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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.
The Fresno Bee reports that Madera Community Hospital has reached an agreement with Adventist Health to take over the bankrupt facility and avoid liquidation.
Medical and RV industry professionals say hospitals that offer RV parking are easing access to health care for some patients who drive long distances for treatment, like many rural residents.
Congress has until October to avert cuts to a Medicaid program intended to support safety-net hospitals that, in practice, improves the bottom lines of other hospitals, too. Hospital leaders say now is not a good time for the cuts 鈥 which lawmakers have so far postponed 13 times.
A bankruptcy judge will soon decide whether a Central Valley hospital needs to liquidate to repay its creditors. Its largest creditor, St. Agnes Medical Center, is the very entity that backed out of purchasing the Madera Community Hospital last December.
With the community鈥檚 help, former co-workers came together to fill gaps in care left by the loss of doctors and departments at a Gallup, New Mexico, hospital.
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.
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.
Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitals鈥 spending on their communities.
Recovering from emergency gallbladder surgery, a Tennessee woman said she spent months without a permanent mailing address and never got a bill. She was sued by the health system two years later.
U.S. hospitals have seen a record number of cyberattacks over the past few years. Getting hacked can cost a hospital millions of dollars, expose patient data, and even jeopardize patient care.
In a new report, Human Rights Watch urges stronger federal and state action to hold hospitals to account for a medical debt crisis that now burdens more than 100 million Americans.
A push is underway to create a National Patient Safety Board modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates plane crashes and other transportation disasters. But unlike the NTSB, some patient safety advocates say, the current proposal is toothless and wouldn鈥檛 provide transparency about the nation鈥檚 hospitals.
As hospitals squeeze Democratic leaders in Sacramento for more money, health care finance experts and former state officials warn against falling for the industry鈥檚 fear tactics. They point to healthy profits and a recession-era financing scheme that allows rich hospitals to take tax money from poorer ones.
After emergency surgery, an American expatriate with Swiss insurance now carries the baggage of a five-figure bill. Costs for medical care in the U.S. can be two to three times the rates in other developed countries, so foreigners and expats with good insurance in their home countries need travel insurance to protect themselves from 鈥渃razy prices.鈥
Nearly 30 states have active or proposed laws authorizing independent hospital police forces. Groups representing nurses and hospitals say the laws address the daily realities of patients who become aggressive or agitated. But critics worry about unintended consequences.
A federally funded program in remote New Mexico has helped hundreds of pregnant mothers stay healthy, but it鈥檚 running out of time and money despite a growing national maternity care crisis. The four-year, nearly $3 million grant has provided telehealth, coordinated care, and social services to mothers in need.
The public health emergency declaration for covid-19 ends May 11, ushering in major changes in how Americans can access and pay for the vaccines, treatments, and tests particular to the culprit coronavirus. But not everyone will experience the same changes, creating a confusing patchwork of coverage 鈥 not unlike health coverage for other diseases. Meanwhile, outside advisers to the FDA formally recommended allowing a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription. If the FDA follows the recommendation, it would represent the first over-the-counter form of hormonal contraception. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join 吃瓜不打烊鈥 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus for 鈥渆xtra credit鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
House Republicans passed their plan to raise the nation鈥檚 debt ceiling, along with major cuts to health (and other domestic) programs. Unlikely to become law, it calls for new work requirements for adults on Medicaid. Meanwhile, state efforts targeting trans people bear a striking resemblance to the fight against abortion rights. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join 吃瓜不打烊 chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Renuka Rayasam, who reported the latest 吃瓜不打烊-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 feature, about a specialist鈥檚 demand to be paid as much as $15,000 before treating a woman鈥檚 serious pregnancy complication.
In Wesley Chapel, Fla., near Tampa, residents will soon have three general hospitals within a five-minute drive. The new construction is part of a hospital-building boom across Florida unleashed almost four years ago, when the state dropped a requirement that companies obtain government approval to open new hospitals.
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