Tag: medical bills

Kept at the Hospital on Coronavirus Fears, Now Facing Large Medical Bills

New York Times logoCare was mandated by the government, but it’s not clear who has to pay.

Frank Wucinski and his 3-year-old daughter, Annabel, are among the dozens of Americans the government has flown back to the country from Wuhan, China, and put under quarantine to check for signs of coronavirus.

Now they are among what could become a growing number of families hit with surprise medical bills related to government-mandated actions.

Mr. Wucinski, a Pennsylvania native who has lived in China for years, accepted the U.S. government’s offer to evacuate from Wuhan with Annabel in early February as the new coronavirus spread. His wife, who is not an American citizen and remains in China, developed pneumonia that doctors think resulted from Covid-19, the disease caused by the respiratory virus. Her father, whom she helped care for, was infected and recently died. Continue reading.

Meaningful Protection From Surprise Medical Bills

Credit: mensatic via Morguefile

Many Americans purchase health insurance under the impression that doing so will protect them from exorbitant, one-time costs associated with medical care. Insured patients pay premiums every month rather than having to worry about paying a large medical expense at once. In some instances, however, insured patients visit their doctors and receive a costly, unexpected bill. This is a consequence of the current structure of health insurance and provider networks, wherein insurers and health care providers negotiate to accept discounted payments as payments in full for services in exchange for sending patients to those providers. When patients visit out-of-network providers—those who haven’t agreed to these discounts—they can lose the benefit of their insurance. The provider may charge them the entire, nondiscounted price for a service—and insurance may not cover any of the bill.

Even when their insurance covers part of the bill, patients are often left to pay the difference between the insurer’s payment and the high, nondiscounted price that the provider charges. This practice is called balance billing—or surprise billing, when the bill is unexpected—and it’s a practice that Americans want addressed. A 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that two-thirds of Americans are worried about receiving an unexpected medical bill. Solving this problem has garnered bipartisan support, and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have introduced legislation on the topic. Some state governments have attempted to address the issue, but federal law and state inaction has left many patients still exposed to this harm. Continue reading “Meaningful Protection From Surprise Medical Bills”

Would your plan cover John McCain’s treatment?

The following article by Louise Norris was posted on the healthinsurance.org website July 25, 2017:

The Arizona Senator’s health plan will ensure top-notch glioblastoma treatment, but how would Americans with other health coverage fare?

Last week, we heard the sad news that Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with glioblastoma. McCain had surgery at Phoenix’s Mayo Clinic in mid-July, and it’s expected that he’ll also receive chemotherapy and radiation, along with other potential treatments. Senator McCain has proven time and again that he’s tough as nails, and appears to be facing this latest battle head-on. One thing that he likely has on his side is top-notch health insurance.

McCain is 80, which means he’s presumably been on Medicare for 15 years. Currently serving federal lawmakers are able to obtain employer-subsidized coverage in the Washington DC small-business exchange, and they can have this coverage in addition to Medicare. Continue reading “Would your plan cover John McCain’s treatment?”