Latest California Healthline Stories
Appendicitis Is Painful — Add A $41,212 Surgery Bill To The Misery
A young man averted medical disaster after a friend took him to the nearest hospital just before his appendix burst. But more than a year later, he’s still facing a $28,000 balance bill for his out-of-network surgery.
Le cobran $41,212 por sacarle el apéndice
Nadie le dijo que el hospital estaba fuera de la red del plan médico que tenía a través de su trabajo. En cualquier caso, no hubiera podido irse a otro lugar. Su apéndice estaba a punto de reventar.
Loopholes Limit New California Law To Guard Against Lofty Air Ambulance Bills
A new state law limits what consumers owe if they’re transported by an air ambulance that’s not part of their insurance network to the amount that they’d be charged if they used an in-network provider. But the law won’t protect millions of consumers whose health plans aren’t regulated by the state.
Lower Health Care Costs By Helping The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints
Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner and his Camden Coalition appeared to have an answer to remake American health care: Treat the sickest and most expensive patients. But a rigorous study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows the approach doesn’t save money. “We built a brilliant intervention to navigate people to nowhere,” Brenner tells the “Tradeoffs” podcast.
Effort To Control Opioids In An ER Leaves Some Sickle Cell Patients In Pain
People with sickle cell disease aren’t fueling the opioid crisis, research shows. Yet some ER doctors still treat patients seeking relief for agonizing sickle cell crises as potential addicts.
Analysis: In Medical Billing, Fraudulent Charges Weirdly Pass As Legal
After my husband had a bike accident, we were subjected to medical bills that no one would accept if they had been delivered by a contractor, or a lawyer or an auto mechanic. Such charges are sanctioned by insurers, which generally pay because they have no way to know whether you received a particular item or service — and it’s not worth their time to investigate the millions of medical interactions they write checks for each day.
San Francisco Hopes To Improve Care For People With Mental Illness Living On Streets
Dr. Anton Nigusse Bland, a veteran of public health psychiatry, was appointed by San Francisco’s mayor earlier this year to a newly created job: director of mental health reform. His main task is to improve mental health and addiction treatment for people experiencing homelessness.
Battling The Bullets From The Operating Room To The Community
St. Louis trauma surgeon Dr. Laurie Punch is on a mission to stop the bleeding of her patients and the violence-plagued communities around her. But the single mom worries she and her 7-year-old will have to move from their home, where bullets buzz in her backyard.
Books, Binders, Bleed-Control Kits: How School Shootings Are Changing Classroom Basics
School districts around the country now require bleeding-control kits and training at their public schools in this era of mass shootings. Staffers used the kits in the recent high school shooting in Santa Clarita, Calif., even though there is no statewide mandate for them in California.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: How Much For Stitches In The ER? Hard To Gauge Upfront
Consumers are admonished to be “smart shoppers,” but that’s difficult if health care prices are clear as mud. When Sarah Macsalka’s son needed stitches, she did her best to avoid the ER and still ended up with a $3,000 bill.