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The speech by the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee was delivered the same day the Trump administration reaffirmed its support of a lawsuit that would invalidate all of the Affordable Care Act, including the law's preexisting condition protections.
Americans who had coronavirus symptoms in March and April are getting big hospital bills 鈥 because they were not sick enough to get then-scarce COVID tests. Some insurers say they are trying to correct these bills, but patients may have to put up a fight.
With stay-at-home orders in place, hospitals experimented with delivering many treatments to patients where they lived. They were a success. As society reopens, the return of old payment practices may prevent the adoption of this new, efficient model of care.
But some of those options, like special enrollment periods, are time-sensitive.
States and the federal government are experimenting with steps that will allow people to start working again and returning to more typical lifestyles. But public health experts offer their thoughts on the related risk-benefit calculations.
With most nonemergency procedures shelved for now, many health insurers are expected to see profits in the near term, but the longer view of how the coronavirus will affect them is far more complicated and could well impact what people pay for coverage next year.
Big data plays a critical role in the success of current public health efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus. Privacy advocates, though, are watching closely.
The CDC recommends that Americans wear facial masks when they go to public places, such as the grocery store. But this is only one part of a multipronged effort to stop the virus鈥檚 spread.
Emergency rule changes by the federal government and some insurers have made telemedicine a useful tool.
A common complaint about the testing process is the long turnaround time for results.
There鈥檚 an array of recommendations about how to adjust our lives to reduce the spread of the novel virus. All are motivated by the same guiding principle: The better the public does in these efforts, the better off everyone will be.
If someone tells you, 鈥淚鈥檇 love to go to dinner, but I鈥檓 socially distancing,鈥 don鈥檛 be offended. It鈥檚 likely they are trying to do a good deed for public health.
The vice president's remarks are more proof that health care is complicated.
Even in the event of an outbreak, employers have to follow certain rules in their efforts to protect employees from this virus.
A recent cardiac health dust-up between former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, both vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, focuses attention on this question.
By writing in payment limits when signing hospital forms, patients might have leverage in negotiations over disputes that arise from surprise medical bills.
Caveat emptor. Some of these health insurance plans might prove helpful for some people, but making that determination is not easy.
A young man averted medical disaster after a friend took him to the nearest hospital just before his appendix burst. But more than a year later, he鈥檚 still facing a $28,000 balance bill for his out-of-network surgery.
SmileDirectClub and similar startup companies say they provide these services at what can be thousands of dollars less than office-visit teeth straightening, but proof is lacking and patients can be left with no recourse if problems arise.
The final directive drew swift responses from the hospital and insurance industries. The Trump administration also released a proposed rule that would require health insurers to spell out for all services beforehand just how much patients may owe for their out-of-pocket costs.
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