The information in this post was derived from a report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. More.
Category: Cost of Healthcare
Depressing News About Organ Transplants
The bad news in this post comes to us via Alex Tabarrok at the Marginal Revolution blog.
Thursday Links
- Studies: hugs are good for you.
- Regular mammograms identify 87% of breast cancers. AI programs can boost that detection rate by 20%, and the cost is $40 – $100 extra. Is that worth it?
- Study: There is no evidence that buying and then forgiving medical debts that are in collections improved on average beneficiaries’ finances, access to credit, or their physical or mental health. People were even less likely to pay existing medical bills after their debt was eliminated.
- PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down for thousands of years, if at all. Turns out, they are everywhere, including our drinking water, and that could be hazardous to our health.
- The FDA has approved a test that predicts a patient’s risk of becoming addicted to opioids. Why is that controversial?
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.