Diagnosed with cancer five years ago, Monica Reed of Knoxville, Tennessee, was left with nearly $10,000 in medical bills she couldn't pay. Medical debt is more prevalent among the Black community in Knoxville, than among whites. Jamar Coach for KHN and NPR hide caption
Paul Hinds has navigated the financial maze of health care during treatment for prostate cancer with the help of his girlfriend, Dr. Josie Tenore. Taylor Glascock/Taylor Glascock hide caption
Penelope Wingard of Charlotte, N.C., has survived breast cancer, a brain aneurysm and surgery on both eyes. For the past eight years, she's also been battling tens of thousands of dollars in medical debt. Aneri Pattani/ KHN hide caption
Aerial view of downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Some hospitals in Texas and around the U.S. are seeing high profits, even as their bills force patients into debt. Of the nation's 20 most populous counties, none has a higher concentration of medical debt than Tarrant County, home to Fort Worth. Jupiterimages/Getty Images hide caption
Montana health officials are seeking to increase oversight of nonprofit hospitals amid debate about whether they pay their fair share. The proposal comes nine months after a KHN investigation found that some of Montana's wealthiest hospitals, such as the Billings Clinic, lag behind state and national averages in community giving. Lynn Donaldson/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Bennett Markow looks to his big brother, Eli (right), during a family visit at UC Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento. Bennett was born four months early, in November 2020. Crissa Markow hide caption
After a hospital stay, many patients are surveyed to weigh in on how good their experience was. Survey results can affect how much hospitals get paid. But instances of racial or other discrimination are not covered in the surveys. David Sacks/Getty Images hide caption
Catholic health care systems can limit access to birth control. Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption
Surgical instruments used in a kidney transplant in 2016. The agency that oversees organ allocation, the United Network for Organ Sharing, is under scrutiny after a report documented loss and waste of donated organs, often because of problems transporting the organs. Molly Riley/AP hide caption
Rural communities with struggling hospitals often turn to outside investors willing to take over their health care centers. Some are willing to sell the hospitals for next to nothing to companies that promise to keep them running. MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Demonstrators outside PhRMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., protest lobbying by pharmaceutical companies to keep Medicare from negotiating lower prescription drug prices. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Delta-8 products are set for testing at Virginia Commonwealth University's forensic science lab. These products come in different forms and packaging, many of which are designed to look like candies or cereal. Crixell Matthews/VPM News hide caption
Lucille Brooks, a retiree who lives in Pittsford, New York, was sued in 2020 for nearly $8,000 by a nursing home that had taken care of her brother. The nursing home dropped the case after she showed she had no control over his money or authority to make decisions for him. Heather Ainsworth for KHN hide caption
The FDA is trying to make "bivalent" COVID vaccines, which target two different antigens, available as soon as September. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption