Dhaval Bhatt plays Monopoly with his children, Hridaya (left) and Martand, at their home in St. Peters, Missouri. Martand's mother took him to a children's hospital in April after he burned his hand, and the bill for the emergency room visit was more than $1,000 — even though the child was never seen by a doctor. Whitney Curtis for Kaiser Health News hide caption
May Nast arrives for dinner at RiverWalk, an independent senior housing facility, in New York, April 1, 2021. COVID-19 infections are soaring again at U.S. nursing homes because of the omicron wave, and deaths are climbing too. That's leading to new restrictions on family visits and a renewed push to get more residents and staff members vaccinated and boosted. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
A photo of Tony Tsantinis hangs in a collage set up for a celebration of his life on the final day that Athens Pizza in Brimfield, Mass., was open for business. Tsantinis, who owned the pizzeria for many years, died of COVID-19 last month when efforts to find space at a hospital that could offer him a higher level of care could not be found. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
André Lee, administrator and co-founder of Heart and Soul Hospice, stands with Keisha Mason, director of nursing, in front of their office building last week in Nashville, Tenn. Erica Calhoun for NPR hide caption
Baby Dorian Bennett arrived two months early and needed neonatal intensive care. Despite having insurance, mom Bisi Bennett and her husband faced a bill of more than $550,000 and were offered an installment payment plan of $45,843 per month for 12 months. Zack Wittman for Kaiser Health News hide caption
Longmont United Hospital nurse Brooke Schroeder holds a sign supporting nurses December 2, 2021. Nurses say the hospital is severely understaffed and they're trying to form a union. Hart Van Denburg/CPR News hide caption
Leslie Clayton, a physician assistant in Minnesota, says a name change for her profession is long overdue. "We don't assist," she says. "We provide care as part of a team." Liam James Doyle for KHN hide caption
(from left) Kevin Dedner founded Hurdle, a mental health startup that pairs patients with therapists. Ashlee Wisdom's company, Health in Her Hue, connects women of color with culturally sensitive medical providers. Nathan Pelzer's Clinify Health analyzes data to help doctors identify at-risk patients in underserved areas. Erica Plybeah's firm, MedHaul, arranges transport to medical appointments. Kevin Dedner; Kolin Mendez Photography; Aaron Gang Photography; Starboard & Port Creative hide caption
Some doctors, medical associations and members of Congress are complaining that the rule released by the Biden administration this fall for implementing the law to stop surprise medical bills actually favors insurers and doesn't follow the spirit of the legislation. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption
Medicare Advantage health plans have enrolled nearly 27 million members, or about 45% of people eligible for Medicare. A recent analysis finds Medicare overpaid the private health plans by more than $106 billion from 2010 through 2019 because of the way the plans charge for sicker patients. Innocenti/Image Source/Getty Images hide caption
Dr. Lee Merritt is a orthopedic and spinal surgeon who spreads misinformation about COVID-19. She is affiliated with a prominent right-wing group known as America's Frontline Doctors. R. Kellman/Screenshot from Rumble hide caption
When Caitlin Wells Salerno and Jon Salerno's first son, Hank, was born, his delivery cost the family only $30. Gus' bill came in at more than $16,000, all told — including the $2,755 ER charge. The family was responsible for about $3,600 of the total. Rae Ellen Bichell/KHN hide caption
Nurses check on a patient in a Jonesboro, Ark., ICU in August when the delta variant sparked yet another surge of serious COVID-19 cases in the region. The pandemic has only added to a longstanding nursing shortage in the U.S., statistics show. Houston Cofield/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption