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Consumers in All and across the country face too many challenges when it comes to accessing the care they need. Find All #HealthCareReform stories here.
Prior Authorization Hurts Health Care Outcomes
Consumers for Quality Care, July 24, 2024
Prior authorization is making it needlessly difficult for consumers to get the medical care they need, according to the HeraldNet. Although prior authorization is meant to be a cost-cutting measure, patient advocates suspect that some insurers are abusing it to deny patient care. Robin Sparks, 61, of Marysville, Washington...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Arizona Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, July 24, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 24, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Arizona Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. CQC developed the Arizona Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard based on...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Massachusetts Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, July 24, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 24, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Massachusetts Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. CQC developed the Massachusetts Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard based on...
Ohioan Shares Story of Crippling Medical Debt Caused by Emergency Surgery
Consumers for Quality Care, July 17, 2024
Jonathan Kershaw, a Columbus resident, recently penned a column in The Columbus Dispatch about how his emergency gallbladder removal surgery resulted in a $76,000 bill, forcing him to move out of his residence and file for bankruptcy. After complaining of stomach pains last year, doctors determined that Kershaw needed...
Primary Care Physician Experiences Issues Navigating Medical Billing Loophole
Consumers for Quality Care, July 10, 2024
Dr. Danielle Ofri, a primary care doctor in New York, recently chronicled her experience with how doctor’ offices and urgent care centers owned by hospital systems can lead to exorbitant, unexpected medical bills, in a guest column published by The New York Times. Dr. Ofri took her daughter...
Hospital Price Increases Lead to Job Loss
Consumers for Quality Care, July 8, 2024
A study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), and reported by The Wall Street Journal and Axios, found a correlation between soaring hospital prices and job loss, specifically price increases that resulted after a health care merger took place. Most Americans get health insurance through their...
Proposed Indiana Hospital Merger Threatens Access to Quality Care
Consumers for Quality Care, July 8, 2024
A recently enacted state law in Indiana may lead to an increase in proposed hospital mergers, according to KFF Health News. The executives pushing these mergers often promise better care and lower costs for patients, but data shows that hospital mergers often result in the opposite: less competition, higher...
New York Health System No Longer Sues Consumers with Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, July 8, 2024
Although many hospitals are engaging in predatory, anti-patient practices meant to pad their bottom line while enriching their executives, Rochester Regional Health in New York has instituted policies that put consumers first, according to reporting from KFF Health News. Rochester Regional refuses to engage in aggressive debt collection...
Private Equity-Owned Hospital in New Mexico Denying Patients Cancer Treatment
Consumers for Quality Care, June 26, 2024
A dozen cancer patients are accusing Memorial Medical Center in New Mexico, a for-profit, private equity-backed hospital, of denying them critical cancer care, according to an investigative report by NBC News. Barbara Quarrell worked as a nurse at Memorial Medical Center for decades, when it was a nonprofit hospital...
Tennessee Hospital Monopoly Falling Short on Quality
Consumers for Quality Care, June 20, 2024
Ballad Health is a large 20-hospital system serving over 1 million residents in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia. The system was established six years ago, when Tennessee and Virginia lawmakers agreed to waive anti-monopoly laws. But in exchange for this waiver, Ballad agreed to uphold quantitative measures of quality...
PBM Industry’s Anti-Competitive Practices Hurting Independent Pharmacies in Oregon
Consumers for Quality Care, June 20, 2024
Independent and family-owned pharmacies across Oregon are struggling to stay in business due to monopolistic practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), according to OregonLive. Brooklyn Pharmacy, owned by Pat Hubbell in southeast Portland, is one of the few remaining independent pharmacies in Oregon. As a pharmacist, Hubbell provides a...
Independent Pharmacies in Pennsylvania Continue to Face Challenges from PBM Business Practices
Consumers for Quality Care, June 20, 2024
Independent pharmacies throughout Pennsylvania are struggling to stay in business, thanks to the monopolistic practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), according to Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Bob Schreiber of Morrisville opened Burns Pharmacy in 1977. His business was a fixture in the community, and he ran it successfully for decades until...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Delaware Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, June 18, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 18, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Delaware Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. CQC developed the Delaware Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard based on recent...
Los Angeles County Showcases a New and Aggressive Approach to Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, June 12, 2024
The most populous county in the country, Los Angeles County, is debuting a new approach for handling medical debt, a nearly $3 billion problem in the county, according to KFF Health News. The County’s Department of Public Health, led by Director Barbara Ferrer, has been working for over a...
Consumers in Kansas County Devastated by Lawsuits Over Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, June 12, 2024
A small hospital in rural Kansas ramped up its filing of debt-collection lawsuits against the residents of a 9,000-person county last year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Toward the end of the year, Pratt Regional Medical sued some 400 consumers that owed medical debt. The center was...
CAAPs Prevent Utah Consumers from Affording Life-Saving Medication
Consumers for Quality Care, June 12, 2024
Consumers with chronic illnesses in Utah continue to deal with insurance providers using copay accumulator adjustment programs, CAAPs, to block access to life-saving medications, according to KSTU. Vince Massa has battled Crohn’s disease for nearly thirty years and uses many different types of medication to keep his condition under...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Rhode Island Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, June 6, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 6, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Rhode Island Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. CQC developed the Rhode Island Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard...
Southern States Fail to Expand Medicaid
Consumers for Quality Care, June 5, 2024
Despite renewed interest earlier in the year from southern U.S. states to expand Medicaid, states like Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi ended their state legislative sessions without doing so, according to NPR. Mississippi was one of ten states that opted again not to expand Medicaid coverage this year, even...
Many Wisconsin Nonprofit Hospitals Spend Less on Charity Care Than They Receive in Tax Breaks
Consumers for Quality Care, June 5, 2024
According to UpNorthNews, many nonprofit hospitals in Wisconsin continue to see their profits increase and their cash reserves grow but are spending less on charity care and community investments than what they receive in tax breaks. Though nonprofit hospitals enjoyed over $28 billion in tax exemptions nationally in...
UnitedHealthcare Fined for Failing to Ensure Parity in Mental Health Care
Consumers for Quality Care, June 5, 2024
UnitedHealthcare was recently fined $450 million by the Minnesota Department of Commerce for not properly reimbursing consumers for mental health care, according to Minnesota Reformer. State law requires insurers to cover treatments and care for mental health just as they would for any other condition, meaning that consumers cannot...
Hospitals Are Forcing Consumers to Pay Before Receiving Care
Consumers for Quality Care, May 29, 2024
Many hospitals and medical providers are now requiring consumers to pay in advance before receiving medical care, according to The Wall Street Journal. Heather Miconi’s daughter, Trista, needed to have adenoid and tonsil surgery to ease her breathing. Before the surgery, Merritt Island Surgery Center in Florida billed Miconi...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Kansas Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, May 15, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 15, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Kansas Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Kansas Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Minnesota Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, May 15, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 15, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Minnesota Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. CQC developed the Minnesota Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard based on...
NC Treasurer Supports FTC Blocking Large Health System Purchase
Consumers for Quality Care, May 8, 2024
North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell is supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) effort to block Novant Health’s $320 million proposal to buy two Community Health Systems hospitals, according to Fierce Healthcare. Folwell has been a leading voice against health care mergers, which often decrease competition, raise the cost of...
Colorado Lawmakers Take Aim at UCHealth’s Deceptive Debt-Collection Practices
Consumers for Quality Care, May 1, 2024
State lawmakers in Colorado have introduced legislation that would prohibit all entities, including health care systems, from obscuring their own name when they use third-party debt-collection agencies to sue consumers over outstanding debts, according to The Colorado Sun. This bill was filed in response to The Colorado Sun’s...
Medicaid Expansion Gains Traction in Republican-Dominated Mississippi
Consumers for Quality Care, May 1, 2024
Republican legislators in Mississippi are exploring a proposal to expand Medicaid in order to provide coverage for more residents, Axios reports. For years, Republicans rejected the idea of embracing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But now, as more than 40 percent of rural hospitals in the state face closure...
Consumers in Toledo, Ohio to Have Medical Debt Eliminated
Consumers for Quality Care, May 1, 2024
Residents in Toledo, Ohio are the latest to have their medical debt wiped away, according to WTOL, the CBS affiliate in Toledo. To provide this debt relief, the nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt was contracted to negotiate with ProMedica, a local health care system, to buy Toledo residents’ medical...
Private Equity’s Involvement in Health Care Raises Alarms, Prompts Legislative Response
Consumers for Quality Care, April 24, 2024
According to Axios, lawmakers are investigating private equity’s effect on health care, citing concerns about gaps in federal oversight and the decline in patient care standards observed in numerous hospitals following private equity investments. Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) held a hearing with federal and state...
PBM Industry’s Anti-Competitive Practices Hurting Independent Pharmacies in Pittsburgh
Consumers for Quality Care, April 24, 2024
Independent pharmacies in the Pittsburgh metro area are struggling to stay in business, owing to the monopolistic practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), according to KDKA, the CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh. Across the country, more than 300 independent pharmacies have permanently closed in the past three months. Nearly thirty...
New Report Highlights Increasing Use of Facility Fees as “Clear Profit-Gambits”
Consumers for Quality Care, April 24, 2024
A new report by U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a nonprofit consumer protection organization, sheds light on how facility fees are increasingly used as “clear profit-gambits” that take advantage of consumers, according to Fierce Healthcare. Hospital-owned clinics are more likely than doctor-owned clinics to charge facility fees for providing the...
Majority of Nonprofit Hospitals Spend Less on Charity Care Than They Receive in Tax Breaks
Consumers for Quality Care, April 17, 2024
In 2021, most private nonprofit hospitals in the United States spent less on charity care and community investments than they received in tax breaks. According to Healthcare Dive, a report from the Lown Institute found that 80 percent of the nonprofit hospitals they investigated had accumulated fair share deficits...
Health Care Merger Results in Longer ER Wait Times in the Tri-Cities Area
Consumers for Quality Care, April 17, 2024
A study conducted by the Tennessee Department of Health, and reported by KFF Health News, found that in the six years since Ballad Health became a 20-hospital system behemoth, ER wait times for consumers have more than tripled. In 2018, Tennessee and Virginia lawmakers waived antitrust laws to...
Consumer Charged Hundreds by Hospital for a Routine Preventive Colonoscopy
Consumers for Quality Care, April 9, 2024
An Indiana hospital charged a woman hundreds of dollars for a routine preventive-care colonoscopy that she believed would be covered by her insurance, according to WVPE, an NPR affiliate in northern Indiana. Karen Campbell, 46, a local news reporter, followed her doctor’s recommendation to get a colonoscopy screening,...
New Laws in Colorado Address the Burden of Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, April 9, 2024
Although Colorado has become a national leader in advancing policies meant to lessen the burden of medical debt for residents, lawmakers are hoping to do even more, according to The Denver Post. Last year, Colorado became the first state to prohibit medical debt from being included on consumer credit...
22,000 Ingham County, Michigan Households to Have Medical Debt Eliminated
Consumers for Quality Care, April 9, 2024
The Ingham County Board of Commissioners recently announced a partnership with the nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt to bring immediate financial relief to thousands of residents carrying medical debt, according to WILX, the NBC affiliate in Lansing. Armed with a budget surplus this year, the commissioners voted to allocate...
Michigan State Legislature Partners with Nonprofit to Eliminate Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, April 3, 2024
This year, the Michigan state budget includes a $4.5 million appropriation that is estimated to provide $450 million in medical debt relief for 180,000 state residents. This debt relief will come as part of a partnership between the state and the nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt, according to Michigan...
Medical Debt Collection Company Violated Consumers’ Rights, Ordered to Pay $800K
Consumers for Quality Care, April 3, 2024
Washington state recently scored a huge victory against a medical-debt collection company, which must now pay more than $800,000 for violating the patients’ rights against unfair collection practices, according to NBC Right Now. This case wraps up Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s investigation and lawsuit against the Providence hospital...
MA Hospital System in Peril Due to Private Equity Firm’s Involvement
Consumers for Quality Care, April 3, 2024
A private equity firm’s controlling stake in a struggling Massachusetts hospital chain has left the system in worse shape after ten years of ownership. Today, the hospital system is still dealing with the fallout, according to Axios. Cerberus Capital Management took over Steward Health in 2010 and continued...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Colorado Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, April 2, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 2, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Colorado Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Colorado Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Oklahoma Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, March 26, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 26, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Oklahoma Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Oklahoma Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Texas Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, March 26, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 26, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Texas Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Texas Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
Former US Surgeon General’s Own Medical Experience Highlights the High Cost of Health Care and Need for Price Transparency
Consumers for Quality Care, March 20, 2024
An emergency room visit for dehydration resulted in a $5,000 bill, coming as a shock to the consumer that received this bill, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, according to Business Insider. Now, Adams is drawing attention to a health care system he calls “broken.” Adams recently went...
Hospitals Still Failing to Comply with Federal Price Transparency Standards
Consumers for Quality Care, March 20, 2024
Most hospitals across the country are still not compliant with federal price transparency laws, according to a study conducted by Patient Rights Advocate (PRA) and reported by Healthcare Dive. In fact, a smaller percentage of hospitals are in compliance now than when PRA released their last study in July...
New Jersey Consumer Faces Health Care “Perfect Storm”, Resulting in a $225,000 Bill
Consumers for Quality Care, March 13, 2024
A New Jersey woman spent over six years fighting a $225,000 hospital bill for a pacemaker according to NorthJersey.com. Seiko Bando was admitted to the emergency department at Christ Hospital in 2016 when it was discovered during a routine annual exam that she immediately needed a pacemaker. The procedure...
Consumers Caught in the Middle of Contract Disputes Between Insurers and Providers
Consumers for Quality Care, March 6, 2024
A recent contract dispute between a major insurer and a health system in California put consumers in peril, causing them to be unsure if there would be disruptions with their health insurance or future medical care, according to KFF Health News. These occurrences are expected to become more frequent...
Colorado’s Largest Hospital System Utilizes Third-Party Agencies to Carry Out Predatory Debt Collection Practices
Consumers for Quality Care, March 6, 2024
A 9News/Colorado Sun investigation done in collaboration with the Colorado News Collaborative and KFF Health News found that for the last four years, UCHealth, Colorado’s largest nonprofit hospital system, has utilized a network of debt collection agencies to sue consumers over outstanding medical expenses, a practice that is considered...
Insurance Company Practice Prevents Utah Consumer From Affording Live-Saving Medication
Consumers for Quality Care, March 6, 2024
A cancer patient in Utah can no longer afford medication that keeps her cancer from progressing because of an insurance company practice that doesn’t credit payments made by drug manufacturers through copay assistant programs towards a consumer’s copay, according to Deseret News. For patients with chronic illnesses who require...
States and Counties Partner with Nonprofit to Eliminate Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, February 28, 2024
Residents in Alabama and in Wayne County, Michigan will see their medical debt eliminated, according to reporting by The Hill and Bridge Detroit. RIP Medical Debt operates by negotiating with health care providers to buy medical debt for a fraction of the cost. To maximize the value of...
Pennsylvania Allocates $4 Million to Cancel State Residents’ Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, February 28, 2024
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro recently unveiled a plan to tackle medical debt in the Commonwealth, WHYY reports. Unpaid medical bills constitute the largest share of debt collections in the United States. The situation is particularly acute in Pennsylvania, where an estimated one million residents collectively owe $1.8 billion...
Inconsistent Compliance with Federal Price Transparency Rules Found Among Colorado Hospitals
Consumers for Quality Care, February 28, 2024
This month, the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing released a report showing that many hospitals in the state are likely not in compliance with federal price-transparency rules, according to The Denver Post. These federal rules consist mainly of two requirements: that hospitals publish price information online...
Providence Settlement Reveals Deep-Seated Issues in Nonprofit Hospitals
Consumers for Quality Care, February 21, 2024
A recent settlement between Providence, a sprawling 14-hospital health system, and the Washington Attorney General is shining a light on the dubious practices of nonprofit hospitals, according to Healthcare Dive. In what is being hailed as the “largest resolution of its kind in the country,” the agreement exposes...
Independent Pharmacies Closing as PBMs Continue Anti-Consumer Practices
Consumers for Quality Care, February 21, 2024
Independent pharmacies in rural communities around the country are closing, due to the monopolistic practices of pharmacy benefit managers, also known as PBMs. This wave of closures has hurt small cities and rural areas in both Kansas and Kentucky, according to reports by NPR Kansas and WKYT. There are...
Connecticut Governor Lamont Unveils Historic $650 Million Medical Debt Cancellation
Consumers for Quality Care, February 21, 2024
In a historic move, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has announced the cancellation of approximately $650 million in medical debt for 250,000 residents, making Connecticut the first state to provide such sweeping relief. This groundbreaking initiative, as reported by CNN, addresses the financial strain caused by unforeseen health care...
Living Near a Nonprofit Hospital Does Not Ensure Access to Basic Medical Care
Consumers for Quality Care, February 14, 2024
Authors of a new book, “The City and the Hospital” found that living near a nonprofit hospital doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you will have access to the medical treatment you may need, according to reporting from The Conversation. Jonathan Wynn, an urban sociologist, and Daniel Skinner, a political...
Kentucky Journalist Shares Firsthand Struggles She’s Encountered with Prior Authorization
Consumers for Quality Care, February 14, 2024
The Courier Journal’s Bonnie Jean Feldkamp, who suffers from an autoimmune disease, knows all too well about the prior authorization process, which can often hurt health outcomes by making it harder for patients to access crucial treatments. Although prior authorization is meant to be a cost-control measure, patient...
Hospitals Charging Facility Fees for Preventive Services
Consumers for Quality Care, February 14, 2024
Although preventive procedures are covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), hospitals are charging consumers “facility fees” for these services, according to KFF Health News. Kristy Uddin, 49, an occupational therapist, is more familiar than most with the complexities of the health care system. She believed that her annual...
Pennsylvania Program to Review Health Insurance Denials
Consumers for Quality Care, February 14, 2024
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department recently launched its Independent Review Program, which aims to offer consumers another chance to have their medical appeal reviewed when their insurer has already denied an initial appeal for a medical procedure or medication, according to WHYY News. The Independent Review Program will involve a...
Couple Charged Hundreds in Extra Fees for Routine Preventive Colonoscopy
Consumers for Quality Care, February 14, 2024
An Illinois couple was charged hundreds of dollars for a routine preventive care colonoscopy that they believed would be covered by their insurance, according to KFF Health News. Chantal Panozzo, 46, and Brian Opyd, 45, followed the medical recommendation to receive colonoscopies. As small business owners, they purchased their...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: California Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, February 13, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: California Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The California Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
Oklahoma Town Devastated by Medical Debt and Lawsuits
Consumers for Quality Care, February 7, 2024
A regional hospital in rural Oklahoma has filed close to 5,000 debt collection lawsuits against the residents of this 18,000-person town since the early 1990s, according to KFF Health News. Residents like Sherry McKee have been sued multiple times by McAlester Regional Medical Center. McKee was recently sued for...
New Jersey Governor Seeks to Combat Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, February 7, 2024
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is making it his priority to provide relief to state residents who are suffering from crippling medical debt, as reported by NJ Advance Media. An estimated 11 percent of New Jersey residents have medical debt. The issue is more pronounced in communities of color,...
Hospitals, But Not Physician-Owned Clinics, Charge Facility Fees for Services
Consumers for Quality Care, February 7, 2024
According to the Wisconsin State Journal, hospital-owned clinics have been charging patients facility fees, while doctor-owned clinics have not, even when those clinics are owned by the same health system. Vicki McCool Anderson was in the process of scheduling an MRI for her husband through UW Health when she...
Hospitals Continue to Sue Consumers with Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, January 31, 2024
A recent study conducted by JAMA (and reported on by the Lown Institute) found that hospitals continue to engage in predatory debt collection practices and other anti-consumer behavior, worsening the medical-debt crisis that affects an estimated 100 million Americans. The growth of medical debt in America has brought...
Proposed California Hospital Merger Collapses After FTC Files Lawsuit
Consumers for Quality Care, January 24, 2024
John Muir Health, a nonprofit hospital in California’s Bay Area, inked an agreement early last year to become the sole owner of San Ramon Regional Medical Center, a lower cost competitor. Had the deal gone through, John Muir would have controlled more than 50% of inpatient general acute care...
The Battle for Fair Hospital Pricing Continues
Consumers for Quality Care, January 24, 2024
More and more, consumers are going to great lengths to avoid seeking care at their local hospital, Bloomberg reports. The out-of-pocket costs of seeking care at a hospital can be high, and moreover, that cost is often unknowable for consumers, thanks to a lack of price transparency from America’s...
Quick, Routine Telehealth Visit Results in Out-Of-Network Charge for One Consumer
Consumers for Quality Care, January 17, 2024
A consumer seeking some quick medical advice via a telehealth visit through her usual health system was charged more than $600 for out-of-network care, according to KFF Health News. After returning home from a trip to Rwanda, Elyse Greenblatt, 38, of Queens, New York, scheduled a telehealth urgent care...
Hospitals Found to be Charging Higher Facility Fees Than Surgical Centers
Consumers for Quality Care, January 10, 2024
According to a recent study published in JAMA Health Forum, and reported by Fierce Healthcare, hospital facility fees are 50 percent higher than those charged in similar circumstances by ASCs, or ambulatory surgery centers. Thanks to price transparency rules that were recently enacted, researchers could review data on over...
New York State-Run Hospital Suing Patients Over Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, January 10, 2024
An investigative report conducted by Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard finds that state-run hospitals in New York are engaging in aggressive and harsh medical debt collection practices. Harry Martin, 54, was receiving treatment from Upstate Medical University hospital for his pancreatic cancer. With just months to live, Upstate Medical sued...
New York Law Removes Medical Debt from Credit Reports
Consumers for Quality Care, January 10, 2024
Recent legislation signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul now prohibits medical debt from being included on consumer credit reports for New York residents, as reported by The Associated Press. When debt is included in a credit report, it hurts credit scores, limiting consumers’ access to credit and hurting...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Arkansas Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, January 9, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Arkansas Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Arkansas Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: North Dakota Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, January 9, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: North Dakota Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The North Dakota Hospital Scorecard was created based...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: South Dakota Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, January 9, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2024 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: South Dakota Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The South Dakota Hospital Scorecard was created based...
Donna M. Christensen – Many Ohio nonprofit hospitals are ‘nonprofit’ in name only
Consumers for Quality Care, January 5, 2024
As charities, nonprofit hospitals are exempt from paying most taxes. In exchange for tax breaks, nonprofit hospitals are expected to provide tangible benefits to the public. And if they adhere to their missions, if they provide charity care to the needy, if they serve as accessible health care providers...
Maryland Hospitals File Fewer Lawsuits Against Patients Over Unpaid Bills, But Many Consumers Still Find Themselves in Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, January 3, 2024
Although many hospitals in Maryland stopped suing patients over unpaid bills in 2023, many consumers, particularly those who can least afford it, find themselves struggling under the weight of medical debt, according to The Baltimore Banner. A new state law requires that hospitals offer affordable payment plans to...
Some Hospitals May Not Be Using Funds from Prescription Drug Discount Program as Intended
Consumers for Quality Care, December 20, 2023
Revenue from a prescription drug discount program designed to assist low-income consumers is instead being used by some hospitals to turn massive profits, according to a study conducted by the JAMA Health Forum and reported by Healthcare Dive. The 340B Drug Pricing Program was first introduced in 1992 to...
North Carolina Expands Medicaid, Helping 600,000 Residents
Consumers for Quality Care, December 20, 2023
North Carolina recently joined 39 other states in expanding Medicaid, Healthcare Dive reported. After debating Medicaid expansion for more than a decade, state legislators found middle ground and broadened Medicaid coverage to include 600,000 more people. This expansion targets low-income residents who previously earned too much to be eligible...
Bipartisan Effort in Ohio Seeks to Rein In Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Consumers for Quality Care, December 20, 2023
In Ohio, Democrats and Republicans have found something that they can agree on. The largely Democratic city of Cleveland and the state’s Republican Attorney General are joining forces in a lawsuit against some of the largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in the country. They allege that these PBMs use...
Consumer Charged $2,400 for Routine Lab Work Performed in a Hospital
Consumers for Quality Care, December 13, 2023
Reesha Ahmed was eight weeks pregnant when she visited her OB-GYN at Texas Health Hospital Mansfield for a prenatal check-up. She was told to get some lab work done just down the hall from the office. Everything seemed routine, but as she learned later, the hospital charged her $2,400...
FTC Attempts to Block Proposed California Health Systems Merger
Consumers for Quality Care, December 13, 2023
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an administrative complaint against John Muir Health to block its proposed acquisition of the San Ramon Regional Medical Center, according to reports by Healthcare Dive. John Muir already owns a 49 percent stake in San Ramon Regional Medical Center, a lower cost...
Nonprofit Hospital in Washington State Failed to Inform Eligible Consumers of Financial Assistance
Consumers for Quality Care, December 13, 2023
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s investigation into PeaceHealth, a nonprofit Catholic health system, uncovered inconsistencies in how its hospitals informed low-income patients about their eligibility for charity care, Healthcare Dive reports. Increasingly, nonprofit hospitals are coming under scrutiny from policymakers. The concern is that these hospitals are shirking...
Donna M. Christensen – In Illinois, the term ‘nonprofit hospital’ is an oxymoron
Consumers for Quality Care, December 5, 2023
Re: “Northwestern, UChicago tax breaks under scrutiny in new report” (Aug. 14): Nonprofit hospitals deserve more scrutiny than they tend to receive. As nonprofits, these hospitals are exempt from paying most taxes, but in exchange for this exemption, they are expected to provide community benefits and charity care to patients in...
New Minnesota Law Requires Hospitals to Inform Eligible Consumers of Financial Assistance Before Collecting Medical Debt
Consumers for Quality Care, November 29, 2023
A new Minnesota law forbids hospitals from collecting medical debt from low-income consumers until they have checked to see if they are eligible for financial assistance, according to CBS News Minnesota. State Senator Liz Boldon, DFL-Rochester, applauded the measure, which will help those that otherwise may incur the financial...
New York Bill Would Remove Medical Debt from Credit Reports
Consumers for Quality Care, November 29, 2023
Efforts are underway in New York to prohibit medical debt from being included on consumer credit reports, as reported by Spectrum News 1. A bill awaits New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature that would lessen the financial harm of carrying medical debt. “We know the impact that that can...
Cancer Patient Died After Michigan Health Insurance Company Refused to Cover Treatment
Consumers for Quality Care, November 21, 2023
Despite a Michigan law that guarantees coverage for cancer drugs, health insurers have been found skirting the law, using loopholes to deny treatment for consumers in need. In the case of Forrest VanPatten, a cancer patient from Michigan, his insurer’s refusal to cover a drug therapy resulted ultimately in...
New York Cancer Patient Abandoning Critical Cancer Treatment Due to Cost
Consumers for Quality Care, November 21, 2023
Russell Gosselin is one of the nearly 750,000 New Yorkers with medical debt. Although he has cancer, he is delaying critical treatment for fear of going further into debt, according to New York Focus. Gosselin was diagnosed with a form of throat cancer, which in 2017 forced him to...
Major Nonprofit Hospital Under Scrutiny for Low Levels of Charity Care Being Provided
Consumers for Quality Care, November 8, 2023
One of America’s most famous hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic, is under scrutiny for how little charity care it provides to consumers, according to Axios. In 2021, the Cleveland Clinic donated less than 2 percent of its total revenue to charity care, according to a recent analysis from the U.S....
Donna M. Christensen – Nonprofit hospitals must live up to their end of the bargain
Consumers for Quality Care, November 1, 2023
Although it’s often said that we live in a post-truth society, some ideas are so self-evidently true they remain uncontested. No one would argue that nonprofit organizations should engage in profiteering or that charities should treat those in need in uncharitable ways. Unfortunately, many nonprofit hospitals are pursuing their...
Nonprofit Hospitals’ Long History of Public Relations Campaigns and Aggressive Debt Collection Practices
Consumers for Quality Care, November 1, 2023
For over 70 years, nonprofit hospitals have used aggressive public relations campaigns and debt collection tactics as a way to validate medical debt, all while raking in massive profits, according to Time Magazine. Nonprofit hospitals are incorporated as charitable organizations, but in many instances, their business practices are far...
Atrium Health Ends Practice of Suing Consumers Over Unpaid Medical Bills
Consumers for Quality Care, November 1, 2023
Atrium Health, a major North Carolina health care provider, announced last month that it would no longer file lawsuits against patients over unpaid medical expenses, NC Health News reports. Atrium, which had been the state’s leading collector of medical debt, filed 2,482 lawsuits against patients for medical debt from...
Senator Sanders’ Condemns Nonprofit Hospitals That Don’t Provide Adequate Charity Care
Consumers for Quality Care, October 25, 2023
Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) is calling on nonprofit hospitals, which enjoy generous tax exemptions, to do more for their communities by providing more charity care, Axios reports. Sanders’ interest in this issue comes on the heels of a report released by the Senate HELP Committee, of which he is...
Donna M. Christensen – Opinion | Wisconsin’s nonprofit hospitals prioritize profits over patients
Consumers for Quality Care, October 19, 2023
Many of Wisconsin’s hospitals are nonprofit organizations. These institutions receive significant tax breaks at the federal, state and local levels with the expectation that they will operate like charities, providing free and reduced-price health care to those in need and benefiting their communities in the process. Regrettably, many nonprofit...
Report: Hospital Prices Posted Online Vary from Prices Disclosed Over the Phone
Consumers for Quality Care, October 17, 2023
A recent study conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch, and reported by Vox, found widespread disparities between the listed online price and estimates received by phone for medical procedures in 60 hospitals across the United States. Researchers examined whether hospitals were complying with federal price transparency rules....
U.S. Hospital Pricing Disparities and the Need for Transparency
Consumers for Quality Care, October 11, 2023
Nearly 100 million Americans are grappling with medical debt due in part to the fact that consumers still do not have complete and transparent access to prices for hospital services and procedures, according to CBS Austin. In January 2021, the Hospital Price Transparency Rule was implemented, requiring U.S. hospitals...
Colorado First State to Remove Medical Debt from Credit Reports
Consumers for Quality Care, October 11, 2023
Colorado recently became the first state in the country to enact a law that bars consumer reporting agencies from including medical debt in an individual’s credit reports, according to KOAA News. The medical debt crisis has had far-reaching negative effects on consumers in all 50 states. According to the...
Medical Debt Puts Housing Out of Reach for Millions of Consumers
Consumers for Quality Care, October 4, 2023
The medical debt crisis, which effects an estimated 100 million Americans, forces millions to cut back on essentials, such as food, utilities, and even housing, according to KFF Health News. In communities like Denver, housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years, putting housing out of reach for thousands of...
Arkansas Hospital Sued Consumers, Own Employees, During COVID-19 Pandemic
Consumers for Quality Care, September 27, 2023
Since 2019, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has been aggressively suing consumers, many of whom were once employees of UAMS, over small amounts of medical debt, according to CNN. The CNN investigation chronicles the experiences of both employees and patients who received medical care at UAMS...
New Study Concludes Vertical Consolidations of Hospitals Increase Costs for Consumers
Consumers for Quality Care, September 27, 2023
A newly released study by JAMA Health Forum and reported by Healthcare Dive concluded that consumers were “steered” toward more costly treatments from health systems that resulted from vertical consolidations. The continued consolidation of health systems, both large and small, has drastically increased consumer costs while doing little to...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Delaware Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, September 25, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 25, 2023 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Delaware Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Delaware Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Florida Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, September 25, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 25, 2023 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Florida Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Florida Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...
CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Indiana Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail
Consumers for Quality Care, September 25, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 25, 2023 Contact: Press@Consumers4QualityCare.org CQC Nonprofit Hospital Scorecard: Indiana Nonprofit Hospitals Earn a #HospitalFail WASHINGTON, D.C. – Despite being tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals across the country are making big money at the expense of their patients. The Indiana Hospital Scorecard was created based on recent...