News
Salem Health merger talks trigger concerns over insurance coverage
2+ hour, 39+ min ago (1097+ words) Health insurance coverage for services at local hospitals pursuing a merger has emerged as a top concern as executives for Salem Health and Santiam Hospital & Clinics spell out their plans. The Salem and Stayton operations are seeking state approval to…...
Trump team’s planned ACA rule offers its answer to rising premium costs: catastrophic coverage
3+ week, 2+ hour ago (689+ words) The changes come as affordability is a key concern for many Americans, some of whom are struggling to pay their ACA premiums since enhanced subsidies expired at the end of last year. Initial enrollment numbers for this year fell by…...
Many middle-income families spend at least a tenth of their income on health insurance
3+ week, 2+ hour ago (515+ words) More than half of working-age adults get their health insurance through an employer, but in many states premium contributions and deductibles take a significant bite out of household'incomes. A new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund, a research nonprofit focused on…...
State launches review of MultiCare’s proposed acquisition of Samaritan Health
3+ week, 5+ day ago (1569+ words) Public comment so far has been mixed on whether state officials should approve the proposed absorption of Corvallis-based Samaritan Health Services by MultiCare, which operates 12 hospitals in Washington state. The proposed deal would bring the dominant health care provider in…...
When health insurance costs more than the mortgage
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (762+ words) When Noah Hulsman, who owns a skate shop in Louisville, Kentucky, learned he no longer qualified for federal subsidies to help him pay for his "gold" Affordable Care Act health plan, the 37-year-old opted for skimpier coverage. But the deductible…...
This health insurance alternative could leave pregnant patients footing the bill
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (506+ words) This story was originally published in The 19th." Alycin Berry's husband had just started a new job in early 2018 when the couple started to dig into his benefits. The amount they'd have to pay for health insurance, they realized, was "ridiculously…...
Oregon Health Plan to remain in network at Salem Health in 2026
2+ mon, 4+ day ago (394+ words) Salem Health and PacificSource have reached an agreement to continue serving patients on the Oregon Health Plan through 2026, a Salem Health spokeswoman, Lisa Wood, said Tuesday evening. The existing contract between Salem's largest health care provider and not-for-profit insurance company…...
One Big Beautiful Bill Act complicates state health care affordability efforts
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (949+ words) As Congress debates whether to extend the temporary federal subsidies that have helped millions of Americans buy health coverage, a crucial underlying reality is sometimes overlooked: Those subsidies are merely a band-aid covering the often unaffordable cost of health care....
Medical bills can be vexing and perplexing. Here’s this year’s best advice for patients.
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (514+ words) A Texas boy's second dose of the MMRV vaccine cost over $1,400. A Pennsylvania woman's long-acting birth control cost more than $14,000. Treatment for a Florida Medicaid enrollee's heart attack cost nearly $78,000 " about as much as surgery for an uninsured Montana woman's…...
State exchange directors seeing consumers’ fears — in real time — about Obamacare premium hikes
2+ mon, 2+ week ago (223+ words) THE WEEK IN BRIEF I've been checking on the progress of the Affordable Care Act's open enrollment season, which is happening as Congress continues to debate whether to extend the subsidies that have given consumers extra help paying their health…...