KHN: Sick Profit: Investigating Private Equity’s Stealthy Takeover of Health Care Across Cities and Specialties
By Fred Schulte, 11/14/22 Two-year-old Zion Gastelum died just days after dentists performed root canals and put crowns on six baby teeth at a clinic affiliated with a private equity firm. His parents sued the Kool Smiles dental clinic in Yuma, Arizona, and its private equity investor, FFL Partners. They argued the procedures were done […]
Axios: Hospitals have a target on their backs
By Peter Sullivan, 11/3/22 After cracking down on high drug prices, Congress is about to turn to an even bigger source of health care costs: hospitals. Why it matters: Hospitals have gotten off easy until now. But a growing number of advocates and lawmakers say Congress needs to tackle their costs if it’s serious about […]
Axios: 1 big thing: The next health care wars are about costs
By Tina Reed November 2nd, 2022 All signs point to a crushing surge in health care costs for patients and employers next year — and that means industry groups are about to brawl over who pays the price, Axios’ Caitlin Owens writes. Why it matters: The surge could build pressure on Congress to stop ignoring […]
The New York Times: How a Hospital Chain Used a Poor Neighborhood to Turn Huge Profits
By Katie Thomas and Jessica Silver-Greenberg September 24th, 2022 In late July, Norman Otey was rushed by ambulance to Richmond Community Hospital. The 63-year-old was doubled over in pain and babbling incoherently. Blood tests suggested septic shock, a grave emergency that required the resources and expertise of an intensive care unit. But Richmond Community, a […]
The New York Times: They Were Entitled to Free Care. Hospitals Hounded Them to Pay.
By Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Katie Thomas September 24th, 2022 In 2018, senior executives at one of the country’s largest nonprofit hospital chains, Providence, were frustrated. They were spending hundreds of millions of dollars providing free health care to patients. It was eating into their bottom line. The executives, led by Providence’s chief financial officer at […]
She Was Told Surgery Would Cost About $1,300. Then the Bill Came: $229,000.
By Michael Levenson May 21st, 2022 When Lisa Melody French needed back surgery after a car accident, she went to a hospital near her home outside Denver, which reviewed her insurance information and told her she would be personally responsible for paying about $1,337. But after the surgery, the hospital claimed that it had “misread” […]
Employers pay hospitals billions more than Medicare
By Adriel Bettelheim and Caitlin Owens May 17th, 2022 Employers and private insurance plans in 2020 paid hospitals 224% of what Medicare paid for the same services, with rates for inpatient and outpatient care varying widely from site to site, a new report from RAND finds. The intrigue: The report found that hospital prices had […]
WSJ: Hospitals Look to Raise Treatment Costs as Nurses’ Salaries Increase
By Melanie Evans May 8th, 2022 Some hospitals grappling with rising nurse salaries are seeking to raise prices by up to 15%, touching off contract fights with health insurers and businesses and threatening higher premiums. HCA Healthcare Inc. and Universal Health Services Inc. are among the hospitals asking health plans to pay them more for care to offset mounting nurse […]
NY State of Politics: New York hospitals face patient safety questions
By Nick Reisman May 13th, 2022 New York state is known for its world-class hospitals. But a survey released this week finds many receive low grades when it comes to patient safety, according to a survey released this week by the health care group Leapfrog. The data graded hospitals based on feedback from patients and their […]
Becker’s Hospital Review: 74% of physicians are hospital or corporate employees, with pandemic fueling increase
By Kelly Gooch April 19th, 2022 The percentage of U.S. physicians employed by hospitals, health systems or corporate entities grew from 62.2 percent in January 2019 to 73.9 percent as of January 2022, according to new data from Avalere in a study sponsored by the Physicians Advocacy Institute. In January 2021, 69.3 percent of physicians were employed […]