Rural Health: Financial Insecurity Plagues Many Who Live With Disability
By Selena Simmons-Duffin for NPR Carol Burgos is worried her neighbors think she is bringing the neighborhood down. She lives in a mobile home park in a woodsy part of Columbia County, N.Y, just off a two-lane highway. The homes have neat yards and American flags. On a spring Saturday, some neighbors are out holding […]
The Nightmare of Medical Care in America
To be sick and not rich By Beverly Gologorsky for Common Dreams On this extremely hot summer day, the ear-splitting siren screaming through New York’s streets is coming from the ambulance I’m in — on a gurney on my way to the ER. That only makes the siren, loud as it is, all the more […]
Nearly half of adults with heart disease can’t afford their medical bills
Study by Yale University More than 45% of non-elderly adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) report financial hardship due to the associated medical bills, according to a Yale research team. Worse still, about one in five report being unable to pay those medical bills at all, said the researchers. This study appears in the Journal […]
A $20,243 bike crash: Zuckerberg hospital’s aggressive tactics leave patients with big bills
I spent a year writing about ER bills. Zuckerberg San Francisco General has the most surprising billing practices I’ve seen. By Sarah Kliff for Vox On April 3, Nina Dang, 24, found herself in a position like so many San Francisco bike riders — on the pavement with a broken arm. A bystander saw her […]
Insured, But Indebted: Couple Works 5 Jobs To Pay Off Medical Bills
By Jonel Aleccia for NPR Robert and Tiffany Cano of San Tan Valley, Ariz., have a new marriage, a new house and a 10-month-old son, Brody, who is delighted by his ability to blow raspberries. They also have a stack of medical bills that threatens to undermine it all. In the months since their sturdy, […]
Breast cancer survivors have a bigger problem after treatment: The cost
By Ann Pietrangelo for Healthline Breast cancer treatment is saving lives. But its extreme expense is also causing a different kind of hardship for many survivors, saddling them with lifelong financial burden. A new study finds that many physicians believe they’re adequately addressing patients’ financial concerns before treatment. However, many patients say doctors need […]
The time for single-payer system is now
By Chuck Pezeshki for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News I read in the Daily News (“Old Peking owner retired, but grateful,” Sept. 1) with a fair amount of chagrin about the closing of the Old Peking Restaurant in Moscow. The owner, Vinh “Sam” Huy Tran, is being forced by health reasons to close his operation of […]
Add this horror story of teacher charged $109K after heart attack to long list of reasons US badly needs Medicare For All
“The lesson is, if you live in America and get charged an outrageous medical bill, you better hope you can find a journalist to write about it.” By Jake Johnson for Common Dreams Adding yet another horrifying anecdote to the ever-growing list of reasons the United States urgently needs to transition away from its disastrous […]
Why Your Health Insurer Doesn’t Care About Your Big Bills
By Marshall Allen for Pro Publica Patients may think their insurers are fighting on their behalf for the best prices. But saving patients money is often not their top priority. Just ask Michael Frank. Michael Frank ran his finger down his medical bill, studying the charges and pausing in disbelief. The numbers didn’t make sense. […]
He went to an in-network emergency room. He still ended up with a $7,924 bill.
By Sarah Kliff for VOX On January 28, 34-year-old Scott Kohan woke up in an emergency room in downtown Austin, Texas, with his jaw broken in two places, the result of a violent attack the night before. Witnesses called 911, which dispatched an ambulance that brought him to the hospital while he was unconscious. “The […]