When Alexa Kasdan's sore throat lingered for more than a week, she went to her doctor. The doctor sent her throat swab and blood draw to an out-of-network lab for sophisticated DNA tests, resulting in a $28,395.50 bill. (Shelby Knowles for Kaiser Health News). This article was published on December 23, 2019 on NPR, written [...]
This article was published on December 18, 2019 on Connecticut Health I-Team, written by Cara Rosner. Photo Source: Connecticut Health I-Team. The number of “adverse events” occurring at Connecticut hospitals rose 7% in 2018, compared with the previous year, with a growing number of patients suffering serious injury or death associated with falls, according to [...]
It’s doubtful that many technology companies are concerned about employees nearing age 65. Other employers, however, may want to brush up on Medicare eligibility in order to help older workers understand their options and avoid any potential gap in coverage. Here are just a few Medicare-related concerns: For employees who will lose access to employer-sponsored [...]
This article was published on December 7, 2019 on The New York Times, written by Elisabeth Rosenthal. Photo Source: New York Times and Woody Harrington. Welcome to the weird world of medical billing. Much of what we accept as legal in medical billing would be regarded as fraud in any other sector. I have been [...]
In late June, President Trump signed an executive order directing HHS to develop rules requiring hospitals to publish clear and understandable pricing that reflects what people will actually pay for services. HHS Secretary Alex Azar added that the order should also make certain that providers and insurers provide patients with information about potential out-of-pocket costs [...]
The IRS recently published finalized rules easing restrictions on health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to allow employers to provide their workers with tax-preferred funds to pay for the cost of health insurance coverage they buy in the individual market. The regulation is part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to deliver more health coverage choices to Americans. [...]
Another major insurance carrier has cooperated with selected healthcare providers in two states to introduce a bundled payment program for maternity care. Like bundled payment programs used by Medicare and commercial carriers for total joint replacement, the bundled maternity program reimburses the care provider for an entire episode of care, including prenatal, delivery and postpartum [...]
This article was published on October 15, 2019 on MarketScreener.com written by Melanie Evans. Employers are increasingly going the distance to control health spending, paying to send workers across the country to get medical care and bypassing local health-care providers. One of the latest is Amazon.com Inc., which will pay travel costs for workers diagnosed [...]
Employees will be able to save some additional healthcare dollars in 2020 as the IRS will increase the limit on deductible contributions to an HSA by $50 for individuals and $100 for families. The limits will be $3,550 for individuals with self-only coverage and $7,100 for family coverage. The minimum deductible for a qualifying high [...]
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projecting that 83 million people will soon have three or more chronic diseases, the number of employers working to manage chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease is staggering. Not only do the average medical costs for a diabetic exceed $16,000 per year, [...]
