Letters To The Editor: Readers’ Thoughts On Hospital Readmissions, The Fiscal Cliff And The Costs Of MRIs

Letters to the Editor is a periodic KHN feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We will edit for space, and we require full names.

Our coverage of how Medicare is attempting to curb hospital readmissions continues to draw a lot of reader comments. In addition, readers responded to recent stories about electronic health records, the fiscal cliff, the pricing of MRIs and other stories. Here’s a sampling:

Readers commented on Effort To Curb Medicare Spending Begins With Crackdown On Hospital Readmissions (Rau, 11/26):

Theodore (Ted) Giovanis, Highland, Md., principal in several health policy consultancy groups

Christel A. Kozar, Denver, Colo., health care program developer and certified patient navigator

The story, Electronic Health Records Breed Digital Discontent For Some Docs (Whitney, 12/4), drew the following response:

Loren Greene, clinical associate professor and OBGYN, New York University School of Medicine

One reader offered the following comment on the story, How Much For An MRI? $500? $5,000? A Reporter Struggles To Find Out (Bebinger, 12/9):

Michael S. Rosen, MD, chief medical officer, Havasu Regional Medical Center, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

This reader responded to How The ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Affects Health Care: Six Questions (Carey, 12/4):

George Patrin, MD, San Antonio, Texas, retired Army pediatrician and health care administrator

The following was a response to an Insuring Your Health consumer column, When A Plan Overpays For A Service, Is A Patient Responsible For A Refund? (Andrews, 12/10):

Sandra Sebbas, Northglenn, Colo.

An earlier column by Andrews, Federal Retiree Weights Whether To Keep FEHB Or Switch To Medigap (10/8), drew this comment:

Jaime Delashmit Nashville, Tenn., transplant financial coordinator

A reader also commented on Medicare Trying To Nudge Seniors Out Of Plans With Low Ratings (Jaffe, 11/5)

Lourdes Cintron, New York, N.Y.