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…
Category: COVID-19 and Public Health
Wednesday Links
Right to try: The main obstacle is not government; it’s the drug companies.
Covid fact: For people under 25, Covid was less deadly than traffic accidents.
Additional fact: the Asian death rate was about half the white rate, one-third the black rate, and one-fourth the Hispanic rate. (Rough estimates)
Why is the Covid death rate in Australia one-tenth of the U.S. level?
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.