Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
People With Health Insurance Now Own The Most 'Bad Debt' To Hospitals
The Guardian: Majority Of Debtors To US Hospitals Now People With Health Insurance
People with health insurance may now represent the majority of debtors American hospitals struggle to collect from, according to medical billing analysts. This marks a sea change from just a few years ago, when people with health insurance represented only about one in 10 bills hospitals considered “bad debt”, analysts said. “We always used to consider bad debt, especially bad debt write-offs from a hospital perspective, those [patients] that have the ability to pay but don’t,” said Colleen Hall, senior vice-president for Kodiak Solutions, a billing, accounting and consulting firm that works closely with hospitals and performed the analysis. (Glenza, 1/11)
Axios: Health Insurance Premiums Are Eating Into Workers' Wages
Families with workplace health insurance may have missed out on $125,000 in earnings over the past three decades as a result of rising premiums eating into their pay, according to a new JAMA Network Open study. (Owens, 1/17)
NPR: 2024's Drug Price Hikes Are Rolling In — And Some Decreases
Drug companies often increase prices at the start of the new year, and 2024 seems to be no exception. There have been about 600 price hikes so far in January, according to the drug price nonprofit 46Brooklyn Research. But the increases haven't been as steep as they were in some previous years. In the 2010s, drug price hikes were typically much bigger — up to 10% on average (Lupkin, 1/17)
In news from the federal government —
The Washington Post: Lloyd Austin 911 Call Audio Shows Aide Asked For No Lights Or Sirens
An aide for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asked during a 911 call on Jan. 1 that an ambulance arrive to pick Austin up without lights or sirens, according to audio of the call. The 70-year-old’s trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, and his ensuing hospitalization, remained secret for days — with even President Biden kept in the dark. “Can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? We’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide said on the recording, which was obtained by Reuters and heard by The Washington Post. The aide’s name was redacted from the recording. (Ables, 1/17)
Military.com: Free Surgeries And Prescriptions: Trump White House Staff Got Access To Military Health Care Despite Being Ineligible
Under the Trump administration, the White House Medical Unit -- a joint Defense Department team that provides medical care for the president, vice president and family members and also manages health services for certain high-level officials -- sent ineligible staff members to military hospitals for specialty care and surgeries, the DoD inspector general has found. The medical unit also dispensed hundreds of free prescriptions, including controlled substances, to people in the White House, the DoD inspector general said in a report released Jan. 8. (Kime, 1/16)
