How much does mental health care cost? Telemental Health, Part 5 in our series

Genine Babakian November 26, 2019

How much does mental health care cost? Telemental Health, Part 5 in our series

Cost and convenience have prevented millions of Americans from seeking access to mental health care. Yet new technologies can make services more accessible, whether consumers choose online therapy, seek to connect and share information with fellow patients through online support groups, or use a number of apps on the market that help patients fight anxiety […]

How much does mental health care cost? Part 1 of our series

Genine Babakian

How much does mental health care cost? Part 1 of our series

(Updated, 2019) One in five adults in the U.S. experience a mental health problem in any given year, yet limited or no mental health insurance prevents more than half of them from receiving treatment. The Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity Law sought to bridge the divide between physical and behavioral health coverage […]

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How much do ostomy supplies cost? $192 or $45? $63.58 or $14? And where can you buy them?

Jeanne Pinder November 6, 2019

How much do ostomy supplies cost? $192 or $45? $63.58 or $14? And where can you buy them?

A friend asked me to tell her where to buy ostomy supplies, preferably the Cymed brand — because she had a friend coming to visit, and as a good hostess, knowing her friend, felt that having ostomy supplies was important for comfort. So I did some research. As always, Reddit is an interesting source of […]

View Post Canadian pharmacy Canadian website Cymed Osto Group ostomy

How much does an air ambulance cost?

Graison Dangor October 27, 2019

The median charge for an air ambulance ride in a helicopter was more than $36,000 in 2017. (Image by Ed Uthman licensed under Creative Commons.) The headline from News 5, the Cleveland ABC affiliate, says it all: It can happen to anyone of us, an air ambulance ride costing $53,000 It happened to Julie and […]

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Our unhealthy addiction to health insurance: A direct primary care doctor’s opinion

Jeanne Pinder

Our unhealthy addiction to health insurance: A direct primary care doctor’s opinion

By JEFFREY GOLD, M.D. Whenever I give a talk about healthcare, I ask the audience, “What is the worst addiction problem we have in the United States?” The answers are typically the same and all are good guesses – alcohol, tobacco, opiates, and sugar are most frequently cited. I agree these are all terrible addictions […]

View Post Direct Primary Care DPC DPC Alliance Gold Direct Care Jeffrey Gold

How much do Sovaldi, Mavyret and Harvoni cost? $84 per patient, $25,757 per patient or $94,500 per patient?

Jeanne Pinder October 26, 2019

How much do Sovaldi, Mavyret and Harvoni cost? $84 per patient, $25,757 per patient or $94,500 per patient?

“Several states have made alliances with pharma companies to eradicate hepatitis C infections,” Mark Terry writes over at BioSpace. “One of the more recent was between AbbVie and the state of Washington. Another is with Louisiana and Gilead Sciences’ subsidiary Asegua Therapeutics. However, partly because the bidding for these contracts remain confidential, critics are questioning […]

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How much does a brain MRI cost, or the triple whammy: Co-insurance, high deductible and a sick kid

Jeanne Pinder October 22, 2019

How much does a brain MRI cost, or the triple whammy: Co-insurance, high deductible and a sick kid

The community member’s report was enough to make you cry. The biggest problem that leaped out at us: A 50 percent co-insurance stipulation in her insurance plan. For an MRI of the brain with and without dye, CPT code 70553, at Virtua Voorhees, these were the prices: CHARGED: 9973.43 INSURED: 2460.0 PAID: 2460.0 Her comment: […]

View Post brain MRI Children's Hospital of Philadelphia co-insurance MRI Virtua Voorhees

Costs of Methotrexate, TB test and Humira for rheumatoid arthritis: New year, new insurance

Jeanne Pinder

Costs of Methotrexate, TB test and Humira for rheumatoid arthritis: New year, new insurance

She sent in several blood tests with substantial charges from the Mayo Clinic health system, with insurance via an employer. One was a basic metabolic panel, for which she was charged $138, and asked to pay $105 after the insurer’s writedown. She had a TB test too, for $104. She commented: “on top of this […]

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New York State makes policy changes in response to our Medical Price Roulette reporting

Jeanne Pinder October 10, 2019

New York State makes policy changes in response to our Medical Price Roulette reporting

The New York State superintendent of financial services, Linda A. Lacewell, announced that the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) has proposed an amendment to a regulation on New York’s Out of Network Law to protect New Yorkers further from surprise medical bills. In a statement in a press release, Lacewell said she was taking […]

View Post Department of Financial Services Medical Price Roulette surprise bills

Who gets paid what: The ABC’s of health care pricing

Jeanne Pinder October 7, 2019

Who gets paid what: The ABC’s of health care pricing

Pricing is byzantine in the U.S. health care system. For any given procedure or item at any given hospital or clinic, there may be a dozen prices or more. Why? We have what’s called a third-party payer system — many bills are paid not by the patient (the recipient of the service or medication) but […]

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Category: Health plans