News
How 10-minute procedures and routine scans become five-figure medical bills
4+ hour, 42+ min ago (1403+ words) Samantha Smith of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, went into the operating room for emergency removal of an ectopic pregnancy. "I'm grateful I didn't die," she said, but she was shocked to see that the outpatient surgery was billed to her insurer for…...
States to spend millions preparing for Medicare changes. Some people might lose coverage as a result
19+ hour, 58+ min ago (877+ words) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.To receive Medicaid health coverage, some adults will soon have to show they are working, volunteering or taking classes. But to gather that proof, many states first will have to spend millions of dollars improving their computer…...
New A.C.A. Plans Could Increase Family Deductibles to $31,000
4+ day, 5+ hour ago (1376+ words) The Trump administration's proposed new rules for Obamacare plans next year would shift more health care costs to Americans, with much higher deductibles that could lead to greater medical bills. Under the proposal, people who rely on the Affordable Care…...
A single mom’s ACA premium jumped from $3 to $164. Now she’s skipping her medications.
2+ week, 2+ day ago (309+ words) Natalie Richards is overwhelmed. Her monthly health insurance premium jumped from $3 to $164 a month in January, a cost too high for the single mom's tight budget. Her job as a dishwasher at Chili's barely covers rent, groceries, and other essentials....
I used Claude to negotiate $163,000 off a hospital bill. In a complex healthcare system, AI is giving patients power.
2+ week, 3+ day ago (1249+ words) The hospital bill arrived a month after the cremation. Eight lines of vague descriptions " cardiology, pharmacy, medical supplies " each with a dollar amount, many in five figures. The American health system's casual itemization of grief. My 62-year-old brother-in-law had suffered…...
Americans Forced to Sell Their Blood as Trump’s Affordability Crisis Spirals
2+ week, 3+ day ago (579+ words) A growing number of Americans are rolling up their sleeves and selling their blood to stay afloat as President Trump's economy tightens purse strings. Across the country, plasma centers are reporting steady traffic from middle-class workers who say rising costs…...
Government fraud is everywhere. Prediction markets can root it out.
2+ week, 3+ day ago (279+ words) Julia R. Cartwright is a senior research fellow in law and economics at the American Institute for Economic Research. Enron, long remembered as one of the largest corporate fraud scandals in American history, now looks small by comparison. Recent revelations of…...
Some health care CEOs are praising TrumpRx for empowering consumers to compare drug prices
3+ week, 5+ hour ago (477+ words) In today's CEO Daily: Diane Brady reports on CEOs' reaction to the launch of TrumpRx. The big leadership story: The first-ever CEO of the IRS is drawing on his private sector experience. The markets: Up globally, with Japanese stocks hitting…...
How to Tell if You Will Save Money Using TrumpRx
3+ week, 2+ day ago (1096+ words) The government website TrumpRx.gov gives Americans a new option for getting their medications. But it also adds to the complexity of a system that can make it extraordinarily difficult for people to compare prices and figure out where to…...
Senators Accuse Equifax of ‘Price-Gouging’ Medicaid Programs
3+ week, 4+ day ago (503+ words) Three Democratic senators have accused the credit-rating company Equifax of price gouging states for a service many will use to comply with the new work requirements for Medicaid and food assistance passed by Republicans in Congress last year. In a…...