The escalating warfare over pricing, which stems from hospital price transparency regulations that have allowed hospitals to compare reimbursement rates with one another, can leave patients without continuity of coverage.
These unexpected bills might discourage people from seeking preventive screenings that could be lifesaving, which is why the ACA deemed them "essential health benefits" that should be free.
Perhaps enacting a national primary care fee schedule is one solution, or policymakers could consider forgiving the medical school debt of doctors who choose primary care as a profession.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers - many are attempting to block the federal government's effort to control drug prices - say the high costs support research and development and point out that Americans get new treatments first.
Reams of research show that the level of hospital consolidation today — 75% of markets are now considered highly consolidated — decreases patient choice, impedes innovation, erodes quality, and raises prices.
Insurers appear increasingly likely to employ computer algorithms or people with little relevant experience to issue rapid-fire denials of claims — sometimes bundles at a time — without reviewing the patient's medical chart.
Pandemic stresses led to millions more Americans seeking mental health treatment, so it may prove tempting for insurers to offer up apps and chatbots to meet the mental health parity requirement.
The millions under the weight of medical debt deserve help, both because medical debt is a uniquely unfair form of predatory lending and because of its devastating ripple effects on American families.
Maryland's financial guardrails for hospitals have protected patients financially without sacrificing quality of care.
DebugScreen: mobile
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{
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},
{
"uri": "/2023/05/29/an-ai-chatbot-may-be-your-next-therapist-will-it-actually-help-your-mental-health/",
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{
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{
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