When Battling Cancer, Patients Often Face Hefty Expenses
Advances in treatment, including new drugs and high-tech procedures, can be costly, even for those with insurance.
Memphis Hospital Teams Up With Churches To Deliver Care
The Methodist Le Bonheur system and about 400 churches work together to make sure church members have social support when they go into the hospital and when they come out.
Some Doctors Refuse To Treat Kids Who Have Not Been Immunized
These pediatricians say they are worried about other patients in the waiting room, some of them too young to be immunized or with health problems that compromise their immune systems.
Employers Increasingly Trimming Or Cutting Disability Benefits
The same pattern that has emerged in health insurance — employers’ shifting more costs onto workers’ shoulders — is occurring in disability coverage.
Readers Face Multiple Dilemmas About Insurance Coverage, Costs
“Insuring Your Health” columnist Michelle Andrews answers questions from readers, including someone wondering about coverage if you’ve been drinking, talking with your insurer about a family member’s bill and preventive colonscopies.
Getting Up Close And Personal With Emergency Care, Canadian Style
Health care columnist’s bike accident lands her in an emergency room where she finds interesting differences from U.S. treatment.
New Emergency Care Programs Focus On Quality-Of-Life Issues
With training, hospital emergency department staff members can enhance their skills in pain and symptom management and improve their communication skills.
Health Law Bolsters Funding For In-School Clinics
At about 1,900 schools around the country, children can get checkups, vaccinations and help with medication.
Insurance Usually Covers Diagnosis, Treatment Of Most Sleep Problems
As awareness of the issue has increased, so has expensive testing.
Lower Prices For High-Risk Coverage
How low can they go? Experts agreed that pricey premiums for the new “pre-existing condition insurance plans” created under the health care overhaul were partly to blame for anemic enrollment in the plans, which reached just 21,454 after several months, compared with potentially hundreds of thousands that had been projected. Starting July 1, the Obama […]
Federal Officials Try Again To Bolster Plans For People With Medical Conditions
The administration sets a second premium reduction hoping to entice more enrollees.
Patients Can Help Thwart Errors In Doctors’ Offices
Serious medical errors that result in malpractice payments are almost as common in outpatient settings like physicians’ offices and urgent care clinics as they are in hospitals, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Of 10,739 malpractice claims paid on behalf of doctors in 2009, 48 percent were for […]
Mistakes In Outpatient Care Raising Concerns
Although safety measures are often directed at hospitals, experts say physicians’ offices and urgent care centers should get more scrutiny since the bulk of medical care is delivered there.
Appealing An Insurer’s Denial Is Often A Good Strategy
GAO finds most claims problems come from billing and eligibility issues, and beneficiaries often win when they appeal.
Out-Of-Network Ambulance Rides Can Bring Out-Of-Pocket Expenses
Consumers, who often don’t have a choice of ambulance services, can be left holding the bill when insurers refuse to pay entire cost.
It’s Not A Dream: An Insurer Who Lowers Rates
Health law’s requirements on how much insurers must spend on medical care is leading to some refunds and reductions in consumer costs.
Emergency Care, But Not At A Hospital
Originally conceived as a way to provide care in rural areas without hospitals, these freestanding ERs are cropping up in more developed areas.
Many On-The-Job Clinics Offer Primary Care
These workplace centers are increasingly expanding beyond job injuries to offer on-site preventive tests and screenings and health coaching.
Decline In Autopsies May Obscure Understanding Of Disease
Hospitals perform the postmortem exams in only about 5 percent of patients who die. Experts fear that for others, key details about diagnosis and the effect of treatments are lost.
The Old Practice Of House Calls Is Returning To Some Areas
Businesses and individuals looking for convenience are contracting with services that will provide same-day medical appointments at home or office.
