A car accident in 2019 smashed six of Mark Gottlieb's teeth and severely damaged four vertebrae. The spinal surgery he needed as a result led to medical bills that exhausted the personal injury coverage in his auto insurance. Erica Seryhm Lee for KHN hide caption
Medicare Advantage, a fast-growing private alternative to original Medicare, has enrolled more than 26 million people. Humana Inc. is one of the largest of these insurers. While popular with seniors, Medicare Advantage has been the target of multiple government investigations. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption
In a February visit to Pfizer's Kalamazoo, Mich., manufacturing complex, President Biden said the administration had "used the Defense Production Act to speed up the supply chain for ... key equipment, like fill pumps and filters, which has already helped increase vaccine production." Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
President Biden inspects COVID-19 vaccine freezers at a Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., with White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on Feb. 19. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with Boston Children's Hospital and Castlight Health launched a new tool that allows Americans to search for COVID-19 vaccine providers with stock of vaccine where they live. Michele Abercrombie/NPR hide caption
A worker carries boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that were being prepared for shipment from a Pfizer facility in Portage, Mich., in December. Morry Gash/Pool/Getty Images hide caption
Mikkel and Kayla Kjelshus' daughter, Charlie, had a complication during delivery that caused her oxygen levels to drop and put her at risk for brain damage. Charlie needed seven days of neonatal intensive care, which resulted in a huge bill — $207,455 for the NICU alone — and confusion over which parent's insurer would cover the little girl's health costs. Christopher Smith for KHN hide caption
A health worker holds an N95 respirator in the emergency room at OakBend Medical Center in Richmond, Texas, in July. N95s are tested and approved by a federal agency as having demonstrated that they can filter out a minimum of 95% of airborne particles. Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
An illustration shows medical student Elizabeth Blackwell at Geneva Medical College (later Hobart College) in upstate New York, as she eyes a note dropped onto her arm by a male student, during a lecture in the college's operating room. Bettmann/Getty Images hide caption
People line up on Thursday for the first day of Clark County's pilot COVID-19 vaccination program at Cashman Center in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption
Nurses at Albany Medical Center picketed on Dec.1, asking for more personal protective equipment. They say they're having to reuse N95 masks up to 20 times. Hans Pennink hide caption
While waiting for a liver transplant in 2011, 21-year-old Matthew Rosiello (shown here getting catheter help from his mom while he was on the waitlist) was advised by his doctors to relocate from New York to Ohio — where the wait would be shorter. Indeed, in 2012 Rosiello received a liver transplant in Cleveland. AP Photo/Craig Ruttle hide caption
Congress passed a measure to curb surprise medical bills as part of the pandemic stimulus deal. Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
A worker passes through the security gate at the Moderna campus in Norwood, Mass., one of the sites where the biotechnology company is manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccine. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption