CQC Launches #HealthCareFail Campaign to Highlight Consumer Concerns
By Consumers For Quality Care, on June 7, 2019
New Campaign Launched on CQC’s Second Anniversary
WASHINGTON – On the second anniversary of its launch, Consumers for Quality Care has unveiled a new campaign focused on highlighting problems Americans are encountering at every step of accessing their health care – from emergency room denials and surprise medical bills to difficulties at hospitals and at the pharmacy counter. The #HealthCareFail campaign will spotlight issues that need to be fixed within the system and call on policy makers to make those changes. As part of this effort, CQC will encourage consumers to share their own stories on social media through the use of hashtags like #insurancefail, #hospitalfail, #rxfail, and #medicalbillingfail.
CQC will highlight their stories, along with countless other instances of the health care system failing consumers like:
- Bill Vick from Texas who found himself with a surprise bill for $7,000 after undergoing an emergency CT scan. Only after the media got involved was he informed that he qualified for financial assistance. #HealthCareFail
- Sophia Uhlenkamp from Minnesota whose insurer denied treatment for her severe eating disorder #InsuranceFail
- Bob Ensor from New Jersey who faced nearly $167,000 in medical bills after an emergency surgery because he was not informed that his plastic surgeon was out-of-network even though the hospital was in-network #HospitalFail
- Cancer patient Charlotte Ortiz from Ohio who needed a life-saving medication to reverse the side effects from a cancer so rare there is no FDA-approved drug to specifically treat it, but her pharmacy benefit manager denied the doctor’s prescription, saying her treatment was an “off-label” use. #RxFail
- Dave Southard from Pennsylvania who was stuck with a surprise bill as a result of a billing error for a procedure his insurance normally covered. #MedicalBillingFail
“When we launched two years ago, our mission was simple: keep consumers at the front of the health care debate,” said CQC board member Scott Mulhauser. “This goal is more important than ever as Americans continue to struggle with the unpredictability of their health care – from surprise costs and billing complexity to a lack of transparency, and more. With the 2020 election cycle in full swing, we want the #HealthCareFail campaign to refocus the conversation onto the health care issues Americans face every day — and make sure policy makers take note.”
From commissioning research into Americans’ issues in the health care system, launching the Cut Consumer Costs campaign to highlight health care costs in need of fixing, fighting harmful Medicaid waiver policies in places like Arkansas and Massachusetts and working to defeat anti-consumer emergency room policies in places like Kentucky, Missouri and Georgia to weighing in on federal rules like the Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance and Association Health Plans proposals, CQC works with a coalition of 14 partner organizations to ensure that consumers are at the front and center of the health care debate.
ABOUT
Consumers for Quality Care (CQC) is a coalition of advocates and former policy makers working to provide a voice for patients in the health care debate as they demand better care. CQC is led by a board of directors that includes the Honorable Donna Christensen, physician and former Member of Congress; Jim Manley, former senior advisor to Senators Edward Kennedy and Harry Reid; Scott Mulhauser, founder of Aperture Strategies and former senior advisor to the Senate Finance Committee and Vice President Joe Biden; and Jason Resendez, community advocate and Executive Director of the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Coalition.
To learn more about Consumers for Quality Care and the issues consumers are experiencing, visit www.consumers4qualitycare.org.