Tag Archives: Medical Costs

Analysis, Health, Medicine, Reviews, Videos

Healthcare: The Costs Of ‘Long-Covid’ Treatment

Video April 9, 2021 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Covid-19 is a particularly vicious disease. While a significant number of people remain asymptomatic, other patients could go on to develop what researchers are calling post-Covid-19 syndrome. Americans suffering from the condition are running into financial problems due to the inconsistent nature of the U.S. health-care system. CNBC spoke with three people about their experience battling Covid and paying for their treatment. Watch the video above to learn how coronavirus treatment costs add up long after patients leave the hospital.

Video timeline: 0:00 – Introduction 1:40 – What the data says 3:28 – In for the long haul 7:40 – Government assistance 9:12 – What’s next?

Health, Medicine, News, Studies

Study: 20% Of Surgery Patients Get “Surprise” Out-Of-Network Bills Averaging Over $2000

February 12, 2020 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From a JAMA Network online study (February 11, 2020):

In this analysis of commercially insured patients who had undergone elective surgery with an in-network surgeon at an in-network facility, approximately 1 in 5 received an out-of-network bill, with a mean potential balance bill of $2011.

In this retrospective analysis of 347 356 surgical episodes among commercially insured patients who had undergone elective surgery with in-network primary surgeons and facilities, 20% of episodes involved out-of-network charges.

The patterns of out-of-network bills varied with the clinical scenario. Simpler ambulatory procedures that tend to involve 1 surgeon (arthroscopic meniscal repair, breast lumpectomy) had fewer out-of-network bills (13%-15% of cases), whereas inpatient procedures (hysterectomy, knee replacement, colectomy, CABG surgery) had more frequent out-of-network bills (24%-33% of cases). These more complex procedures were also associated with larger potential balance bills, in the range of $2000 to $4000.

Read full study

Health, Reviews, Studies

Health Care: How “Non-Profit” Hospitals Are Driving Up Medical Costs

October 15, 2019 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

From an NPR online article:

The irony is most hospitals are “nonprofit,” a status that makes them tax exempt. Many (but not all) do enough charity work to justify tax benefits, yet it’s clear nonprofit hospitals are very profitable. They funnel much of the profits into cushy salaries, shiny equipment, new buildings, and, of course, lobbying. In 2018, hospitals and nursing homes spent over $100 million on lobbying activities. And they spent about $30 million on campaign contributions. Health industries have also been funneling hefty sums into dark money groups. But their political power isn’t just the result of lobbying or electioneering. Hospitals are often the biggest employers in states and cities across America.

A recent study by Yale School of Public Health economist Zack Cooper and colleagues takes a look at hospital politics and helps shed light on why American health care is so insanely expensive.

Cooper and his colleagues have spent years investigating whether this was true, filing Freedom of Information Act requests and crunching data. They’ve uncovered evidence that suggests it was true. They find that legislators who were on the fence and voted “yea” for the legislation were 700% more likely to see a large bump in Medicare payment rates to hospitals in their district. Between 2005 and 2010, Congress shelled out over $2 billion to 88 hospitals through the horse-trading Section 508 provision. It was a clear win for these hospitals, which spent the money on more equipment, buildings, services, and staff.