Local governments around the country are using Covid relief funds to eliminate medical debt for their communities. But Covid relief funds are not a long-term solution. Provide training to your teams on how to communicate with patients to make it clear that financial assistance is available and encourage those who may qualify to apply.
The Biden Administration is proposing that short-term health plans are limited to three months, or a maximum of four months if they’re extended. It comes after the Trump Administration allowed members to stay on the plans for 12 months and renew them for three years. The plans are often limited in coverage and leave consumers with high medical costs.
Of the more than 15% of American adults who have past-due medical debt, about 73% owe some or all of the money to hospitals, according to a recent Urban Institute report. The American Hospital Association said short-term limited duration health plans and high-deductible health plans are to blame.
The funding round was led by Mercato Partners Traverse Fund and included participation from Bertelsmann Investments. In total, the company has raised $63 million. Paytient created Health Payment Accounts, which help patients pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Providence issued a response to a letter sent by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, in which she demanded the health system answer questions about its alleged efforts to aggressively bill patients who qualified for free or discounted care. The response denied that Providence aggressively pursued its poorest patients for medical debt, asserting that its “commitment to those in need has never been stronger.”
Of people who were found inadequately insured, 9% were uninsured, 11% had a period without coverage over the past year and 23% had coverage all year but were underinsured, the Commonwealth Fund report showed.
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Chronic conditions cause medical debt in U.S. households across all income levels, according to a new report. Medical debt has frequently been associated with cancer and, more recently, diabetes treatment, but there are other chronic conditions that contribute significantly to medical bills — such as heart disease, asthma, anxiety and lung disease.
Skyrocketing medical bills and a lack of understanding in the healthcare system is putting financial stress on Americans in 2022, several recent reports have found. Despite the No Surprises Act, which protects consumers from surprise billing, many Americans said they’re still receiving unexpected bills, and a low healthcare literacy is making it difficult for them to know how to handle high medical bills, the surveys find.
Hospitals already have a tool at their disposal that addresses affordability for their patients. Financial assistance programs can prevent many patients from having accounts sent to collections in the first place.
Though medical debt climbed high over the past decade, it appears that Medicaid expansion can help. States that expanded Medicaid saw average debt drop by 44% as opposed to a 10% reduction in non-expansion states.
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Given the complex and systemic nature of the country’s crisis, no single solution or course of action can be expected to serve as a panacea. A multi-pronged approach — including digital health tools — that enlists both public and private health stakeholders and addresses each stage of the medical debt life cycle will be required.
The number of families reporting problems paying medical bills decreased between 2011 and 2018, according to a survey published by the Centers for Disease Control in February. But more than 14% of individuals still said their families had problems paying bills in the last year.
Better, a healthcare startup striving to make filing out-of-network insurance claims easier, is on a mission: It's pledging 100 percent of its revenue to buy back and forgive $16 million of medical debt.
"The larger issue is, we need much clearer rules and tougher oversight to protect consumers from potentially predatory companies like the one that we set up," Oliver said.
