Jeanne Pinder
A Facebook friend commented on one of our posts that Aliera Healthcare, one of the healthcare sharing ministries, had denied a claim, saying that while the doctor was in-network, the billing entity was not. It seemed wacky, so I asked for more detail. Here is his story. We’re not using his name because that’s not […]
Jeanne Pinder
“On March 8, 2011, Joclyn Krevat, an occupational therapist in New York, was sitting at her computer when she received a most unusual LinkedIn request,” Olga Khazan writes over at The Atlantic. “The wording was the familiar: ‘I’d like to add you to my professional network.’ The sender was familiar, too, but not for the […]
Jeanne Pinder
“Take one-half tablet three times per day with meals, increasing by half each week until reaching a maximum of three tablets three times per day,” Kevin R.R. Williams writes over at KevinMD. “Did you get a new prescription from your doctor? If so, there is a 50 percent chance you will not adhere to label […]
Jeanne Pinder
(Posted August 2019; updates planned) How do you buy health insurance? We are frequently asked to help people buy health insurance. Our specialty is the cost of health care, not buying insurance. We don’t do individual consultations on what insurance to buy. We’re not really qualified for that, and also people must be certified and […]
Jeanne Pinder
The community member did not leave a name, but she/he was outraged. The procedure: A cardiovascular stress test, CPT code 93107. The charge? $864.80. Cigna insurance paid nothing at the St. David’s North Austin Medical Center in Texas. The comment: “This was a simple 10 EKG on a treadmill. No Dr. Present, no interpretation. Trace […]
Jeanne Pinder
A friend writes: “The price of my medication, Losartan for high blood pressure, jumped last month. “I take the 100 mg size. It went from $13 a month to $63 a month on my insurance, via Cigna. The medication is a generic for Benicar, so I was surprised at the price jump. “They told me […]
Jeanne Pinder
“Marilyn Bartlett took a deep breath, drew herself up to her full 5 feet and a smidge, and told the handful of Montana officials that she had a radical strategy to bail out the state’s foundering benefit plan for its 30,000 employees and their families,” Marshall Allen writes over at ProPublica. “The officials were listening. […]
Jeanne Pinder
“For more than 30 minutes on a frigid February morning, Robert Findley lay unconscious in the back of an ambulance as paramedics hand-pumped oxygen into his lungs,” Sarah Jane Tribble wrote for Kaiser Health News. “They were waiting for a helicopter to land at a helipad just across the icy parking lot next to Mercy […]
Jeanne Pinder
“The past decade has seen enormous growth in health care costs paid by both employees and employers, creating the context for some of today’s biggest political debates as well as teeing up more problems for the future,” Caitlin Owens writes for Axios. “Yes, but: There are some signs that employers have maxed out their ability […]
Jeanne Pinder
Epic, the giant electronic medical records company, is offering a price estimate button that doctors can use in the office. Kristin Cain, a reproductive endocrinologist in North Dakota, posted this on Twitter: “EPIC has a button I just discovered: Patient Estimate. After you place an order, it estimates the out of pocket cost. Except if […]
