Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations. Note to readers: KHN’s First Edition will not be published Monday, July 5. Happy Independence Day from all of us at KHN!
KHN:
Hospital Prices Must Now Be Transparent. For Many Consumers, They’re Still Anyone’s Guess.
A colonoscopy might cost you or your insurer a few hundred dollars — or several thousand, depending on which hospital or insurer you use. Long hidden, such price variations are supposed to be available in stark black and white under a Trump administration price transparency rule that took effect at the start of this year. It requires hospitals to post a range of actual prices — everything from the rates they offer cash-paying customers to costs negotiated with insurers. (Appleby, 7/2)
KHN:
Unprecedented Lobbying Effort Scores Big Win For California Public Health
After more than a decade of fruitless entreaties from public health advocates, Democratic lawmakers have secured a landmark agreement that promises $300 million a year in new state funding to fortify and reimagine California’s hollowed-out public health system, a complex network of services shouldered largely by the state’s 61 local health departments. The deal, outlined this week as the Democratic-controlled legislature approved a record $262.6 billion state budget for fiscal year 2021-22, marked a dramatic…
