“Millions of Americans have used GoodRx, a drug discount app, to search for lower prices on prescriptions like antidepressants, H.I.V. medications and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases at their local drugstores,” Natasha Singer writes for The New York Times. “But U.S. regulators say the app’s coupons and convenience came at a high cost for users: […]
Posted inPatients
How much does a home birth cost? $500 or $15,000?
How much does home birth cost? Well, like anything else in healthcare, it depends. Home births totaled 1.6 percent of all U.S. births before the pandemic, through 2017, according to this article in PubMed Central. But experts agree that many more people chose home births after the pandemic began, because of the fear of catching […]
Posted inCosts
Roaches in the operating room: Doctors at HCA hospital say patient care has suffered from cost-cutting
“On Dec. 7, 2021, more than a dozen surgeons convened a meeting at their hospital, HCA Florida Bayonet Point in Hudson, Florida. Their concerns about patient safety at the 290-bed acute care facility owned by HCA Healthcare Inc. had been intensifying for months and the doctors had requested the meeting to push management to address their complaints,” Gretchen […]
Posted inCosts
The medicine is a miracle, but only if you can afford it
“April Crawford never thought she’d be begging for help on GoFundMe, but she has run out of options,” Gina Kolata and Francesca Paris write over at The New York Times. “She has multiple sclerosis, and Mavenclad, the drug that could slow her decline, has a list price of $194,000 a year. Her Medicare insurance will pay […]
Posted inCosts
Bariatric (weight-loss) surgery: How much does it cost?
If you’re struggling with obesity and considering bariatric (weight-loss) surgery, you might be concerned with how much it costs. While we at ClearHealthCosts can’t don’t give medical advice on things like whether or not you should get it, we did create this patient-centered guide for paying for bariatric surgery. What is bariatric surgery? Bariatric […]
Posted inBriefs
More delaying healthcare because of costs
“Despite Congressional actions to reduce the out-of-pocket costs for insulin, medical costs continue to plague Americans. Four in ten Americans report difficulty paying for medical care and about half carry medical debt,” Deb Gordon writes over at Forbes. “Now, new research shows that more Americans than ever are delaying care because of costs. In the annual Gallup Health and […]
Posted inCosts
As pandemic-era Medicaid provisions lapse, millions approach a coverage cliff
By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News States are preparing to remove millions of people from Medicaid as protections put in place early in the Covid-19 pandemic expire. The upheaval, which begins in April, will put millions of low-income Americans at risk of losing health coverage, threatening their access to care and potentially exposing them to large […]
Posted inCosts
Olmesartan (Benicar) costs: Why does insurance pay so little?
It’s common wisdom that you need to have insurance to lower health costs, even for something like the generic blood pressure medication Olmesartan (Benicar) — and that uninsured people generally pay a lot more. But what if that’s not true? What if you pay less by putting away your insurance card? It might make you […]
Posted inCosts
The cost of Humira: How drug companies use patents to prop up prices
“In 2016, a blockbuster drug called Humira was poised to become a lot less valuable,” Rebecca Robbins writes over at The New York Times. “The key patent on the best-selling anti-inflammatory medication, used to treat conditions like arthritis, was expiring at the end of the year. Regulators had blessed a rival version of the drug, […]
Posted inCosts
Medicaid re-enrollment ends soon; millions may lose coverage
“Robert, who lives in Philadelphia, knows signing up for Medicaid can be tricky with his ADHD, so he brought his daughter along to help him fill out the paperwork,” Alan Yu writes over at WHYY. “‘If we miss one little detail, they would reject you,’ says Robert, who has had the government health insurance for […]
