Healthcare Dive: Nonprofit health systems – despite huge cash reserves – get billions in CARES funding
By Samantha Liss June 23, 2020 The nation’s largest nonprofit health systems, led by Kaiser Permanente, Ascension and Providence, have received more than $7.1 billion in bailout funds from the federal government so far, as the novel coronavirus forced them to all but shutter their most profitable business lines. At the same time, some of […]
Top 5 Reasons Why People go Bankrupt
October 25, 2019 The bankruptcy statistics in America are alarming. The past few decades have seen a dramatic rise in the number of people who are unable to pay off their debts, and Congress has recently addressed the issue with legislation that makes it harder to qualify for this status. Following is a list of […]
Peterson-KFF: COVID-19 Test Prices and Payment Policy
By Nisha Kurani, Karen Pollitz, Dustin Cotliar, Nicolas Shanosky, and Cynthia Cox July 15, 2020 Testing for COVID-19 remains a key strategy to identify active infections and contain the spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends testing for persons with symptoms when there is a concern of potential COVID-19. As the pandemic grows, […]
USA Today: Next COVID relief package should require health price transparency. Everyone would benefit.
By Steve Forbes, Arthur B. Laffer and Larry Van Horn July 8, 2020 When Art Laffer’s son returned home from Barcelona in March with COVID-19 symptoms, he went to a Nashville hospital to get tested. He never saw a doctor. He never got a coronavirus test. He saw four nurses and was sent home. His […]
New York Times: Most Coronavirus Tests Cost About $100. Why Did One Cost $2,315?
By Sarah Kliff June 16, 2020 In a one-story brick building in suburban Dallas, between a dentist office and a family medicine clinic, is a medical laboratory that has run some of the most expensive coronavirus tests in America. Insurers have paid Gibson Diagnostic Labs as much as $2,315 for individual coronavirus tests. In a […]
Axios: Hospitals, doctors are major recipients of PPP loans
By Bob Herman July 7, 2020 Small hospitals, physician clinics, surgery centers, dental offices and other health care businesses were among the most common recipients of loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, according to data released by the federal government on Monday. The big picture: Medical facilities had to halt routine procedures in the early […]
The Seattle Times: Coronavirus survival comes with a $1.1 million, 181-page price tag
By Danny Westneat June 12, 2020 Remember Michael Flor, the longest-hospitalized COVID-19 patient who, when he unexpectedly did not die, was jokingly dubbed “the miracle child?” Now they can also call him the million-dollar baby. Flor, 70, who came so close to death in the spring that a night-shift nurse held a phone to his […]
Axios Vitals: The pandemic hasn’t stopped hospital mergers
By Caitlin Owens June 23, 2020 Hospitals that have pocketed tens of millions of dollars in federal coronavirus bailouts are still pursuing big-ticket mergers and acquisitions, Axios’ Bob Herman writes. Why it matters: The pandemic has dried up big parts of hospitals’ businesses, and that’s why Congress established a $175 billion bailout fund to help them. At […]
E&C Republicans: Working to end surprise medical billing: one year later
June 12, 2020 Washington, D.C. – One year ago today – as part of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s ongoing effort to end surprise medical bills – members of the Health Subcommittee heard a powerful story that detailed the real-world impact surprise bills have on American families. Sonji Wilkes, one of the witnesses in that hearing, shared the story […]
ASC Review: ‘Half the cost, half the risk’ at ASCs versus hospitals — Dr. Shakeel Ahmed makes the case for upheaving referral patterns
By Angie Stewart June 9, 2020 Costs and infection rates. Those are two healthcare measures made more important than ever by the COVID-19 pandemic — and they’re also two areas where ASCs have hospitals beat by a long shot, according to Shakeel Ahmed, MD, CEO of Atlas Surgical Group. “ASCs were the need of the time […]