Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Startup Sees Business Opportunity In Helping Consumers Make Sense Of Medical Bills
Atlanta Journal Constitution: Remedy: A Startup Trying To Solve Your Medical Bill Problems
With 1-in-5 working-age Americans reporting they had trouble paying their medical bills in the past year, according to a Kaiser/Times survey released in January, it’s no wonder some entrepreneurs want to offer solutions. Among them, a Bay Area startup called Remedy launched its website last week in hopes of helping consumers fight medical billing errors and overcharges. In some cases, said chief executive and co-founder Victor Echevarria, the company will even negotiate down balances. (Krasny, 10/7)
WBUR: New Website Launched By Mass. Organization Teaches How To 'Stop A Suicide Today'
The Stop A Suicide Today site is intended to give people a sense of urgency — to know they can and should intervene when they're concerned a friend or family member might be suicidal, and treat it as a medical emergency — just as if the loved one were having a heart attack. In 70 percent of cases, a suicidal person makes actual statements indicating what he or she is thinking — sometimes obvious, sometimes more subtle, according to Jacobs. (Jolicoeur, 10/6)
Columbus Dispatch: Urology Data Breach Affected 300,000
Central Ohio Urology Group put a number to the size of its data breach August — 300,000. The Gahanna-based health-care provider submitted a report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which tracks such breaches and has an online database dating to 2009. The urology group's breach is the eighth-largest in the country this year among healthcare providers and is the biggest among Ohio-based providers in the federal database. (Malone, 10/6)
