By Jackie Fortiér, Oona Zenda, KFF Health News

“My son was diagnosed with congenital CMV, a virus that can cause hearing loss. As part of this diagnosis, he will be required to have routine hearing tests every few months until he is 10 years old. I reached out to you because I wanted to know why my son’s hearing tests weren’t covered by our insurance and why we needed to pay for it.”

— Anna Deutscher, 29, from Minnesota, writing about her infant son, Beckham

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Trying to figure out why her claim was denied took Anna Deutscher a lot of time and work.

Baby Beckham’s hearing screenings were preventive care, which is supposed to be covered by law. Every hearing test cost them about $350 out-of-pocket. Between those bills and Beckham’s other health costs, the family maxed out two credit cards.

“Everything just immediately goes right to trying to pay that debt off,” Deutscher said.

At times, she felt overwhelmed by her son’s medical needs, on top of working. Deutscher said she “didn’t know what else to do” when her insurance company kept saying no to her requests that it pay for the hearing tests.

No one wants to spend time fighting their health insurance company. Many people feel they don’t have the knowledge or stamina to do it. But if, like Deutscher, you’re denied for a preventive service, it may be worth it.

Here are a few tips — a slingshot and a few stones, so you can be David when facing a health care Goliath.

1. Check Your Policy

Read your plan documents to confirm whether the treatment or service is covered. Pay attention to any exclusions or limitations. Deutscher’s plan documents say hearing tests are not covered. But even when a sought-after benefit is excluded, that might not be the end of the line.

2. Is the Service Preventive?

Many types of preventive care are supposed to be covered without additional cost under the Affordable Care Act. If you receive a recommended preventive screening and have private insurance, including through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, there should be no copayment at the time of service, and you shouldn’t get a bill later. A small number of insurance plans are “grandfathered in,” which means you may not have the same rights and protections as the ACA provides. Check with your employer’s human resources benefits manager to find out for sure.

A physician recommended regular hearing screenings for the Deutschers’ baby, which the healthcare.gov list indicates should be considered preventive and covered by insurance. But JoAnn Volk, an insurance expert and a research professor at Georgetown University, said real life often doesn’t match what the law requires.

“It really does come down to everyone sort of being on their best behavior on the provider and plan side to truly interpret and follow what should be covered,” Volk said.

3. Peel Apart the Denial

If you’ve been denied coverage, you need to know why. Health insurance companies are required to explain every denial. The denial letter or your explanation of benefits should state the reason, which may be a coverage exclusion, incorrect coding, or a determination that the service was deemed not medically necessary. Follow up and ask for specific details about the denial and the criteria used, and request an explanation of benefits. Then use that information to build an appeal, being sure to address the reason for the denial.

4. File the Appeal

There are a few steps to know, but you don’t have to be a lawyer to figure them out. Usually there’s an appeal form to fill out. Visit your insurer’s website, check your explanation of benefits, or call your insurer and ask how to get started. The process typically includes writing a letter saying why you disagree with the denial. Include any medical records or test results that support your case and a copy of the federal guidelines that show the care is a covered, preventive service. If you can, ask your physician to write a letter explaining why the service is preventive and necessary.

Your insurance company has 30 to 60 days to respond, depending on your state and health plan. If your appeal is denied, try again. Some people win on the second go-round.

If your appeal is denied a second time, you can request an external medical review. That process is led by a medical professional who is supposed to make an unbiased decision. In California, for instance, many health plans fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Managed Health Care.

“In 2023, 72% of health plan members that came to us and filed an independent medical review ended up getting the service that they requested,” said Mary Watanabe, who leads the department.

Keep deadlines in mind. How much time you have to file should be on your explanation of benefits. Your insurer is required by law to accept the external reviewer’s decision.

For more help starting an appeal or asking for an external review, visit healthcare.gov or your state insurance department.

5. Ask Human Resources for Help

If you get coverage through your job and you’re hitting roadblocks, consider emailing your human resources department. HR folks have contacts with the insurance companies you don’t and may save you a few calls to the 800 number on the back of your insurance card. Legally, HR is under no obligation to help, and covering a health service may not be in your employer’s financial interest. But sending HR the documents you prepared for the insurance appeal may prompt them to push the insurance company to take another look.

“The whole point of employers offering benefits is to attract and retain a solid workforce, right?” Volk said.

Making a case to HR may be a ramp toward getting the treatment or service covered the next time your company revises its health plan offerings, said Rhonda Buckholtz, a consultant who advises businesses on medical billing.

She said consumers can do a quick online search to see whether other large insurance companies in their area cover the health care service they need. That information can give you leverage, Buckholtz said.

Going to HR helped Deutscher. Eventually, her employer said it would cover the cost of hearing tests for baby Beckham for the current plan year. Deutscher’s employer has a self-funded plan, which gives companies the ability to customize benefits. It ultimately decided to add hearing tests as a standard benefit for all employees.

“It’s been like this constant cloud hanging over my head, so for that to suddenly be lifted, it didn’t feel real. I also have never gone to my HR for something like this before. I didn’t even know this was an option,” Deutscher said.

Health Care Helpline helps you navigate the health system hurdles between you and good care. Send us your tricky question and we may tap a policy sleuth to puzzle it out. The crowdsourced project is a joint production of NPR and KFF Health News.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

A Reddit user recently asked for advice about whether to save for retirement, or for their young children’s future college expenses.

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Respondents urged the user to prioritize retirement. Take care of yourself, one said, so you won’t be a burden to your children one day.

You can take out loans for college, but not for retirement, another noted.

We asked financial experts the same question. How can parents juggle these two competing financial goals?

Think about your family’s priorities

The decision may not be so cut-and-dried for you.

As with other kinds of personal finance decisions, this one comes down to very personal choices, says Kevin Mahoney, a certified financial planner and founder of Illumint, a financial planning firm for millennials based in Washington, D.C.

“Some people have a specific retirement lifestyle in mind, which has significant implications for how much money they’ll need in retirement,” he says.

Similarly, he adds, some families are committed to paying whatever is needed for college to ensure their children can attend the school they want.

How people value those two experiences can determine where they want to put their money, Mahoney says.

Put yourself first

The sentiment among the Reddit responses was to prioritize your own needs, which experts agree is sound advice.

“Just like on an airplane, put your own oxygen mask on first,” says Marguerita Cheng, a certified financial planner and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

“There’s all kinds of financial aid for your child, but there’s no financial aid for retirement,” she adds, echoing the Reddit comments.

That’s why she suggests prioritizing saving for retirement — as well as an emergency fund — before turning to college savings.

Get an early start, if possible

“You want to magnify the compounding effect of your retirement savings, so the earlier you begin saving, the better,” says Steven Conners, founder and president of Conners Wealth Management in Scottsdale, Arizona.

A lot of people find themselves unprepared when it comes time to retire, he says.

At the very minimum, Conners suggests, if your job offers a retirement plan with an employer match, contribute enough to get the match. Doing so early gives your money the best chance to grow.

Then, with your contributions on autopilot, you can turn to college savings, which can also compound. A 529 plan allows your money to grow tax-free when used for qualifying education expenses.

Because, as one Redditor suggested, saving for both (retirement and college) is ideal.

College plans also allow for flexibility: You can transfer plans between children and leftover money can be rolled into a Roth IRA in the beneficiary’s name. There is a lifetime limit of $35,000, as long as the account has been open for at least 15 years.

Adjust as you go

Even if you only have a little money available to set aside for retirement or general savings each month, don’t wait, says Cheng.

As young children transition to school and child care costs decrease, you might be able to contribute more and focus on college savings accounts, too.

“The most important thing is to start,” Cheng says, even if you’re only setting aside $50 a month and scaling up from there.

If you lose your job or experience another type of financial hardship, it’s OK to pause savings into both accounts until you recover, Mahoney says.

Another option is to set money aside in a savings or brokerage account that doesn’t come with tax benefits, but gives you maximum flexibility.

“If someone is really conflicted, it’s OK to just invest in a brokerage account and let it grow, then you can make the choice later on,” Mahoney says.

Familiarize yourself with payment options

Mahoney likes to remind clients that savings aren’t the only way to pay for college. There’s also scholarships, student loans and other discounts.

Try getting your kids involved.

Conners says requiring kids to have a part-time job or to otherwise contribute to their college expenses can be a useful life lesson.

It can also teach them to appreciate the value of college more.

“If they realize some of the cost themselves, it’s not totally on the parent,” he says.

Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like saving priorities, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.

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Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

The article Asked on Reddit: Should I Save for My Retirement or My Child’s Education? originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Today is Monday, Sept. 1, the 244th day of 2025. There are 121 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, an event regarded as the start of World War II.

Also on this date:

In 1715, following a reign of 72 years, King Louis XIV of France died four days before his 77th birthday; he was succeeded by his five year-old great-grandson, Louis XV.

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In 1897, the first section of Boston’s new subway was opened, creating the first underground rapid transit system in North America.

In 1914, the passenger pigeon, once one of the most abundant bird species on earth, went extinct as the last known example, named Martha, died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.

In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 140,000 lives.

In 1964, pitcher Masanori Murakami of the San Francisco Giants became the first Japanese baseball player to play in a Major League Baseball game.

In 1969, a coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.

In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of their 21st and final game.

In 1983, 269 people were killed when a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the airliner entered Soviet airspace.

In 1985, a U.S.-French expedition located the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean roughly 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.

In 2004, Islamic terrorists took more than a thousand people hostage in a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia; the siege would end three days later in gunfire and explosions, leaving 334 people dead — more than half of them children.

In 2015, invoking “God’s authority,” Rowan County, Kentucky, Clerk Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to gay couples again in direct defiance of the federal courts and vowed not to resign, even under the pressure of steep fines or jail. (Davis would spend five days in jail as a result, and is currently appealing a ruling ordering her to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in related legal fees.)

Today’s Birthdays:

Attorney and law professor Alan Dershowitz is 87.
Comedian-actor Lily Tomlin is 86.
Singer Barry Gibb is 79.
Talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw is 75.
Singer Gloria Estefan is 68.
TV host-author Padma Lakshmi is 55.
Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira is 54.
Fashion designer Rachel Zoe is 54.
Actor Scott Speedman is 50.
Composer-producer Ludwig Göransson is 41.
Actor-singer Zendaya is 29.

It has become a hauntingly routine paradox in the aftermath of horrific shootings.

An assailant leaves piles of evidence that investigators scrutinize. But law enforcement officials are often left with more questions than answers as they seek to determine a motive.

Officials in Minneapolis were bracing for that outcome as they examined the writings and social media posts of the person they say opened fire through the window of a church packed with schoolchildren Wednesday, killing two.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara (L) listens as acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson (R) speaks during a law enforcement briefing following a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on August 28, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to Minneapolis Police, a gunman fired through the windows of the Annunciation Church at worshippers sitting in pews during a Catholic school Mass, killing two children and injuring at least 17 others. The gunman reportedly died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

“We will follow all of the evidence to its logical conclusion,” Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis police chief, told reporters Thursday. “This may not ultimately provide the answers that our public is looking for.”

Robin Westman, 23, carried out the attack and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. The attacker left behind a lengthy suicide note, journal entries and scribbling on the weapons used in the ambush at the Church of the Annunciation, which is affiliated with an adjacent Catholic school.

The content includes disparaging messages about President Donald Trump, Christians, Black people, Hispanic people, Jews and Israel.

“The shooter expressed hate toward every group imaginable,” said Joseph Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney in Minnesota. “The shooter’s heart was full of hate.”

The sprawling nature of the assailant’s rantings and grievances led government officials and other observers to zero in on single pieces of information immediately after the attack, which also injured 16 children and three adult parishioners.

FBI Director Kash Patel characterized the incident as a “hate crime targeting Catholics.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem drew attention to a message threatening violence toward the president and to the shooter’s gender identity. According to court records, when Westman was 17, she filed a petition to legally change her name to Robin, noting that she identified as female.

Social media was filled with rampant speculation about the shooter’s gender identity and whether the attacker’s recent work at a cannabis dispensary and previous attendance at the school adjacent to the church had factored into a motive.

But the only clear finding so far, law enforcement officials said, was that the attacker had come to idolize mass shooters, particularly those who have killed children.

A dark pattern

Jillian Peterson, a professor of criminology at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, who studies gun violence, said the facts that have emerged so far fit a pattern. Shooters who target children in these attacks tend to be young, isolated, depressed and angry individuals who become obsessed with previous slayings that have generated extensive news coverage.

“It’s sort of this self-hatred that turns outward, and then you have this really angry person who plans to go out in a blaze of glory,” Peterson said.

As communities process the shock and grief of these shootings, she added, there is often a natural desire to make sense of the attacker’s state of mind and intent.

“We want to be able to say, ‘Oh, this person was psychotic, this person was racist, this person was homophobic, and just put a label on it,’” Peterson said. “In many cases, the motive is always the same: to kill as many people as possible” and generate splashy headlines.

In an era of diminishing trust in government institutions and the media, conspiracy theories about high-profile crimes can get significant traction in the absence of a conclusive motive.

The teenager who fatally shot 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, had behaved in alarming ways before the 2022 tragedy. But to this day, the gunman’s motivations remain unclear.

After a former student opened fire at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2023, killing three children and three adults, conservative commentators were convinced that the fact that the assailant had identified as transgender played a role in the crime. But authorities have not been able to draw a clear link, instead emphasizing the assailant’s desire for infamy and fixation on other mass shootings.

Flowers and candles are placed outside the Abundant Life Christian School Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024 in Madison, Wis., following a shooting on Monday. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

After a 15-year-old girl killed two people and wounded six at a Christian school in Wisconsin late last year, authorities said she had become obsessed with previous school shootings. But what motivated the teenager, who died during the attack, was never established.

No clear answers

When shooters are taken into custody and agree to talk about their crimes, their motives can be even murkier.

Early reports from officials about the Minnesota man who prosecutors say opened fire on two state legislators in June appeared to indicate that the suspect was motivated by anti-abortion views.

But later, the suspect, who is facing trial for murder and other crimes, provided a set of confounding explanations. In a letter to the FBI, he called the attack part of a dark plot involving Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota and competition for the state’s U.S. Senate seats.

More recently, he told reporters the crime had to do with his theories about COVID-19 vaccines.

Mary Ellen O’Toole, a retired FBI agent who spent years assembling profiles of infamous criminals, said that sometimes attackers themselves seem unable to make sense of their actions.

“When the offender survives and you go in and talk to them and say: ‘What were your motives?’ they oftentimes cannot articulate what they were,” said O’Toole, a forensic sciences professor at George Mason University.

Understanding signs

While the question of motive certainly matters — particularly if a defendant goes on trial — a more pressing one is how to identify and respond to risk factors.

O’Toole and Peterson said these types of shooters often are consumed with rage in a way that becomes apparent to loved ones and acquaintances. Men between the ages of 15 and 25 appear to be particularly susceptible to becoming fixated with mass carnage, O’Toole said.

In the months ahead, O’Toole said, federal investigators will strive to assemble a detailed portrait of the Minneapolis church shooter. Their main goal will not be to understand precisely what motivated the attacker, but rather the evolution of the shooter’s radicalization and any warning signs that may have gone unheeded.

“They want to be able to use this information to prevent the next one,” she said. “I can tell you there are already people that are considering carrying out a mass shooting based on what they’ve seen” in Minneapolis.

People arrive before mass at Annunciation Church and School on Aug. 30, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The church service is the first to occur since a mass shooting took place there earlier this week. According to Minneapolis Police, a gunman fired through the windows of the Annunciation Church at worshippers sitting in pews during a Catholic school Mass, killing two children and injuring at least 18 others. The gunman reportedly died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Echoes of Aurora shooting

The questions that grieving parents and shell-shocked leaders in Minnesota began grappling with last week are painfully familiar to those who lost loved ones in the 2012 attack at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., which killed 12 people.

The prosecutor who secured a conviction and life sentence in that gunman’s trial argued that he had a wanton hatred of humanity. The assailant’s defense lawyers said he was mentally ill and delusional.

People parsed the Aurora assailant’s notebook entries and social media photos for clues.

“Even ourselves, we were like, ‘Why would anybody do this?’” said Sandy Phillips, whose daughter, Jessi Redfield Ghawi, a budding sports reporter, was killed in the shooting.

But after learning how easily the gunman had obtained the weapons and ammunition he used in the attack, Phillips said the motive ceased to matter.

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“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “We want an easy answer: This guy was crazy, or this was a white nationalist, or this guy was trans. Who cares? The fact is, we’re not doing what needs to be done as a society to stop the killing.”

Phillips, who has called for tougher gun regulations and co-founded a group that works with victims of shootings and their families, said she was frustrated to see news coverage of the Minneapolis church shooting again focused on trying to parse the shooter’s motive.

“The answer to the ‘why’ is,” Phillips said, “because he could.”