Federal Reform Effort
Surprise Billing: Proposed Federal Solutions From Both Sides of the Aisle
Source Fellow August 11, 2020
By: Danika Rothwell, Student Fellow Paul DeWolfe needed back surgery. He knew the operation would be covered by his insurance and was careful to make sure the hospital he chose was in his insurer’s network. DeWolfe sat down and did the math. He figured his portion of the bill would cost roughly $3,000. When DeWolfe recovered from his procedure, he was shocked to receive a bill for $18,590.83.[1] Despite all his attentive preparation, some of the physicians who treated him at his in-network hospital were, in fact, out-of-network. This story …
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Federal Telehealth Waivers Provide Flexibility During the COVID-19 Crisis to Expand Coverage and Access to Healthcare
Source Fellow June 30, 2020
By: Megan Pham, Student Fellow COVID-19 has upended the way individuals across the country access medical care and has made doctors’ offices and hospitals high-risk grounds for transmission. This leaves the elderly and immunocompromised who seek care especially vulnerable. In response, the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have adopted a series of waivers to allow increased access to and coverage of healthcare services through telehealth. PRE-PANDEMIC TELEHEALTH Telehealth is “the use of telecommunications and information technology to …
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Spotlight on 2018 State Drug Legislation: Part 1 – Drug Importation: The Next Frontier for State-action to Control Prescription Drug Costs
Katie Gudiksen, Senior Health Policy Researcher July 27, 2018
*Update: This post was written before the end of the 2018 legislative session. For the most recent count of states that passed these legislation, see the Spotlight on 2018 State Drug Legislation Summary: The Year in Review or download our Summary Chart. In the most recent legislative sessions, states have demonstrated they are increasingly willing to use their power to target prescription drug prices. In 2018, only two states with active legislative sessions, North Carolina and Alabama, did not consider legislation with the aim of reducing prescription drug costs. Of …
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