Community With High Medical Debt Questions Its Hospitals鈥 Charity Spending
Pueblo, Colorado, residents have higher-than-average medical debt, while the city鈥檚 two tax-exempt hospitals provide relatively low levels of charity care.
Healthcare Costs
741 - 760 of 1,921 Results
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North Carolina Hospitals Have Sued Thousands of Their Patients, a New Report Finds
An analysis of court records by the state treasurer and Duke researchers finds Atrium Health, originally a public hospital system, accounted for almost a third of the legal actions against North Carolina patients over roughly five years.
How a Surprise Bill Can Hitch a Ride to the Hospital
Season 10, Episode 1The No Surprises Act has helped rein in out-of-network medical bills, but ground ambulances are a costly exception. Hear why this service can still hit patients with big bills and what to do if you get one.
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Proposed Rule Would Make Hospital Prices Even More Transparent
A Biden administration proposal would help standardize the data on prices that hospitals provide to patients, increase its usefulness to consumers, and boost enforcement. Previous rules gave hospitals too many loopholes.
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Journalists Sum Up the Costs to Patients of New Weight Loss Drugs and Hospital Mergers
吃瓜不打烊 and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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New Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug Raises Hopes 鈥 Along With Questions
Clinics serving Alzheimer鈥檚 patients are working out the details of who will get treated with the new drug Leqembi. It won鈥檛 be for everyone with memory-loss symptoms.
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Perspective
Your Exorbitant Medical Bill, Brought to You by the Latest Hospital Merger
After decades of unchecked mergers, health care is the land of giants, with huge medical systems monopolizing care in many cities, states, and even whole regions of the country. This decreases patient choice, impedes innovation, erodes quality of care, and raises prices. And federal regulators have been slow to act.
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What One Lending Company鈥檚 Hospital Contracts Reveal About Financing Patient Debt
Within two years of North Carolina鈥檚 public university system going into business with AccessOne to finance patients鈥 payment plans, nearly half of its patients were in loans that charged interest. As federal scrutiny increases on lenders, 吃瓜不打烊 is sharing that contract and others obtained through public records requests.
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The Real Costs of the New Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug, Most of Which Will Fall to Taxpayers
The annual cost of lecanemab treatment quadruples if the expense of brain scans to monitor for bleeds and other associated care is factored in. The full financial toll likely puts it beyond reach for low-income seniors at risk of Alzheimer鈥檚, experts say.
By Arthur Allen -
Be Aware: Someone Could Steal Your Medical Records and Bill You for Their Care
Consumers should know that this type of fraud can happen, whether from a large-scale breach or theft of an individual鈥檚 data. The result could be thousands of dollars in medical bills.
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Journalists Explore Shortage of Foster Care Sites and Prevalence of Covid Misinformation
吃瓜不打烊 and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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His Anesthesia Provider Billed Medicare Late. He Got Sent to Collections for the $3,000 Tab.
Medicare was supposed to cover the entire cost of his procedure. But after the anesthesia provider failed to file its claims in a timely manner, it billed the patient instead.
Another Try for Mental Health 鈥楶arity鈥
Episode 307President Joe Biden is kicking off his reelection campaign in part by trying to finish a decades-long effort to establish parity in insurance benefits between mental and physical health. Meanwhile, House Republicans are working to add abortion and other contentious amendments to must-pass spending bills. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews 吃瓜不打烊鈥 C茅line Gounder about her podcast 鈥淓pidemic.鈥 The new season focuses on the successful public health effort to eradicate smallpox.
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Covered California to Cut Patient Costs After Democratic Lawmakers Win Funding From Gov. Newsom
California鈥檚 health insurance exchange will reduce how much some patients pay for care next year, including hospital deductibles, appointment copays, and prescription drugs. Lawmakers pressed Gov. Gavin Newsom to make good on a four-year-old pledge to use proceeds from a tax penalty on uninsured people to help people pay for treatment.
By Angela Hart -
New Weight Loss Drugs Carry High Price Tags and Lots of Questions for Seniors
Although nearly 40% of Americans 60 and older are obese, Medicare doesn鈥檛 cover weight loss medications. Meanwhile, studies haven鈥檛 thoroughly examined new drugs鈥 impact on older adults.
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Everything Old Is New Again? The Latest Round of Health Policy Proposals Reprises Existing Ideas
House Republican legislation promises more health insurance options but fewer protections, even as the Biden administration seeks to rein in short-term plans, which were expanded in the Trump era.
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Journalists Discuss Abortion Lawsuits and the Pros and Cons of Health Care Sharing Plans
吃瓜不打烊 and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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Perspective
Medical Debt Is Making Americans Angry. Doctors and Hospitals Ignore This at Their Peril.
Doctors and hospitals hold an exalted position in American life, retaining public confidence even as other institutions such as government, law enforcement, and the media are losing people鈥檚 trust. But with health care debt out of hand, medical providers risk their good standing.
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A Mom Owed Nearly $102,000 for Hospital Care. Her State Attorney General Said to Pay Up.
As politicians bash privately run hospitals for their aggressive debt collection tactics, consumer advocates say one North Carolina family鈥檚 six-figure medical bill is an example of how state attorneys general and state-operated hospitals also can harm patients financially.
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Once the New Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Is Available, What About Cost and Coverage?
The Food and Drug Administration鈥檚 approval is viewed as groundbreaking, but many details still must be figured out.