The number of U.S. health care workers who have been ordered to self-quarantine because of potential exposure to the new coronavirus is rising at an exponential pace. Many experts say something has to change.
Category: Hospitals
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Data Note: Public Worries About And Experience With Surprise Medical Bills
This data note captures February 2020 poll findings on the public’s worries about and experiences with unexpected and surprise medical bills.
A Polling Surprise? Americans Rank Unexpected Medical Bills at the Top of Family Budget Worries
When it comes to family budget concerns, unexpected medical bills top Americans’ list of worries, with two-thirds (65%) of the public saying they are at least somewhat worried, including 35% who say they are “very” worried, the latest KFF Health Tracki…
Readers And Tweeters Dive Into Debate Over ‘Medicare For All’
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Growing Concerns Of Coronavirus Should Spur Plans – Not Panic – In The Workplace
Even in the event of an outbreak, employers have to follow certain rules in their efforts to protect employees from this virus.
It’s Not Just Hospitals That Sue Patients Who Can’t Pay
Until very recently, the separate company that runs the emergency department at Nashville General Hospital in Tennessee was continuing to haul patients who couldn’t pay medical bills into court.
Analysis: Who Profits From Steep Medical Bills? The People Tasked With Fixing Them.
Surprise bills are just the latest weapons in a decades-long war among health care industry players over who gets to keep the fortunes generated each year from patient illness: $3.6 trillion in 2018. The practice is an outrage, yet no one in the health care sector wants to unilaterally make the type of big concessions that would change things.
One Defensive Strategy Against Surprise Medical Bills: Set Your Own Terms
By writing in payment limits when signing hospital forms, patients might have leverage in negotiations over disputes that arise from surprise medical bills.
Patients Caught In Crossfire Between Giant Hospital Chain, Large Insurer
Insurance giant Cigna and San Francisco-based Dignity Health have failed to ink a 2020 contract, leaving nearly 17,000 patients in California and Nevada scrambling to find new health care providers. Meanwhile, Dignity faces financial and legal challenges while it strives to implement its merger with Catholic Health Initiatives, which created one of the nation’s largest Catholic hospital systems.
