In the New York City area, hospitals with the biggest market share tend to charge the highest prices, according to a new report from the New York State Health Foundation. The report, prepared by Marlborough, Mass.-based Gorman Actuarial, studied pricing in three regions of the state. In downstate New York, the highest-priced facilities negotiated prices […]
A ruling by the Internal Revenue Service creates a significant obstacle to a new type of health care network that the Obama administration has promoted as a way to provide better care at lower cost, industry lawyers and providers say. Health care markets are rapidly changing as independent doctors and hospitals race to form networks, […]
When Bernie Sanders released his long-awaited health care plan last month, it was light on the details. But it did include one major, crowd-pleasing promise: Under his Medicare-for-all proposal, no American would ever have to pay a deductible or co-payment to receive health care again. Deductibles and other forms of cost-sharing have been creeping up […]
Ruth Miles, 83, sat in a wheelchair in a small exam room, clutching a water bottle, looking frightened and uncomfortable. She was submitting to the tender scrutiny of Dr. Elizabeth Eckstrom, who scooted her stool so close that she was knee to knee with her patient. Ms. Miles had broken her pelvis after tripping on […]
After one of her operations, my sister-in-law left the hospital so quickly that she couldn’t eat for days; after other stays, she wasn’t discharged until she felt physically and mentally prepared. Five days after his triple heart bypass surgery, my stepfather felt well enough to go home, but the hospital didn’t discharge him for several […]
The Affordable Care Act expanded health coverage to millions of Americans in 2014. Because more people had insurance to pay for healthcare services, demand and spending predictably went up more quickly. But the important question for the future remains the same: Will healthcare be able to avoid large spending spikes and move to a more […]