When Covid-19 struck in early 2020 many hospitals and hospital outpatient clinics began to scale back or stopped performing non-emergency procedures. The idea was to avoid putting patients at risk of Covid or to reserve capacity for those with Covid. At least that was the theory and partly why hospitals were provided federal bailout funds…
Author: Devon Herrick
Lowering Eligibility to Age 60 will Bankrupt Medicare Sooner
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new report on lowering the age for Medicare eligibility to age 60. The report Budgetary Effects of a Policy That Would Lower the Age of Eligibility for Medicare to 60 found Medicare rolls would rise by nearly 14 million people. It would also increase the budget deficit by $155 billion over a 5-year period.
CO Supreme Court Strikes Down $230k Surprise Medical Bill
Colorado woman Lisa French had back surgery in 2014. The admissions clerk at the hospital, St. Anthony North, mistakenly estimated her cost-sharing at $1,337. What the hospital clerk failed to realize was the hospital was out-of-network. Because the hospital was out of network it was not bound by a negotiated rate for the surgery. The hospital could bill at its so-called chargemaster rates, which are often two to three times typical rates health plans negotiate with in-network providers.
You Think Covid is Bad? Smallpox Killed 30% of its Victims
America has just passed 1 million deaths from Covid-19. The death toll globally may have surpassed 15 million, according to the World Health Organization. That sounds bad and for the families and loved ones of those who have died it is horrendous. However, it could have been far worse. For those who contracted Covid-19 (as I have) it kills only about 0.7 percent of the people it infects. The most susceptible are those individuals with pre-existing conditions, the elderly, the frail, etc.