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In rugged, rural areas, patients often have little choice about how they'll get to the hospital in an emergency. "The presence of private equity in the air ambulance industry indicates that investors see profit opportunities," a 2017 report from the federal Government Accountability Office notes.

Wyoming Wants To Use Medicaid To Reduce Air Ambulance Bills For All Patients

Frustrated with sky-high bills from air ambulance companies, Wyoming hopes to hammer down those charges with more regulation. The companies say such a proposal undermines free enterprise.

Seema Verma, chief administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, says the changes in the way Medicaid is funded and regulated in Tennessee "could be a national model moving forward."

Trump Officials Approve Tennessee's Controversial Request To Revamp Medicaid Funding

The plan, long endorsed by conservatives, would give the state broad flexibility in running its health insurance program for the poor, while capping annual federal funding for the program.

A proposed rule could cause headaches and extra work for the successor of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, seen with President Trump in November.

Trump HHS Proposal Criticized As Burden For Biden Administration

The rule would require health officials to review about 2,400 regulations on everything from Medicare benefits to prescription drugs approvals. Those not analyzed within two years would become void.

Mary Estime-Irvin, a councilwoman in North Miami, Fla., writes the name of a friend lost to COVID-19 on a symbolic tombstone that is part of a pandemic memorial at Griffing Park in North Miami in October.

As Death Rate Accelerates, U.S. Records 400,000 Lives Lost To The Coronavirus

Although vaccination has begun, this winter has been the deadliest season of the pandemic. The U.S. death toll jumped from 300,000 to 400,000 in just five weeks.

Surgeons are starting to reduce their opioid prescribing habits a little. But they still prescribe a lot of pain pills in the midst of an opioid addiction crisis.

Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Are Slowing The Flow Of Pills — But Progress Is Slow

After a group of hospitals in Michigan implemented opioid prescribing guidelines, surgeons there reduced the number of pills they prescribed by around a third. Nationally numbers are slow to change.

"As deductibles rise, patients have the right to know the price of health care services so they can shop around for the best deal," says Seema Verma, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and announced the Trump administration's plan this week.

Trump Team's Bid To Make Hospital Costs More Transparent Is Data-Heavy

The administration's rules would require hospitals to provide far more detail about the actual prices they charge insurers for medical care. Would patients welcome the data, or feel overwhelmed?

Mercy Hospital Fort Scott closed in December, leaving Fort Scott Kan., without its longtime provider of emergency medical services.

No Mercy: After The Hospital Closes, How Do People Get Emergency Care?

The loss of the longtime hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., has forced a change in the way ER care is provided, including a greater reliance on air ambulances.

The nearly 5,600-page legislative package that Congress passed in December includes new laws regarding aid to rural hospitals, funds for training more physicians, modest improvements in mental health care parity, and medical bill transparency.

Beyond COVID-19: 4 Other Key Health Issues Congress Recently Addressed

The huge spending bill Congress passed last month included aid to rural hospitals, training for new doctors, new rules regarding mental health coverage and requirements for billing transparency.

Peter Prater survived a case of COVID-19 after an outbreak hit his home, the Tallahassee Developmental Center in April. No federal agency tracks how many of the estimated 300,000 people who live in such facilities nationwide have caught COVID-19 or died as a result.

People With Intellectual Disabilities Are Often Overlooked In Pandemic Response

Without federal tracking, no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus. And few states are prioritizing them for vaccination.

Once the rules for implementing it are worked out, a bill signed into federal law in December will eliminate the required five-month waiting period for diagnosed ALS patients to begin disability benefits, enabling quicker Medicare coverage as well.

ALS Patients To Gain Quicker Access To Disability Benefits And Medicare

Lou Gehrig's disease can take months to diagnose, then rapidly incapacitate patients, leaving many families bankrupt before disability payments and Medicare kick in. A recent law aims to change that.

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