Coronavirus (Covid-19) and test avoidance: Why are some people not getting tested?

Phoebe Pinder November 16, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and test avoidance: Why are some people not getting tested?

Earlier this fall, the predominantly Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel, N.Y., managed to drop its positive Covid test rate from 34.2% in the last week of September, to a shocking 4.2% just one month later, the Jewish-American news organization The Forward reported. According to The Forward, town leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York […]

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Coronavirus (Covid 19) and telemedicine: Will my insurance still cover my appointments?

Virginia Jeffries October 9, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid 19) and telemedicine: Will my insurance still cover my appointments?

Many of the country’s insurers are bringing back patient fees for telemedicine visits after waiving them for several months because of the coronavirus crisis. But how much you’ll have to pay and when you’ll have to pay it depends on which plan you have. Throughout the pandemic, insurance companies have varied widely on what they […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and disability: What happens if you cannot work?

Virginia Jeffries September 30, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and disability: What happens if you cannot work?

By VIRGINIA JEFFRIES and JEANNE PINDER After two weeks out sick with Covid, an executive in Oregon returned to work. While she still had a cough, she and her doctor both believed the worst was behind her. “There wasn’t a conversation about Covid lingering or continuing,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It was […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) long-haulers and the healthcare system: Her doctors didn’t believe she was still sick

Virginia Jeffries September 24, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) long-haulers and the healthcare system: Her doctors didn’t believe she was still sick

After suffering for days with chest pain and difficulty breathing due to Covid-19, Candace Taylor finally fell asleep in a recliner one night in late March. She didn’t know at the time, but she would have to sleep in that recliner for the next three months. Taylor, 38, is one of a growing number of […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills: They were charged for giving insurance information to the hospital

Jeanne Pinder September 15, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills: They were charged for giving insurance information to the hospital

It sounds like the most awful healthcare joke of all: They went to the hospital for Covid testing, gave their insurance information, and were turned away with no treatment. And yet! They got billed! It happened to Rebecca Oliver and Dan Loncoa of Irondequoit, N.Y., at Rochester Regional Hospital. “I had traveled out of state […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the insurers: Big insurance companies report big profits, benefiting from the pandemic, The New York Times

Jeanne Pinder August 7, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the insurers: Big insurance companies report big profits, benefiting from the pandemic, The New York Times

“The nation’s leading health insurers are experiencing an embarrassment of profits,” Reed Abelson writes over at The New York Times. “Some of the largest companies, including Anthem, Humana and UnitedHealth Group, are reporting second-quarter earnings that are double what they were a year ago. And while insurance profits are capped under the Affordable Care Act, […]

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How much does Medicare cost? Well, it depends.

Jeanne Pinder July 3, 2020

How much does Medicare cost? Well, it depends.

So I recently went on Medicare, and wanted to put down some thoughts in case they are of assistance to anyone else. I suggest that anyone who’s doing this consider their own specific circumstances very carefully; I am not a licensed insurance broker, and I am not making recommendations here — rather, I am telling […]

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We won! Our CBS partnership is the top network public service journalism project in the nation!

Jeanne Pinder June 30, 2020

We won! Our CBS partnership is the top network public service journalism project in the nation!

We’re thrilled to report that we and our partners at CBS News won the 2019 Society of Professional Journalists – Sigma Delta Chi Public Service gold medal for network news for our health costs partnership, “Medical Price Roulette.” Let that sink in for a second: This is the best public service journalism at the TV […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the data guy: Demystifying trends and seeing into the future

Jeanne Pinder

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the data guy: Demystifying trends and seeing into the future

Continuing with our series of interviews of people involved in health care in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, I caught up with Niall Brennan, C.E.O. of the Health Care Cost Institute research group, former chief data officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a former analyst at the Congressional Budget Office. […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills: Two friends were tested for coronavirus. One bill was $199. The other? $6,408. – The New York Times

Jeanne Pinder June 29, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills: Two friends were tested for coronavirus. One bill was $199. The other? $6,408. – The New York Times

“Before a camping and kayaking trip along the Texas Coast, Pam LeBlanc and Jimmy Harvey decided to get coronavirus tests,” Sarah Kliff writes over at The New York Times. “They wanted a bit more peace of mind before spending 13 days in close quarters along with three friends.The two got drive-through tests at Austin Emergency […]

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Category: Health plans