With the end of the covid emergency millions of Americans enrolled in Medicaid found they were no longer eligible. Medicaid eligibility fluctuates over time for many families. Medicaid is a patchwork of 50 state programs with eligibility that varies by age and income. Pandemic-era protections against disenrollment began expiring in the Spring of 2023 with Medicaid coverage coming to an end for many Americans. An important question public health advocates have is what happened to people dropped from the federal-state health program?
Author: Devon Herrick
Study: Medical Debt Forgiveness Makes Little Difference in Quality of Life
A decade ago a friend had some medical tests done at a hospital outpatient clinic. It was something simple, an X-ray and a blood or urine test. The hospital business office assured her that the care would be covered by her health plan. Months later a debt collector called demanding more than $700 for an outstanding medical bill. My friend had no recollection of having ever received a bill. The debt collector said he worked for the hospital, but when asked for a copy of the bill he could not provide one.
Experts: More Dogs are on Prozac, but that Says More about their Owners’ Mental Health than the Dogs’
The apparent mental health crisis in pets parallels a human one. Veterinary psychiatrists said the evidence is anecdotal but the increase in mood stabilizers mirrors the increase in humans and there are other parallels. However, it appears to be something of a chicken and egg dilemma. It’s not clear if pets are more depressed or if their owners just know more about the drugs available.
Brookings: Out-of-Network Doctors Winning Arbitration Cases 75% of the Time, Boosting Fees
The No Surprises Act has a dispute resolution mechanism to decide compensation for physicians who treat patients with whom they have no network affiliation. After treating insured patients, physicians and other providers bill health insurers, who pay, decline to pay or pay a reduced fee. If a physician believes the fees paid are too low, they have the option of taking the case to an independent dispute resolution (IDR) board for a fee.