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shadowkat1. Share Your Medical Bills on the Coronavirus
Have a bill you want to share? Go straight to the form
Across the United States, Americans like Ms. Krebs are receiving surprise bills for coronavirus care. Tests for the virus can cost $199 to $6,408 at the same location. A coming wave of treatment bills could be hundreds of times higher.
This patchwork of medical billing is one reason our colleague Sarah Kliff, an investigative reporter who covers health care, is starting something new today: She’s asking readers to send in copies of medical bills for coronavirus testing and treatment. She told us that the prices hospitals and insurers negotiate are kept secret from the public, and patients often don’t know the price until they get a bill.
“It’s a very inefficient method to ask people to send in their bills, but it’s the best strategy we’ve got,” Sarah told us. “My hope is to really shine a light on how this is affecting patients. And then, people can make decisions about where to be treated, and legislators can decide if something should be done to change this.”
If you’re interested in participating in Sarah’s reporting, you can submit your medical bills here.
Related: More than two million Americans, already hit hard economically by the pandemic, have also recently lost their health insurance, according to a new analysis of census data.
I have a feeling that the US insurance system is about to have its day of reckoning.
2. My Father Trafficked Me Through My Childhood - It Looked Nothing Like People Think
Gist? A young woman tells how her father trafficked her as a child to clients throughout her childhood. Her story is particularly harrowing and stuck with me long after I read it.
3. Finished Butcher's Peace Talks via audible. The audio book was rather good, provided the ability to breeze past the boring bits. Although the he said's and she said's got on my nerves after a bit.
I got a credit from buying it, which I used to buy another one - which I'd read ages ago, got rid of, and had forgotten.
Have a bill you want to share? Go straight to the form
Across the United States, Americans like Ms. Krebs are receiving surprise bills for coronavirus care. Tests for the virus can cost $199 to $6,408 at the same location. A coming wave of treatment bills could be hundreds of times higher.
This patchwork of medical billing is one reason our colleague Sarah Kliff, an investigative reporter who covers health care, is starting something new today: She’s asking readers to send in copies of medical bills for coronavirus testing and treatment. She told us that the prices hospitals and insurers negotiate are kept secret from the public, and patients often don’t know the price until they get a bill.
“It’s a very inefficient method to ask people to send in their bills, but it’s the best strategy we’ve got,” Sarah told us. “My hope is to really shine a light on how this is affecting patients. And then, people can make decisions about where to be treated, and legislators can decide if something should be done to change this.”
If you’re interested in participating in Sarah’s reporting, you can submit your medical bills here.
Related: More than two million Americans, already hit hard economically by the pandemic, have also recently lost their health insurance, according to a new analysis of census data.
I have a feeling that the US insurance system is about to have its day of reckoning.
2. My Father Trafficked Me Through My Childhood - It Looked Nothing Like People Think
Gist? A young woman tells how her father trafficked her as a child to clients throughout her childhood. Her story is particularly harrowing and stuck with me long after I read it.
3. Finished Butcher's Peace Talks via audible. The audio book was rather good, provided the ability to breeze past the boring bits. Although the he said's and she said's got on my nerves after a bit.
I got a credit from buying it, which I used to buy another one - which I'd read ages ago, got rid of, and had forgotten.