Medical Cost Alerts
A New Item on Your Medical Bill: The ‘Covid’ Fee
A surprise charge that can take advantage of vulnerable people and possibly violate consumer protection laws. By Sarah Kliff and Jessica Silver-Greenberg, The New York Times, Nov. 8, 2020. When Michael Hambley got the call from his… Read More
A $52,112 Air Ambulance Ride: Coronavirus Patients Battle Surprise Bills
Congress was close to a solution before getting hit with millions of dollars of ads from private-equity firms. Then the pandemic struck. By Sarah Kliff, Oct. 13, 2020, The New York Times. An intubated coronavirus… Read More
Most Coronavirus Tests Cost About $100. Why Did One Cost $2,315
By Sarah Kliff, The New York Times, Jun 16, 2020. In a one-story brick building in suburban Dallas, between a dentist office and a family medicine clinic, is a medical laboratory that has run some… Read More
U.S. States Accuse 26 Drugmakers of Generic Drug Price Fixing in Sweeping Lawsuit
By Diane Bartz & Jonathan Stempel, Reuters, Jun 10, 2020. Twenty-six drug manufacturers were sued on Wednesday by the attorneys general of most U.S. states and several territories, which accused them of conspiring to reduce… Read More
Dialysis Patients Panic As Financial ‘Life Raft’ Becomes Unmoored
By Ana B. Ibarra, KHN, Nov 14, 2019. Russell Desmond received a letter a few weeks ago from the American Kidney Fund that he said felt like “a smack on the face.” The organization informed… Read More
Hospital Prices for Inpatients Climbed 19% Over 5 Years.
By Kelly Gooch, Beckers Hospital Report. The cost of hospital inpatient services for privately insured individuals is on the rise, according to a new data brief by UnitedHealth Group. An analysis conducted in 2019 of… Read More
Transplant Patients Need Anti-Rejection Drugs. Why Won’t Insurers Pay for Some of Them?
By Gina Kolata, The New York Times. The question might seem indelicate. But transplant centers find it is necessary these days to know the answer even before they place a patient on the list for… Read More
Even When HIV Prevention Drug Is Covered, Other Costs Block Treatment
By Michelle Andrews, KHN News. Three years ago, Corey Walsh, who was in a relationship with a man who was HIV-positive, got a prescription for Truvada, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration… Read More
Patients’ Drug Costs Surge for Some Neurologic Conditions
By Lisa Rapaport, Reuters Health. Many patients with neurologic disorders like multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease have seen steep increases in their out-of-pocket costs for drugs in recent years, a U.S. study suggests…. Read More