Hospitals

Lucy Branson, now 4, holds Polly Pocket shoes like the ones she put in her nose.

Health & Safety

Nothing To Sneeze At: $2,659 Bill To Pluck Doll's Shoe From Girl's Nose

7:40pm November 26, 2019

by Markian Hawryluk

A young girl put matching doll shoes up her nose. One came out easily. The second required a trip to the hospital emergency department and led to a bill that isn't child's play.

Licensed practical nurse Stephanie Dotson measures Kent Beasley's blood pressure in downtown Atlanta in September. Dotson is a member of the Mercy Care team that works to bring medical care to Atlanta residents who are homeless.

Health & Safety

They Bring Medical Care To The Homeless And Build Relationships To Save Lives

8:03pm November 21, 2019

by Sam Whitehead

"Street medicine" programs, like one in Atlanta, seek out people living in back alleys and under highways. The public health outreach improves patients' health and is cost-effective, hospitals find.

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One rule announced by the Trump administration Friday puts pressure on hospitals to reveal what they charge insurers for procedures and services. Critics say the penalty for not following the rule isn't stiff enough to be a an effective deterrent.

Trump Wants Insurers and Hospitals To Show Real Prices To Patients

9:47pm November 15, 2019

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Two regulations announced Friday take aim at health care prices. One, to affect patients by 2021, addresses hospital rates. The second, a proposal, would require more upfront clarity from insurers.

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Tom and Dana Saputo sit in their backyard with their three dogs. Tom Saputo's double-lung transplant was fully covered by insurance, but he was responsible for an $11,524.79 portion of the charge for an air ambulance ride.

Health & Safety

The Air Ambulance Billed More Than The Lung Transplant Surgeon

11:23am November 06, 2019

by Anna Almendrala

After Tom Saputo underwent a double-lung transplant in 2018, he was stunned by the more than $11,000 bill for his share of a 27-mile air ambulance ride from one hospital to another.

Arline Feilen (left) and her sister, Kathy McCoy, at their mother's home in the Chicago suburbs. The biggest chunk of Feilen's bill was $16,480 for four nights in a room shared with another patient. McCoy joked that it would have been cheaper to stay at t

Health & Safety

A Woman's Grief Led To A Mental Health Crisis And A $21,634 Hospital Bill

11:25am October 31, 2019

by Laura Ungar

A woman in Illinois spent five days in the hospital undergoing psychiatric care to help her through a mental health crisis. The bill she got is about the same price as a new Honda Civic.

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A blood transfusion bag hangs in an operating room in a hospital in the Republic of Congo. Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a huge gap between blood supply and demand, new research found.

Hospitals Around The World Have A Dire Shortage Of Blood

4:13pm October 22, 2019

by Tim McDonnell

The first global analysis of blood supply and demand finds that many developing countries are relying on risky emergency donations.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, along with 1,500 self-funded health plans, sued Sutter Health for antitrust violations. The closely watched case, which many expected to set precedents nationwide, ended in a settlement Wednesday. Above, Sutter

Health & Safety

Hospital Giant Sutter Health Agrees To Settlement In Big Antitrust Fight

6:01pm October 16, 2019

by Jenny Gold

Health care costs in Northern California, where Sutter Health dominates, are 20% to 30% higher than in Southern California, even after adjusting for cost of living. Settlement terms aren't yet public.

A bacterial blood infection can lead to a deadly overreaction called sepsis.

Health & Safety

'Tantalizing' Results For A Test Of Vitamin C For Sepsis

4:12pm October 01, 2019

by Richard Harris

The biggest study published to date on vitamin C as a treatment for sepsis couldn't say it helped patients. But the paper does hint that people who got the treatment were more likely to survive.

An unexpected charge related to a biopsy threatened the financial security of Brianna Snitchler and her partner.

Health & Safety

A Biopsy Came With An Unexpected $2,170 'Cover Charge' For The Hospital

7:50pm September 30, 2019

by Cara Anthony

After a test to rule out cancer, Brianna Snitchler faced a facility fee for use of the hospital's radiology room. She wasn't told in advance about the charge, which strained her tight budget.

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Some insurers using this new payment model offer a single fee to one OB-GYN or medical practice, which then uses part of that money to cover the hospital care involved in labor and delivery. Other insurers opt to cut a separate contract with the hospital.

A New Way Of Paying For Maternity Care Aims To Reduce C-Sections

1:38pm September 20, 2019

by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez

Instead of paying doctors piecemeal for prenatal appointments and delivery of the baby, some insurers now offer medical practices one lump sum to cover it all.