It’s that time of year again when our alarm clocks magically spring forward depriving us of an hour of sleep every night until November 3rd. Yes, Daylight Savings Time begins on March 10, 2024. The following vivid, flowery description is from the New York Times: Daffodils are blooming, temperatures are rising, days are lengthening — all…
Author: Devon Herrick
More Physicians Messaging Patients by Email (and Billing for it)
Probably around 50 years after telephones made their arrived in doctors’ offices physicians stopped using them to communicate with patients. The reason was because health insurance enrollment was growing and third-party payers were not willing to reimburse for phone consultations, while few doctors wanted to work for free. That has been changing over the past few years (the former, not the latter).
Is Gun Violence a Public Health Threat or Criminal Justice Issue?
A curious article in Kaiser Health News (KHN) tries to explain why “even public health experts have limited insight into stopping gun violence in America.” KHN lays the blame on the National Rifle Association and a nearly 30-year old budget amendment that prevents the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from funding research promoting gun control. KHN goes on to say that despite the ban on using CDC funds to advocate for gun control, there is a cottage industry of academics who are working to reduce gun violence.
Federal Consumer Protection Agency Wants to Rein-In Medical Debt Collectors
The purpose of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive financial practices. President Obama signed legislation creating the CFPB in 2010. Since its inception the agency has worked to rein in abusive practices at banks, student loans taken out to attend substandard for-profit universities and abuses at mortgage brokers. Lately the federal agency has taken aim at hospital debt collectors.