A quick roundup of the issues driving the healthcare reform conversation.
Item of the Week
Spotlight
DISHONEST BILLING Lawmakers across the country set their sights on hospitals’ dishonest billing.
What it is: By billing for medical services delivered in a doctor’s office as if they took place in a much more expensive hospital setting, large corporate hospital systems are driving up healthcare costs for everyone.
Why it matters: Dishonest billing has become extraordinarily lucrative for hospitals, all the more so as the pace of consolidation has picked up.
As large hospitals acquire smaller, independent physician and specialist offices, these corporate systems have gotten away with charging consumers and employers significantly more for the same services, simply by classifying the visit as taking place in a hospital.
What they’re saying: A growing chorus of stakeholder voices has raised the alarm on the issue of dishonest billing, including:
- Lawmakers
- Local elected officials
- Large employers
- Small businesses
- Independent businesses
- Patient groups
- Policy experts
Not only that, across the country, doctors and the general public, from New York to Missouri, Indiana to Connecticut, have all raised their voices, too, calling for an end to dishonest billing.
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