Why Many Nonprofit (Wink, Wink) Hospitals Are Rolling in Money
Legal maneuvering, industry lobbying, and lax IRS oversight leave lots of room for “operating surpluses.”
Her Hearing Implant Was Preapproved. Nonetheless, She Got $139,000 Bills for Months.
Even when patients double-check that their care is covered by insurance, health providers often send them bills as they haggle with insurers over reimbursement, which can last for months. It’s stressful and annoying — but legal.
Pain Doesn’t Belong on a Scale of Zero to 10
A popular scale for measuring pain doesn’t work, but medicine still has no better alternative.
El dolor ya no se puede medir en una escala de cero a 10
Los médicos de hoy tienen una comprensión más completa del tratamiento del dolor, así como de las terribles consecuencias de recetar opioides con liviandad. Lo que están aprendiendo ahora es cómo medir mejor el dolor y tratar sus muchas formas.
How Your In-Network Health Coverage Can Vanish Before You Know It
One of the most unfair aspects of medical insurance is this: Patients can change insurance only during end-of-year enrollment periods or at the time of “qualifying life events.” But insurers’ contracts with doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies can change abruptly at any time.
GoFundMe Has Become a Health Care Utility
Resorting to crowdfunding to pay medical bills has become so routine, in some cases health professionals recommend it.
GoFundMe, ¿realmente ayuda a pagar facturas médicas?
Incluso defensores de pacientes y personal del área de ayuda financiera en hospitales recomiendan iniciar una sesión en GoFundMe como una alternativa a terminar con una cuenta en una agencia de cobros.
The FTC Is Attacking Drugmakers’ ‘Patent Thickets’
It’s a big job clearing out so-called “patent thickets” drugmakers create to keep their products’ prices high. But the Federal Trade Commission is giving it a shot.
Ouch. That ‘Free’ Annual Checkup Might Cost You. Here’s Why.
The designers of the Affordable Care Act might have assumed that they spelled out with sufficient clarity that millions of Americans would no longer have to pay for certain types of preventive care. But they didn’t reckon with America’s ever-creative medical billing juggernaut.
From Hospital to Hospitality: Spin Doctors Brand Getting Sick as an Adventure. It’s Not.
At $1,000 a night for a private room, medical centers are offering fancy food and casting health care as a “journey.” Instead of creature comforts, how about helping us feel better?