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Morning Briefing

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Tuesday, Aug 28 2018

Full Issue

Health Care Costs Among Hardships Weighing On Americans Even In Strong Economy

A surprising number of Americans are unable to pay for basic needs such as health care, a new survey finds. In other news on health care costs, a few employers are offering workers a unique benefit: help paying for stem cell storage.

Despite a strong economy, about 40 percent of American families struggled to meet at least one of their basic needs last year, including paying for food, health care, housing or utilities. That's according to an Urban Institute survey of nearly 7,600 adults that found that the difficulties were most prevalent among adults with lower incomes or health issues. But it also revealed that people from all walks of life were running into similar hardships. (Skidmore Sell, 8/28)

As MyCrypto mulled what benefits to offer employees, the new blockchain startup asked them what they wanted. 鈥淪urprisingly, we found that the traditional health benefits and 401(k) benefits鈥攖hey had no interest in those,鈥 said Taylor Monahan, the company鈥檚 founder and chief executive. If employees didn鈥檛 want two of the biggest reasons to be full-time, what did they want? 鈥淭hey鈥檙e early adopters and they鈥檙e tech-minded people, so the concept of living forever turns them on,鈥 said Monahan. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how we figured Forever Labs would be a good fit.鈥 (Greenfield, 8/27)

And a heart attack leaves a patient with a massive bill聽鈥

Kaiser Health News: A Jolt To The Jugular! You鈥檙e Insured But Still Owe $109K For Your Heart Attack聽

Drew Calver took out his trash cans and then waved goodbye to his wife, Erin, as she left for the grocery store the morning that upended his picture-perfect life. Minutes later, the popular high school history teacher and swim coach in Austin, Texas, collapsed in his bedroom from a heart attack. He pounded his fist on the bed frame, violent chest pains pinning him to the floor. (Terhune, 8/27)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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