Medical Times Today: COVID-19: Cost of care deters 1 in 7 people from seeking treatment
By Timothy Huzar May 8, 2020 New research conducted by the analytics firm Gallup and the nonprofit organization West Health has found 1 in 7 people in the U.S. would avoid seeking treatment for the key symptoms of COVID-19 because of concerns over cost. The study shines a light on the U.S. healthcare system and the […]
NY Times: He Got Tested for Coronavirus. Then Came the Flood of Medical Bills.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal and Emmarie Huetteman March 30, 2020 By March 5, Andrew Cencini, a computer science professor at Bennington College, had been having bouts of fever, malaise and a bit of difficulty breathing for a couple of weeks. Just before falling ill, he had traveled to New York City, helped with computers in a […]
NY Times: Kept at the Hospital on Coronavirus Fears, Now Facing Large Medical Bills
By Sarah Kliff February 29, 2020 Frank Wucinski and his 3-year-old daughter, Annabel, are among the dozens of Americans the government has flown back to the country from Wuhan, China, and put under quarantine to check for signs of coronavirus. Now they are among what could become a growing number of families hit with surprise […]
WTOP News: A surprise medical bill after that Covid-19 ambulance ride
May 7, 2020 Doctor Karan Chhabra shares his Health Affairs research with WTOP News. Listen to the full interview HERE.
PROPUBLICA: One Thing the Pandemic Hasn’t Stopped: Aggressive Medical-Debt Collection
By Alec MacGillis April 28, 2020 Darcel Richardson knows she’s fortunate in one sense: She still has her job as a vocational counselor in Baltimore. But despite that, she won’t be able to make her rent payment this month because she’s not getting her full salary for a while. More than $400 per biweekly paycheck […]
The Washington Post: As Coronavirus Cases Climbed, Private-Equity-Owned Hospital Demanded Bailout
By Brian Spegele and Laura Cooper April 26, 2020 Pennsylvania’s governor was urgently preparing for a surge in Covid-19 cases last month when a private-equity-owned hospital said it would shut its doors unless the state secured a $40 million bailout. Steward Health Care System LLC said it needed the money from the state in three […]
The Washington Post: Amid coronavirus distress, wealthy hospitals hoard millions
By Jordan Rau April 27, 2020 Inova Health System, with campuses in some of the wealthiest suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Truman Medical Centers, a safety-net hospital in downtown Kansas City, Mo., have little in common. But they are confronting the same financial plague: mass cancellations of nonessential surgeries that are their biggest moneymakers while they […]
COVID-19 care could cost billions, new estimates show
By Anuja Vaidya April 24, 2020 Caring for COVID-19 patients could cost the U.S. healthcare system hundreds of billions of dollars, a new study estimates. The study, published in Health Affairs, used a simulation model, representing the U.S. population and the clinical care each coronavirus patient may need, such as ventilation. Researchers estimated resource use and direct […]
Axios Vitals: Health care bailout fund reaches $175 billion
Hospitals, doctors’ practices and other health care providers are getting another $75 billion in taxpayer money to cover the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, bringing the total pot of bailout funds to $175 billion, Axios’ Bob Herman reports. The big picture: The first $30 billion has been dispersed to providers based on Medicare billings, which raised the ire of hospitals that […]
NYT: Dialysis Patients Face Close-Up Risk From Coronavirus
By Reed Abelson March 11, 2020 Mat Risher leaves the safety of his home near Seattle three days a week for dialysis at a clinic, a treatment he cannot live without but one that now most likely increases his risk of exposure to the coronavirus. About 20 patients sit in a small space with him, […]