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Chantal Panozzo and her husband, who live in the Chicago suburbs, expected their first routine colonoscopies would be free — fully covered by insurance as preventive care under federal law. Taylor Glascock/KFF Health News hide caption
The colonoscopies were free but the 'surgical trays' came with $600 price tags
Secretary Xavier Becerra, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Becerra announced Wednesday his agency is seeing record enrollment numbers for Affordable Care Act health plans. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League hide caption
For the third year in a row, ACA health insurance plans see record signups
Open enrollment started Nov. 1 for Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces. Carmel Wroth/NPR hide caption
Bethany Birch paid more than $5,200 toward her medical debt after getting sued by Ballad Health in 2018. Owing to a Tennessee court judgment, she accrued an additional $2,700 in interest over that time. Maddy Alewine/KFF Health News hide caption
The hospital bills didn't find her, but a lawsuit did — plus interest
CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, pictured in 2021, said "we want our programs to be consistent" when asked late last year whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would eliminate premiums in all Medicaid waivers. CNP/Rod Lamkey/CNP/Sipa USA via Reuters hide caption
A special open enrollment period on all Affordable Care Act marketplaces, including on the federal insurance exchange, HealthCare.gov, runs until Aug. 15. Many people qualify for free or low-cost plans. HealthCare.gov/Screenshot by NPR hide caption
Uninsured Or Unemployed? You Might Be Missing Out On Free Health Insurance
Health care costs — including for things such as an insulin kit, for instance — can be catastrophically high for millions of Americans, even those with health insurance, a study finds. Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
An expanding number of state health exchanges are reopening enrollment this month to help uninsured residents gain coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Max Posner/NPR hide caption
Families affected by preexisting medical conditions attend a Capitol Hill news conference in 2018 in support of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to the ACA, insurers could refuse to cover people who had even mild preexisting conditions — or charge them much more. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
The deadline for the open enrollment period to sign-up on the federal exchanges for health care coverage is Dec. 15 Brakkton Booker/NPR hide caption
Information cards are displayed during an Affordable Care Act enrollment event in San Antonio, Texas, in 2016. A federal judge struck down the health insurance law as unconstitutional Friday. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
On March 21, 2010, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), alongside fellow anti-abortion Democrats, holds up a copy of an executive order from President Barack Obama guaranteeing no federal funding for abortion. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the ranking member, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, meet before the start of a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017, the morning after they reached a deal to resume federal payments to health insurers that President Donald Trump had halted. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar speaks to the House Ways and Means Committee last week in Washington about the FY19 budget. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption
The Washington Post reports that President Trump, shown here with former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, personally intervened to delay approval of Iowa's waiver application. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Entrepreneur Stinson Dean (left) and his wife Stephanie play with their three children in their yard in Independence, Mo. He says the Affordable Care Act made it possible for him to start his own business. Alex Smith/KCUR hide caption
Sometimes customers are surprised when their insurance coverage changes, but there is help available to sort it out. Tetra Images/Getty Images hide caption
People with high-value health plans may not be able to get out of paying the tax bill. Gary Waters/Getty Images/Ikon Images hide caption
Tax Credits, Penalties And Age Rating: Parsing The GOP Health Bill
Luke Franco, 26, works three jobs and doesn't know whether he qualifies for Medicaid or a subsidy to buy coverage on the exchange set up under the Affordable Care Act. Kristin Gourlay/RINPR hide caption
People will still be able to buy health insurance if they have pre-existing conditions, but its not clear how healthy the health insurance market would be under the GOP bill. andresr/Getty Images hide caption