Interviews with dozens of Kaiser Permanente therapists, patients and industry experts reveal superficial changes that look good on paper but do not translate into more effective and accessible care.
Category: Health Industry
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.
Promising Greater Safety, A Tiny Widget Creates Chaos For Tube Feeders
A standard connector for feeding tubes was supposed to improve patient safety by preventing accidental misconnections to equipment used for IVs or other purposes. But critics say the design instead could keep patients from real food and inadvertently creates a host of new risks, including for vulnerable premature infants.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Can They Freaking Do That?!?
Introducing a new segment on “An Arm and a Leg” podcast: “Can They Freaking Do That?!?” We take your most vexing medical bill questions and hunt down information and experts who can help.
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.
Supreme Court Seems Sympathetic To Insurers In Obamacare Case
Justices from the right and left ask whether Congress needs to keep its promises.
Obamacare Back At The High Court — With Billions For Insurers On The Line
The case revolves around a health law provision designed to help insurers recover some losses because they had an unusually high number of sick and expensive customers. Insurers complain that when Republican lawmakers discontinued funding the program, it was like “Lucy Van Pelt pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.”
Patient-Induced Trauma: Hospitals Learn To Defuse Violence
Health care workers face a greater threat of workplace violence than workers in most other industries. Hospitals are installing security cameras and panic buttons, arming security guards with stun guns and teaching their employees how to handle potentially violent situations.
Pharma’s Take On The Pelosi Drug-Pricing Bill: Fair Warning Or Fearmongering?
The pharmaceutical industry’s argument that capping drug prices would compromise drug innovation stands “on very shaky ground.”
Anthem Blue Cross Gets Flagged And Fined More Than Other Insurers
Anthem Blue Cross has received a disproportionate share of violations and fines from California’s largest health insurance regulator, mostly related to its mishandling of patient grievances.
