MEDICAL BILLING NEWS
Keep abreast of news and information on medical billing and its impact on patients and consumers.
Archives - March, 2023
Many calls and messages now count as a “visit” that you could be charged for.
- The Atlantic
State lawmakers and a representative of the Texas Hospital Association expressed concern Monday about legislation that would require health care providers to send patients an itemized bill when billing for medical services, according to testimony at a House Public Health Committee meeting.
- KXAN
Connecticut is among eight states that limit telehealth fees
Lawmakers unhappy with how the government is carrying out a landmark law to curb surprise medical bills are renewing pressure on the Biden administration to change course, with some pushing for legislation to get their way.
- Bloomberg Law
If you think you’re being overcharged on medical bills, you probably are.
- Vox
Anita Gulati didn’t even know about the No Surprises Act when she contacted the Problem Solvers about a $739 medical bill that was definitely surprising.
- Fox 31
House Republicans chided Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra for laying blame for a backlog of surprise billing arbitration disputes at the feet of physicians.
- Fierce Healthcare
Under Alaska's 80th percentile rule, if an insurance company receives 10 bills for similar medical services in a particular region, the seven lowest cost bills are paid in full by the insurance company, and the other three are paid at the rate of the third-highest of those bills.
- Yahoo News / Anchorage Daily News
TikTok user Shaunnaburns3 claimed that asking hospitals to itemize ER bills would reduce them. After several folks tested the hack, they confirmed it does indeed work.
- Upworthy
President and CEO of the American Hospital Association on medical billing
- Washington Post
A billing mistake by an in-network Florida emergency room landed this mother's then-4-year-old son in collections.
- NPR
Radiology company had multiple BBB complaints
- WFTS Tampa Bay
Colorado’s nonprofit hospitals would be required to spend more on “community benefit” under new bill
Nonprofit hospitals are required to show they spend money on “community benefit,” but a bill in the Colorado legislature would require them to invest more and focus on different priorities.
- The Denver Post
Hospital facility fees, according to those who oppose them, are hidden charges and unfair to consumers who get hit with those costs months after their outpatient medical treatments, and which can run into thousands of dollars.
The State of Ohio's toolkit of resources to help consumers, providers, and insurers understand and navigate the surprise billing law.
The CMS has instructed arbiters to resume all recent payment dispute determinations relating to the No Surprises Act after the agency was forced to pause determinations following a February federal court ruling.
- Healthcare Dive
Senators are calling for the Biden administration to do better to implement a law that bans surprise medical bills, lamenting hiccups with setting up an arbitration dispute process on out-of-network charges.
- Fierce Healthcare
While unexpected bills may not be completely avoidable — and your health insurance might not cover every last expense — there are questions you can ask medical providers to help you avoid paying more than you have to, and to clarify how much you’ll actually owe before undergoing a procedure or test.
- CNBC
A New Jersey widower was out five figures after a medical billing boondoggle lasted nearly half a year.
- WABC-TV
About 78% prevail in getting disputed charges reduced or removed, survey finds.
- Healthcare Finance News
Americans are knee-deep in medical debt and most of that debt is owed to hospitals, with minority and low-income patients dealing with a disproportionate amount of it, according to a March 18 Washington Post report.
- Becker's Healthcare
Charlie Brusko and her family are facing thousands of dollars in medical bills after her daughter, Penelope, 7, broke her arm while playing at school. Tarrant County residents have the highest medical debt in the nation, according to an analysis by Kaiser Health News and the Urban Institute.
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Imagine receiving a bill for $10,000. It’s from your local hospital, where you had a minor procedure. But you have no idea why it’s so high, or how you’re going to pay.
- Las Vegas Sun
An “astronomical” number of surprise billing arbitration dispute cases is impacting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a top agency official said.
- Fierce Healthcare
... one group rallied in Annapolis Monday night to end medical debt. WBAL-TV attended the rally and has more on their concerns. The group is a coalition of people from around the state, 350,000 people strong, who say health care is a human right.
- wbaltv.com
“An Arm and a Leg” host Dan Weissmann speaks with a father about his attempt to dispute a medical bill charge that led him to battle the hospital, then his insurer, a bill-mediation service provided by his employer, and finally the debt collector.. He also interviews Kaelyn Globig, head of advocacy for the Rescu Foundation, about how to find out what Medicare pays for a given procedure, and April Kuehnhoff, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, for advice on filing a dispute with a debt collector.
- “An Arm and a Leg” podcast
The analysis assesses the share of adults ages 18 to 64 with past-due medical bills owed to hospitals and other health care providers as well as the actions taken by hospitals to collect payment or make bills easier to settle.
- the Urban Institute
Physician employees with emergency and critical staffing firm US Acute Care Solutions critique the federal No Surprises Act.
- Medpage Today
A quirk in the Affordable Care Act is creating additional headaches.
- Yahoo Finance
In this installment of InvestigateTV and KHN’s “Costly Care” series, Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV’s national consumer investigative reporter, illuminates the practice of up-charging for common medications and supplies in the emergency room.
- KHN