Latest California Healthline Stories
Promises Kept? On Health Care, Trump’s Claims of ‘Monumental Steps’ Don’t Add Up
The president entered office seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, revamp Medicaid and drive down prescription drug prices, among other things. He’s hit some stone walls.
With No Legal Guardrails for Patients, Ambulances Drive Surprise Medical Billing
Studies show that at least half of ground ambulance rides across the nation leave patients with “surprise” medical bills. And a $300-a-mile ride is not unusual. Yet federal legislation to stem what’s known as balance billing has largely ignored ambulance costs.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: How to Fight Bogus Medical Bills Like a Bulldog
When a colleague brings a medical billing problem to human resources director Steve Benasso — he goes to battle. “I am a bulldog on this stuff,” he said. In this episode, Benasso tells how he does it.
Ever Heard of a Surgical Assistant? Meet a New Boost to Your Medical Bills
A college student’s bill for outpatient knee surgery is a whopper — $96K — but the most mysterious part is a $1,167 charge from a health care provider she didn’t even know was in the operating room.
COVID Catch-22: They Got A Big ER Bill Because Hospitals Couldn’t Test For Virus
Americans who had coronavirus symptoms in March and April are getting big hospital bills — because they were not sick enough to get then-scarce COVID tests. Some insurers say they are trying to correct these bills, but patients may have to put up a fight.
Ghost Bill: UVA Siphons Couple’s Tax Refund To Pay 20-Year-Old Medical Debt
Jane Collins and Anthony Blow were stunned to learn last fall that their state tax refund was being reduced by $110 because the Charlottesville medical center said they owed money for care their son received in 2001 and 2002.
Congress Said COVID-19 Tests Should Be Free — But Who’s Paying?
Some large employers interpreted themselves as exempt from new federal laws that say tests for the coronavirus should be free to patients. Large academic medical centers are holding back from sending bills to these patients to avoid a backlash over surprise billing.
El Congreso dijo que los tests de COVID-19 debían ser gratuitos, pero ¿quién paga?
A fines de marzo, el Congreso aprobó dos leyes, que esencialmente establecieron no solo que las pruebas para COVID tenían que estar cubiertas, sino que los pacientes no debían pagar un centavo.
Telehealth Will Be Free, No Copays, They Said. But Angry Patients Are Getting Billed.
Politicians pledged to stop providers from charging for video appointments or telephone calls, but some patients are being charged $70 or $80 per virtual visit.
In Fine Print, HHS Appears To Ban All Surprise Billing During The Pandemic
Language in the CARES Act says providers who take emergency funding cannot balance-bill coronavirus patients ― and “every patient” is considered a possible COVID-19 patient.