The new hospital transparency rule: The deadline for posting price lists is on Jan. 1, so how did they do?

Jeanne Pinder December 30, 2020

The new hospital transparency rule: The deadline for posting price lists is on Jan. 1, so how did they do?

The new federal price transparency law is rolling out Jan. 1, 2021, mandating that hospitals have to list prices on their web sites. Describing the new rules, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say on their website: “Hospital price transparency helps Americans know the cost of a hospital item or service before receiving it. […]

After decades as a hospital operator, Tenet shifts its focus to surgery centers: Healthcare Dive

Jeanne Pinder December 28, 2020

After decades as a hospital operator, Tenet shifts its focus to surgery centers: Healthcare Dive

“Tenet Health got its start as a major hospital operator in the U.S. and can trace its hospital business roots as far back as 1969,” Samantha Liss writes over at Healthcare Dive. “But it may be time to think of the Dallas-based company as an ambulatory surgery center operator, first, and a hospital chain, second. […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills, part II: falsely billed and overcharged

Virginia Jeffries December 1, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills, part II: falsely billed and overcharged

A Rochester-area woman we introduced you to over the summer has continued to receive hospital bills for a Covid test that never happened. Back in July, Rebecca Oliver and her partner Dan Loncoa went to Rochester Regional Hospital’s emergency room seeking a Covid test, only to be sent home without one and then billed $540 […]

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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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Drug and device makers paid teaching hospitals $832 million in 2018: Stat News

Jeanne Pinder September 12, 2020

Drug and device makers paid teaching hospitals $832 million in 2018: Stat News

“Amid ongoing concern that drug and device makers may influence medical practice and research, a new analysis suggests the issue also extends to teaching hospitals, which received a total of $832 million in payments for various activities and arrangements other than research in 2018,” Ed Silverman writes over at Stat News. “Of 1,281 teaching hospitals, […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and race: A Black long-hauler hears ‘There are no next steps’

Jeanne Pinder September 8, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and race: A Black long-hauler hears ‘There are no next steps’

For her 30th birthday, Netia McCray asked her partner to help her put her affairs in order and make a will. McCray had been suffering from Covid symptoms for weeks. Unable to get meaningful treatment, she felt close to death. McCray, a Black Boston resident, and other people of color who have had long-lasting symptoms […]

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How much does Eylea cost? Or how to use copay waivers to increase sales: Whistleblower Law Collaborative

Jeanne Pinder July 25, 2020

How much does Eylea cost? Or how to use copay waivers to increase sales: Whistleblower Law Collaborative

“The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that it will sue drug manufacturer Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for health care fraud,” David W.S. Lieberman writes over at The Whistleblower Law Collaborative. “The False Claims Act complaint alleges that Regeneron paid tens of millions of dollars to induce prescriptions for its drug Eylea. Regeneron’s scheme to use a third-party […]

View Post Chronic Disease Fund copay waivers Eylea False Claims Act Regeneron

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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Category: Health reform