Some people think of October as Trick or Treat time; Patient Advocates see it as the kickoff of health insurance open enrollment for the coming year, whether employer-sponsored, individual, and/or Medicare. It may not be as playful as donning a costume or carving a jack o’lantern, but approaching your open enrollment period with the […]
Health Insurance Open Enrollment: Trick or Treat Read More »
There are Reasons to be Suspicious about drug ads on TV Like many people I often stream TV on my own time. Some Sundays ago I realized that “Madame Secretary” was going to be airing real time in a few minutes so I decided to tolerate commercials I couldn’t fast forward through and experience network
Truth in Pharmaceutical Drug Advertising Read More »
Emergency. Dictionary.com defines it this way: “a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action. “ In my healthcare experience lifetime, perhaps nothing has changed more than the role of the hospital emergency room. In my youth the hospital had two roles: caring for very ill or post-surgery patients needing nursing care until
Healthcare Directives and Planning The call came late on a Thursday. The husband of a long married couple had suffered a stroke 2 weeks earlier. He had lost the ability to swallow and the doctor at the hospital had urged surgery to place a feeding tube directly to his stomach before transferring him to a
Your Decisions Matter… Or Do They? Read More »
Health care bills have mistakes, sometimes lots of them. The figure most often quoted is that up to 80% of medical bills have errors. I’ve looked for the original source of that statement without success, but I did find one medical bill review company, Medical Billing Advocates of America, who noted that in their practice
When the Bill is Just Wrong Read More »
Health insurance is complicated and healthcare costs a lot. If you’re not up for a complicated read, here’s the short version: Don’t use out of network providers if you can avoid it. If you think healthcare is expensive, out of network healthcare is very expensive! But if you want to dig a bit deeper, read
In or Out, Round About – Navigating Out of Network Providers Read More »
Anymore, it seems for most of us every medical bill has a surprise when we first open the envelope! How does a provider (doctor, hospital, laboratory, imaging center) decide how much healthcare costs? It’s a pretty closely guarded secret, and it’s not uniform across providers. But suffice it to say, it definitely requires some serious
It costs how much?? Read More »
Huh? Although medical care has certainly become incredibly specialized, whenever I’ve suggested that a client consider asking for a palliative care consult, the first response is “What’s that?” or a close second “I’m not dying, why would I want that??” In our current environment in many cases palliative care and hospice are often provided as
I’ll have some palliative care, please. Read More »
A headline in the business section of the Atlanta Journal several weeks ago caught my eye: “Atlanta hospice to pay $3 million.” That’s a lot of cash. The article went on. “A Georgia hospice company has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations it billed taxpayers for patients who were not terminally ill, the
Why Choosing a Hospice Provider Matters Read More »
A friend of mine was undergoing an outpatient surgery a few weeks ago. Once in a gown, and her IV started (not a power position for us as patients, by the way!) her surgeon stopped in before heading to the OR to scrub. Having already talked with the anesthesiologist, my friend also shared her concern
Patient-centered care – you may need a buddy! Read More »