Patients struggle with hospital and insurance costs

The articles below focus on the intersection of hospital costs and insurance prices.

Catch up with the coverage.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. da un discurso en un mitin a favor de Donald Trump en el Colegio Comunitario Macomb, en Michigan, el viernes 1 de noviembre de 2024. Kennedy es candidato a ser secretario de Salud en el gobierno de Trump. By Mandi Wright

NO. 1: HOW MUCH WILL THAT SURGERY COST? HOSPITAL PRICES REMAIN LARGELY UNHELPFUL

The goal is to force hospitals and health insurance companies to make it easier for consumers to compare. | Published April 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Daniel Chang

Health insurance premiums have more than quadrupled since 1999, outpacing inflation. Americans face an average 20% rise in ACA premiums next year.

NO. 2: HERE ARE THE PRICE INCREASES THAT SHOULD CAUSE AMERICANS MORE ALARM

Wary of inflation, Americans have been watching the prices of everyday items such as eggs and gasoline. | Published August 25, 2025 | Read Full Story by Elisabeth Rosenthal

Amy Frank says she spent 17 hours on the phone ensuring that post-surgery care for her husband, Allen Frank, would be covered by insurance. The couple was among 90,000 people in central Missouri caught in the middle of a contract dispute between University of Missouri Health Care, a Columbia, Missouri-based health system, and Anthem, the national health insurance provider.

NO. 3: WHEN HOSPITALS AND INSURERS FIGHT, PATIENTS GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

Amy Frank said it took 17 hours on the phone over nearly three weeks, bouncing between her insurer and her local hospital system, to make sure her plan would cover her husband’s post-surgery care. | Published September 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Bram Sable-Smith

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.