The New York Times: That Beloved Hospital? It’s Driving Up Health Care Costs
It’s easy to criticize pharmaceutical and insurance companies. But we spend much more on hospitals. As voters fume about the high cost of health care, politicians have been targeting two well-deserved villains: pharmaceutical companies, whose prices have risen more than inflation, and insurers, who pay their executives millions in salaries while raising premiums and deductibles. But while the […]
KHN: They Got Estimates Before Surgery — And A Bill After That Was 50% More
From a planning perspective, Wolfgang Balzer is the perfect healthcare consumer. Balzer, an engineer, knew for several years he had a hernia that would need to be repaired, but it wasn’t an emergency, so he waited until the time was right. Do you have an exorbitant or baffling medical bill? Join the KHN and NPR […]
Modern Healthcare: Highest-paid not-for-profit health system executives earn 33% raise in 2017
Highest-paid not-for-profit health system executives earn 33% raise in 2017 By Alex Kacik June 22, 2019 When Ascension announced the first iteration of an ongoing reorganization, it included a cut to the not-for-profit health system’s executive pay. In a March 2018 video to the organization’s employees, outgoing CEO Anthony Tersigni outlined a range of changes […]
ABC Cleveland: It can happen to anyone of us, an air ambulance ride costing $53,000
It can happen to anyone of us, an air ambulance ride costing $53,000 By: Jonathan Walsh LITCHFIELD, Ohio — More than 550,000 Americans are flown by air ambulances each year, and the price for those flights is getting more and more costly. A Medina County couple found that out the hard way, and it can happen to any […]
Forbes: Hospitals Charging The Privately Insured 2.4 Times What They Charge Medicare Patients
Hospitals Charging The Privately Insured 2.4 Times What They Charge Medicare Patients For generations, the prices that hospitals charge patients with private insurance have been shrouded in secrecy. An explosive new study has unlocked some of those secrets. It finds that employers and their insurers are failing to control hospital costs, increasing calls for transparency […]
United Health Group: Confronting the High Cost of Hospital Prices
Confronting the High Cost of Hospital Prices August 12, 2019 Health care spending in the United States is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2027, up from $3.5 trillion in 2017, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. However, there are three areas where major savings are achievable: Avoidable hospital emergency department visits […]
Axios: Hospitals’ care is getting more expensive
Hospital care is getting more expensive Speaking of expensive hospital care, hospital prices for inpatient services increased more than the prices paid to doctors providing these services between 2013 and 2017, according to a new data brief by United Health Group. Hospital prices for inpatient services increased by 19% over this time period, or by 4.5% per […]
Axios: Hospitals’ drug bills are likely going up
Hospitals’ drug bills are likely going up Health systems should expect a 4.57% increase in their drug spending in 2020, according to a new analysis by Vizient, a health care performance improvement company. Some of the most expensive drugs on the market are administered in hospitals and doctors’ offices, and they’re folded into a patient’s overall hospital […]
‘It’s borderline criminal’: Spokane couple gets $2.2K surprise medical bill
‘It’s borderline criminal’: Spokane couple gets $2.2K surprise medical bill SPOKANE, Wash. — Even with health insurance, patients can still get hit with an unexpected medical bill in Washington state. The Washington state legislature passed a law to stop a loophole that allows surprise medical bills to happen, but the loophole doesn’t close until 2020. […]
Daily Beast: Are Fat Hospital Salaries for Doctors Really Kickbacks?
Are Fat Hospital Salaries for Doctors Really Kickbacks? By Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News For a hospital that had once labored to break even, Wheeling Hospital displayed abnormally deep pockets when recruiting doctors. To lure Dr. Adam Tune, an anesthesiologist from nearby Pittsburgh who specialized in pain management, the Catholic hospital built a clinic for […]