In California, assaulting paramedics or other emergency medical workers in the field carries stiffer fines and jail time than assaulting emergency room staffers. State lawmakers are considering a measure that would standardize the penalties.
Under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations, the model of care no longer means visiting the same doctor for decades.
State institutions and community hospitals have closed inpatient mental health units, often citing staffing and financial challenges. Now, for-profit companies are opening psychiatric hospitals to fill the void.
Hospitals are increasingly stretching a velvet rope, offering “concierge service” to an affluent clientele. Critics say the practice exacerbates primary care shortages.
Disputes between hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans are leading to entire hospital systems suddenly leaving insurance networks. Patients are left stuck in the middle, choosing between their doctors and their insurance plan. There’s a way out.
The FDA and some oncologists have resisted efforts to require a quick, cheap gene test that could prevent thousands of deaths from a bad reaction to a common cancer drug.
Ballad Health was granted the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in 2018. Since then, its emergency rooms have become more than three times as slow.
There are legal safeguards to protect patients from big bills like out-of-network air-ambulance rides. But insurers may not pay if they decide the ride wasn’t medically necessary.
This brief describes gaps in data about hospital and health system finances and business practices that limit transparency for policymakers, researchers, and consumers. It examines data issues involving finances, debt collection practices, charity care…
Most patients do not know about the new surprise billing protections and likely also do not know of resources available to seek recourse for incorrect medical bills. This brief provides resources to privately insured patients who receive surprise balan…