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. […]

Coronavirus (Covid 19) and telemedicine: Will my insurance still cover my appointments?

Virginia Jeffries October 9, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid 19) and telemedicine: Will my insurance still cover my appointments?

Many of the country’s insurers are bringing back patient fees for telemedicine visits after waiving them for several months because of the coronavirus crisis. But how much you’ll have to pay and when you’ll have to pay it depends on which plan you have. Throughout the pandemic, insurance companies have varied widely on what they […]

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) and health insurance: What you need to know

Jeanne Pinder April 12, 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and health insurance: What you need to know

So you’re worried about your health insurance given the coronavirus epidemic. You’re not alone. Whether you have or had job-sponsored insurance, or were on the state exchanges, or were uninsured before COVID-19 hit, it’s a topic of concern. Here are some situations, with answers. You lost your job and need insurance to replace employer-sponsored insurance. […]

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Private health insurance costs are skyrocketing: Axios

Jeanne Pinder December 17, 2019

Private health insurance costs are skyrocketing: Axios

“The cost of private health insurance is out of control, compared to Medicare and Medicaid,” Drew Altman of the Kaiser Family Foundation writes on Axios. “You see that clearly if you take a long-term view of recently released federal data on health spending. This is why the health care industry — not just insurers, but […]

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Medicaid patients suffer as layers of private companies profit: The Los Angeles Times

Jeanne Pinder December 22, 2018

Medicaid patients suffer as layers of private companies profit: The Los Angeles Times

“Marcela Villa isn’t a big name in healthcare — but she played a crucial role in the lives of thousands of Medicaid patients in California,” Chad Terhune, lately of Kaiser Health News, writes over at The Los AngelesTimes. “Her official title: denial nurse. Each week, dozens of requests for treatment landed on her desk after […]

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A Health Economist’s Take on Medicaid: Medpage Today

Jeanne Pinder June 16, 2017

A Health Economist’s Take on Medicaid: Medpage Today

“Medicaid’s original objective was to provide medical care coverage to the poor. The poor, like the elderly (whose medical care would be covered by Medicare), had been largely left out of the U.S.’s growing employer-based insurance market because, starting in the 1950s, insurers began the practice of risk-rating (i.e., basing insurance premiums more on the […]

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Mayo to favor privately insured over Medicaid patients: The Star Tribune

Jeanne Pinder March 16, 2017

Summary: “Mayo Clinic’s chief executive made a startling announcement in a recent speech to employees: The Rochester-based health system will give preference to patients with private insurance over those with lower-paying Medicaid or Medicare coverage, if they seek care at the same time and have comparable conditions,” writes Jeremy Olson at The Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “The […]

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The history of our health care system, and the road not taken

Jeanne Pinder October 4, 2016

Summary: “It’s that time of year again. Insurance companies that participate in the Affordable Care Act’s state health exchanges are signaling that prices will rise dramatically this fall,” Christy Ford Chapin writes over at The Conversation, in a thorough, thoughtful examination of how our health care system came to be — including an explanation of […]

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The Still Expanding State of Medicaid in the United States: PwC

Jeanne Pinder September 26, 2016

Summary: Mediciaid covers 1 in 4 Americans, and 73 percent of them are covered by private Medicaid plans, according to a new report by Price Waterhouse Coopers. The report says: “The trend towards Private Medicaid Health Plans continues, but how much more growth remains? This analysis, the third annual on the State of Medicaid, offers […]

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States Report Medicaid enrollment increases; big insurers’ stocks are up

Jeanne Pinder October 28, 2013

One thing that’s been overlooked in the furor over problems at healthcare.gov is this: People who are eligible for Medicaid because of low income are getting health coverage. That was, after all, a big part of the plan. “Some states are signing up tens of thousands of new Medicaid enrollees in the initial weeks of […]

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Tag: Medicaid