Never-ending costs: When resolved medical bills keep popping up

Every now and then, Suzanne Rybak and her husband, Jim, receive pieces of mail addressed to their deceased son, Jameson. Typically, it’s junk mail that requires little thought, Suzanne said. This story also ran on NPR. It can be republished for free. But on March 5,...

Prior authorization less likely to be granted for mental health

According to a study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), patients face greater challenges with receiving approval for mental health services than medical services.The demand for mental healthcare is on the rise, but even those with coverage are...

HHS requests data from 2K providers on medical bill collection

The White House is taking steps to relieve Americans’ medical debt burden, including having HHS evaluate provider billing practices and their effects on healthcare affordability and medical debt accumulation. HHS will ask more than 2,000 providers for data on...

No Surprises Act: the Trojan horse of healthcare legislation

The No Surprises Act, a bipartisan effort to reduce surprise medical bills, was implemented on January 1, 2022. As significant as this legislation is—reducing surprise bills, one of the biggest drivers of medical bankruptcy in America—the act’s true significance is...