Category: Health Costs
Health reads of the week
Must-read health care stories of the week from Kaiser Health News’ Brianna Labuskes.
Health care industry spends $30B a year on advertising
Marketing drives more testing…more treatments. It’s a big part of why health care is so expensive… it’s the fancy, high-tech stuff things that get marketed.
How much will that operation cost?
Hospitals now must to post their prices online. But what is popping up on hospital websites is a dog’s breakfast of codes, abbreviations and dollar signs.
Insured But Still In Debt: 5 Jobs Pulling In $100K A Year No Match For Medical Bills
Middle-class folks with employer-based insurance are still being swamped by high deductibles, high copayments and surprise medical bills.
Taking Surprise Medical Bills To Court
Joaquin Lopez had emergency gallbladder surgery after rushing to an ER last year. He has been haggling with the hospital over what he owes ever since.
One in three Americans delay care because of costs – poll
Gallup poll finds roughly three in 10 Americans reporting they held off seeking some kind of medical treatment in the past year due to costs.
Medical device breaks – a big bill follows
Charges: $99,159 for emergency services, therapy and hospital care, including $52,587 for the first surgery and $43,208 for the second to replace broken device.
Patients Protest Sky-High Insulin Prices
Insulin prices tripled, then doubled again and now lists over $300 for a single vial. Most people with Type 1 diabetes need multiple vials every month to live.
One Breast Implant, Two Prices. It Depends on Who’s Paying.
Breast implants pricing gives a glimpse into how hospitals mark up prices of medical devices to boost their bottom lines.
No Cash, No Heart. Transplant Centers Require Proof Of Payment.
Virtually all transplant centers require patients to verify how they will pay bills that can total $400,000 for a kidney transplant or $1.3 million for a heart.
Bill for two infusions of MS drug: $123,000
No one told Shereese Hickson she qualified for financial assistance to cover her portion of a $123,019 bill until she called the hospital.
Pricey precision medicine can be financially toxic
The high cost of cutting-edge treatments threatens to keep precision medicine, one of the most celebrated areas in cancer care, out of reach for many patients.
Charge for allergy test: $48,329
Her doctor had warned her that the extensive allergy skin-patch testing she needed might be expensive, but she wasn’t too worried: she had good insurance.
This week’s health news ‘must reads’
Election stories made up the bulk of the health care news this week. Other great gems and intriguing developments surfaced, though, so let’s get to it.
Health Care Tops Guns, Economy As Voters’ Top Issue
Seven in 10 people list health care as “very important” as they make their voting choices, eclipsing economy, gun policy, immigration and foreign policy.