Higher prices charged by hospitals, outpatient centers and other providers drove up health care spending at double the rate of inflation during the economic downturn– even as patients consumed less medical care overall
Berwick on the future of health-care reform. The Economist on the Supreme Court arguments. Sedaris on dental care in Paris.
Brandenburg, who has served as the hospital’s administrative officer (CAO) for five years, will assume the position immediately.
Why does U.S. health care costs so much? How do insurance companies decide to refuse you coverage? How do Medicare scams work? ProPublica rounds up the best articles looking for answers to these and other questions.
Two years after the passage of the federal health law, more than 40 percent of people say they know little or nothing about how it will affect them. Now a new book in adult comic-strip for seeks to explain the ins and outs of the new legislation.
The recession had a lot to do with the trend: With fewer people insured, and private insurers generally picking up less of the cost, patients went to the doctor and hospital less.
A major medical group issued ethical guidelines that take the provocative position of urging doctors to consider cost-effectiveness when deciding how to treat their patients.
Besides their convenience, urgent care centers attract patients because their fees at least half those charged at a hospital ERs. Those lower fees have drawn the attention of hospitals and insurers — both of which increasingly see the facilities as a way to hold down costs and boost their bottom lines.
Goal is to draw attention to how individual clinicians and patients can identify and act to curb excessive health care spending.
The cost of cancer care can impoverish even patients with health insurance. The American Cancer Society in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation have made a documentary about three cancer patients who must struggle to pay their bills. To read our coverage of the report on the costs of cancer care by the American Cancer [...]
The Western Washington Chapter of a Physicians for a National Health Program, a group that supports the establishment of a single-payer health-care system for the United States, will hold its monthly meeting this Wednesday evening, Dec. 17. The meeting will focus on responding to President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team’s call for community discussions on health-care [...]
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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