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 […]

View Post Anna Werner awards CBS Edward R. Murrow Medical Price Roulette

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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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and testing: Why are some people being asked to pay?

Jeanne Pinder June 23, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and testing: Why are some people being asked to pay?

While it’s widely believed that coronavirus (Covid-19) testing is supposed to be covered with no patient out-of-pocket payments by federal law in many cases, we have learned increasingly that Insurers are declining to pay. While we haven’t seen a flood of such reports, there are plenty. We’ve investigated a few, and found that in several […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and work: Helping companies plan their return to the office

Ben Glickman June 11, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and work: Helping companies plan their return to the office

By BEN GLICKMAN and PHOEBE PINDER New York City — the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic — entered its first phase of reopening on June 8. Of course essential workers — doctors, firefighters, grocery store workers, mail deliverers — have been on the job since the beginning of the pandemic. But now, for the first […]

View Post coronavirus COVID-19 return to the office testing US Healthy Work

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and bills: I didn’t have to pay a penny of my $320,000 Covid-19 bill- Slate

Jeanne Pinder June 9, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and bills: I didn’t have to pay a penny of my $320,000 Covid-19 bill- Slate

“In March, I came down with a life-threatening case of COVID-19,” David Lat writes over at Slate. “I spent 16 nights in the hospital, including a week in the intensive care unit. I underwent an emergency intubation, followed by six days on a ventilator. I received services from multiple specialists -— experts in critical care, […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) insurance: Anthem offering $2.5B in financial assistance to members, providers

Jeanne Pinder June 5, 2020

“Anthem will make $2.5 billion in financial assistance available to customers and providers as they weather the coronavirus pandemic, including premium credits for cash-strapped members and funding to assist docs in standing up telehealth programs,” Paige Minemyer wrote for Fierce Healthcare. “Anthem will make premium credits of between 10% and 15% available to select individual market plans […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and work: Here’s how some are returning to the workplace

Jeanne Pinder June 2, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and work: Here’s how some are returning to the workplace

Coronavirus (Covid-19) has sent a lot of people out of the workplace, especially in places like New York, the center of the pandemic. As the New York area cautiously starts to leave full lockdown, examples of workplace practices are being discussed. Employees are waiting to hear what’s up at their workplace, and what has been […]

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Category: Health plans