Category: Health Insurance
How does your hospital measure up?
Trying to find a hospital nearby with doctors that accept Medicare? Or, perhaps you’re planning to have surgery or are thinking about your future needs. Visit Medicare.gov to find a hospital in your area that best meets your needs.
Health disparities cost to U.S. economy tops $450 billion a year
Most of the economic burden for racial and ethnic disparities was borne by Black/African American population (69%) due to the level of premature mortality. Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ($23,225) and American Indian/Alaska Native ($12,351) populations had the highest economic burden per person.
‘Grotesque Catch-22’ – Sickest Rural Adults Are the Least Likely to Be Able to Pay for Healthcare
Research on cost barriers to health care found that rural adults were more likely than urban adults to report being unable to pay their medical bills or have problems paying their medical bills. Rural adults also were more likely to use medications in ways not prescribed (like taking pills every other day or only filling prescriptions every other month) to save money on medication.
Millions of Kids Could Lose Health Coverage as States Purge Medicaid Rolls
Now that the COVID-19 public health emergency is ending, states are once again free to verify that enrollees are still qualified and cancel their coverage if they’re not. Experts warn that states could sever as many as 15 million Americans, including 7 million children, from the health coverage they relied on through the pandemic.
How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them
A Cigna algorithm flags mismatches between diagnoses and what the company considers acceptable tests and procedures for those ailments. Company doctors then sign off on the denials in batches, according to interviews with former employees who spoke on condition of anonymity.
HOW TO KEEP MEDICAID APPLE HEALTH INSURANCE AS POLICIES CHANGE
Thousands of people who have health insurance through Medicaid (also known as Apple Health, in Washington) risk losing coverage in coming months. The good news: There are options for people to keep health insurance coverage – if they act in time.
Surprise-Billing Law Loophole: When ‘Out of Network’ Doesn’t Quite Mean Out of Network
Referred to Swedish Maternal & Fetal Specialty Center – First Hill for pregnancy complications, Danielle Laskey, a registered nurse, was surprised with a $120,000 hospital bill.
Act fast if you feel you have COVID symptoms, Medicare urges
Feeling sick? If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, act fast!COVID-19 antiviral treatments can help reduce your symptoms and keep you out of the hospital, but you must take them as soon as possible.
Get help paying for prescriptions
Many Washington residents need help paying for prescription drugs. The Washington Prescription Drug Program (WPDP) offers a state-sponsored program to provide savings to Washingtonians through the ArrayRx discount card.
Most Healthplanfinder enrollees can find a cheaper plan with the same coverage—if they shop around.
Customers can save an average of $1,300 annually ($110 monthly) for the same level of coverage they’re already paying for.
Supreme Court Case Could Curtail Rights of Medicaid Patients
Twenty-two Republican-leaning states have urged the Supreme Court to block beneficiaries of federal safety net programs from suing. If the court agrees participants in many federal entitlement programs could lose the right to go to court when they believe a state, city or county has violated their rights in the administration of those programs.
Endgame: How the Visionary Hospice Movement Became a For-Profit Hustle
It might be counterintuitive to run an enterprise that is wholly dependent on clients who aren’t long for this world, but companies in the hospice business can expect some of the biggest returns for the least amount of effort of any sector in American health care. Medicare pays providers a set rate per patient per day, regardless of how much help they deliver. Since most hospice care takes place at home and nurses aren’t required to visit more than twice a month, it’s not difficult to keep overhead low and to outsource the bulk of the labor to unpaid family members — assuming that willing family members are at hand.
Many Patients Can’t Afford Health Costs Even With Insurance
Many Americans have policies that only provide limited financial protection, to the point that many patients report forgoing needed medical care or prescriptions to avoid being hit with punishing out-of-pocket costs.
In America, Cancer Patients Endure Debt on Top of Disease
Cancer kills about 600,000 people in the U.S. every year, making it a leading cause of death. Many more survive it, because of breakthroughs in medicines and therapies. But the high costs of modern-day care have left millions with a devastating financial burden. That’s forced patients and their families to make gut-wrenching sacrifices even as they confront a grave illness.
New Safeguards May Help Those Who Are Drowning in Medical Debt
Patient advocates and some state governments say hospitals must do more to help patients deal with medical bills before the debt winds up in collections.