Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Jury Sides With Patient That $229,112.13 Hospital Bill Was Unreasonable
Denver Post: St. Anthony North Health Campus Sued Patient Over Surgery Bill
Landing on [Lisa] French’s doorstep that day was a growing conflict over skyrocketing health care costs pitting employer-based, self-funded insurance plans against hospitals. A growing number of employers are refusing to pay the full amount of the hospital bills of their workers due to alleged price gouging by the hospitals. As justification, they point to data that consultants have unearthed showing wide disparities in hospital billing. Those disputes now are moving into the courts. French’s case appears to be the first of its kind to go to trial in Colorado, her lawyers say. An Adams County jury this month sided with French and found the hospital’s bills weren’t reasonable. St. Anthony has vowed an appeal. (Osher, 6/29)
MPR News: Go Fund My Doctor Bills: Americans Ask For Help Paying For Health Care
GoFundMe, the largest online, crowdsourced fundraising platform, says people have raised more than $5 billion from 50 million donations in the eight years since it began. It's become a go-to way for people in need to help pay their doctors. Medical fundraisers now account for 1 in 3 of the website's campaigns, and they bring in more money than any other GoFundMe category, said GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon. (Zdechlik, 7/2)
In other news —
Kaiser Health News: How ER Bills Can Balloon By As Much As $50K For ‘Trauma Response’
On the first morning of Jang Yeo Im’s vacation to San Francisco in 2016, her 8-month-old son, Park Jeong Whan, fell off the bed in the family’s hotel room and hit his head. There was no blood, but the baby was inconsolable. Jang and her husband worried he might have an injury they couldn’t see, so they called 911, and an ambulance took the family — tourists from South Korea — to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). (Gold and Kliff, 7/2)
