Why investigate one patient's charges?
A feature in health care journalism is the deep dive into medical bills. With the series Bill of the Month, NPR and Kaiser Health News regularly investigate specific bills to shed light on the costs of care in the United States. This type of consumer advocacy is most effective when the bill in question exposes common problems.
One reader objected to a recent Bill of the Month story, concerned that drawing attention to a high colonoscopy bill will deter others from getting their screening tests.
Raising that concern is really raising a question about journalistic purpose. Bill of the Month was not designed to educate people about getting their recommended cancer screenings.
Medical bill investigations are about accountability. That's because paying for medical care in the U.S. means navigating a Byzantine and opaque system. It's often difficult for the average consumer to cut through the bureaucracy to arrive at a clear understanding of the money owed after a medical treatment.
This gap between the reader's concern and the story's intent exposes a common shortcoming in the news. Journalists rarely tell their audience what the purpose of a story is. Mostly they assume that the story itself makes their intention clear.
Bill of the Month is an exception.
