copay

Carmen Quintero works as a supervisor at a distribution center for N95 masks. She owes $1,840 for other care she received when she tried to get a coronavirus test.

Health & Safety

Essential Worker Shoulders $1,840 Debt For Trying To Get A Coronavirus Test

12:43pm June 30, 2020

by Sarah Varney

Carmen Quintero couldn't get a coronavirus test but ended up with a huge bill for trying to. She also was told to self-isolate and had no choice but to use vacation time to stay home from work.

Queue Listen Now

Over the past decade, hospitals have been rapidly building outpatient clinics or purchasing existing independent ones. It was a lucrative business strategy because such clinics could charge higher rates, on the premise that they were part of a hospital. M

Hospitals Chafe Under A Medicare Rule That Reduces Payments To Far-Flung Clinics

5:00am April 23, 2019

by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez

Hospital-owned clinics that are miles away should be reimbursed at the same rates as an independent doctor, but not more, Medicare says. That new rule could save taxpayers $380 million in 2019.

Even for conventional medical treatments that are covered under most health insurance policies, the large copays and high deductibles have left many Americans with big bills, says a health economist, who sees the rise in medical fundraisers as worrisome.

Patients Are Turning To GoFundMe To Fill Health Insurance Gaps

11:41pm December 27, 2018

by Mark Zdechlik

Medical fundraisers account for 1 in 3 of the website's campaigns and bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category. Americans' confidence they can afford health care is slipping, some say.

Queue Listen Now

People who earn up to 400 percent of the poverty level (about $48,500 for an individual and $100,400 for a family of four in 2019) are eligible for subsidies of the cost of their marketplace health plans. But many of the 5 million who aren't eligible feel

Health Costs Bear Down On Families Who Don't Qualify For ACA Subsidies

10:18am December 14, 2018

by Steve Findlay

Rising costs have driven millions who don't get a subsidy for their Affordable Care Act health plan to drop the coverage or turn to cheaper, less comprehensive — and sometimes inadequate — insurance.

Many Medicare patients don't realize they can sometimes pay less out of pocket for a prescription drug if they pay cash, instead of the insurance copay.

To Lower Your Medicare Drug Costs, Ask Your Pharmacist For The Cash Price

10:35am May 29, 2018

by Susan Jaffe

Sometimes a drug plan's copay is higher than the cash price, but insurance rules keep pharmacists from telling Medicare beneficiaries unless they ask.

Doctors and hospitals are increasingly asking patients to pay up front for deductibles, which can cost thousands.

Doctors And Hospitals Tell Patients: Show Us The Money Before Treatment

10:30am December 07, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

As patients' share of medical bills has grown with the rise in deductibles, copays and coinsurance, providers have become laser focused on getting payments up front.