After Appalachian Hospitals Merged Into a Monopoly, Their ERs Slowed to a Crawl
Ballad Health was granted the nationās largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in 2018. Since then, its emergency rooms have become more than three times as slow.
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Ballad Health was granted the nationās largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in 2018. Since then, its emergency rooms have become more than three times as slow.
For-profit groups own more than 70% of U.S. nursing homes. Industry leaders and researchers wonder whether corporations and investors can succeed where not-for-profit organizations have struggled. Or, will quality of care suffer in the name of making money?
A recent report finds half of Americaās rural hospitals are losing money, and many are struggling to stay open. Researchers and advocates worry the hospitalsā financial spiral will have immediate and long-term health effects on their communities.
Itās a big job clearing out so-called āpatent thicketsā drugmakers create to keep their productsā prices high. But the Federal Trade Commission is giving it a shot.
In the wake of a Ńī¹óåś“«Ć½Ņīl Health News-New York Times series, members of the Special Committee on Aging are asking residents and their families to submit their bills and are calling for a Government Accountability Office study.
Health providers may bill however they choose ā including in ways that could leave patients with unexpected bills for āfreeā care. Routine preventive care saddled an Illinois couple with his-and-her bills for āsurgical trays.ā
Artificial intelligence software to aid radiologists in detecting problems or diagnosing cancer has been moving rapidly into clinical use, where it shows great promise. But itās a turnoff for some patients asked to pay out-of-pocket for technology thatās not quite ready for prime time.
At $1,000 a night for a private room, medical centers are offering fancy food and casting health care as a ājourney.ā Instead of creature comforts, how about helping us feel better?
Many proposals have been floated about how to address the nationās primary care problem. They range from training slots to medical school debt forgiveness but often sidestep comprehensive payment reform.
A rule taking effect Jan. 1 was intended to stop one set of abuses by pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, but some pharmacists say itās enabling these price brokers to simply do new things unfairly.
Mississippi has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. Now, it also has a federal grant to help in rural areas. The award could signal more flexibility from federal officials.
Ballad Health, the only hospital system across a large swath of Tennessee and Virginia, has fallen short of quality-of-care and charity care obligations ā even as itās sued thousands of patients for unpaid bills.
The White House said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will develop new regulations that would prevent unpaid medical bills from being counted on credit reports.
After decades of unchecked mergers, health care is the land of giants, with huge medical systems monopolizing care in many cities, states, and even whole regions of the country. This decreases patient choice, impedes innovation, erodes quality of care, and raises prices. And federal regulators have been slow to act.
Each year, Medicare punishes hospitals that have high rates of readmissions and high rates of infections and patient injuries. Check out which hospitals have been penalized.
Consumers should know that this type of fraud can happen, whether from a large-scale breach or theft of an individualās data. The result could be thousands of dollars in medical bills.
The Vermont senator sees beefing up the primary care workforce as a critical step in expanding Americansā access to health care.
When Medi-Cal beneficiary Lloyd Tennison moved last year from Contra Costa County to San Joaquin County, he was bumped off his managed care plan without notice before his new coverage took effect. His case highlights a chronic issue in Californiaās fragmented Medicaid program.
Gov. Gavin Newsomās ambitious experiment in health care is supposed to cut costs as it fills the needs of hard-to-reach people. The programās start is chaotic and limited, but it shows promise.
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