

• State and federal lawmakers of both parties and industry groups say they want to find a way to protect patients from getting surprise bills from out-of-network doctors and hospitals after treatment. But they can't find agreement on a way to fix the system.
• Efforts to end surprise bills generally fall into two categories: setting rates for out-of-network services (which might be based on some percentage of Medicare rates) or requiring patients and providers to go through an arbitration process (a technique some states are using).
• Among Democratic candidates for president, the push for switching to a "Medicare-for-all" system appears to be moderating a bit as more centrists call for less sweeping changes in the health care system, hoping to avoid blowback from people who like their current insurance and a united opposition from industry groups.
• The Trump administration's budget proposal would put money behind the effort to stop the spread of HIV. But while medical advances have made HIV eradication possible, obstacles remain, including the difficulty of reaching many of the communities that need the support.

Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:

Julie Rovner: Fortune's "Death by a Thousand Clicks: Where Electronic Health Records Went Wrong," by Erika Fry and KHN's Fred Schulte

Joanne Kenen: NBC's "Surprise Medical Bills Lead to Liens on Homes and Crippling Debt," by Lindsey Bomnin and Stephanie Gosk

Anna Edney: Stat News' "The Astounding 19-Year Journey to a Sea Change for Heart Patients," by Matthew Herper

Alice Miranda Ollstein: The New York Times' "States Seek Financial Relief for Family Caregivers," by KHN's Samantha Young

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