Author: Susan Singer Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Many consumers struggle to afford the costs of essential medical services. To bring more focus to the impact of medical bills and collections on consumers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is releasing reports and blogs over the next several months discussing the key financial hurdles the health care system presents to patients and their families. In this research brief, we discuss required financial assistance (also known as charity care), one of the main forms of assistance hospitals offer to low-income consumers to help cover the cost of medical treatment.1 In the following, we define required financial assistance, explain its sources of funding, who is eligible, and who its likely beneficiaries are. In forthcoming briefs, we intend to discuss the pitfalls of medical credit cards and installment payments in the medical payment space.
Author: Institute of Medicine Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309083435 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 213
Book Description
Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.
Author: Amy Finkelstein Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 0231538685 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 161
Book Description
Addressing the challenge of covering heath care expenses—while minimizing economic risks. Moral hazard—the tendency to change behavior when the cost of that behavior will be borne by others—is a particularly tricky question when considering health care. Kenneth J. Arrow’s seminal 1963 paper on this topic (included in this volume) was one of the first to explore the implication of moral hazard for health care, and Amy Finkelstein—recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on the topic—here examines this issue in the context of contemporary American health care policy. Drawing on research from both the original RAND Health Insurance Experiment and her own research, including a 2008 Health Insurance Experiment in Oregon, Finkelstein presents compelling evidence that health insurance does indeed affect medical spending and encourages policy solutions that acknowledge and account for this. The volume also features commentaries and insights from other renowned economists, including an introduction by Joseph P. Newhouse that provides context for the discussion, a commentary from Jonathan Gruber that considers provider-side moral hazard, and reflections from Joseph E. Stiglitz and Kenneth J. Arrow. “Reads like a fireside chat among a group of distinguished, articulate health economists.” —Choice
Author: National Research Council Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309165865 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 184
Book Description
As the population of older Americans grows, it is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Differences in health by racial and ethnic status could be increasingly consequential for health policy and programs. Such differences are not simply a matter of education or ability to pay for health care. For instance, Asian Americans and Hispanics appear to be in better health, on a number of indicators, than White Americans, despite, on average, lower socioeconomic status. The reasons are complex, including possible roles for such factors as selective migration, risk behaviors, exposure to various stressors, patient attitudes, and geographic variation in health care. This volume, produced by a multidisciplinary panel, considers such possible explanations for racial and ethnic health differentials within an integrated framework. It provides a concise summary of available research and lays out a research agenda to address the many uncertainties in current knowledge. It recommends, for instance, looking at health differentials across the life course and deciphering the links between factors presumably producing differentials and biopsychosocial mechanisms that lead to impaired health.
Author: Institute of Medicine Publisher: National Academies Press ISBN: 0309047420 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 240
Book Description
Americans are accustomed to anecdotal evidence of the health care crisis. Yet, personal or local stories do not provide a comprehensive nationwide picture of our access to health care. Now, this book offers the long-awaited health equivalent of national economic indicators. This useful volume defines a set of national objectives and identifies indicatorsâ€"measures of utilization and outcomeâ€"that can "sense" when and where problems occur in accessing specific health care services. Using the indicators, the committee presents significant conclusions about the situation today, examining the relationships between access to care and factors such as income, race, ethnic origin, and location. The committee offers recommendations to federal, state, and local agencies for improving data collection and monitoring. This highly readable and well-organized volume will be essential for policymakers, public health officials, insurance companies, hospitals, physicians and nurses, and interested individuals.
Author: Tim Hill Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN: 9781522772286 Category : Languages : en Pages : 56
Book Description
Patients need every resource at their disposal! This book provides industry insider knowledge and practical advice on how to negotiate your hospital bill. It has the potential to save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars on your medical expenses. Additionally, this book helps you understand Financial Assistance Programs and as an added bonus, provides a link to a calculator you can use right now to determine if you might be eligible for most programs, based on the current year federal poverty guideline income limits. Easy to read and understand, anyone can pick up this book and quickly learn what discounts might be available to them, how to request a discount as well as who and when to ask. The potential savings you might realize as a result of utilizing the information contained in this book is exponential in comparison to its price. Every patient needs this information in their home!
Author: Susan Singer
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Author: United States. Bureau of Family Services
Author: Institute of Medicine
Author: Amy Finkelstein
Author: National Research Council
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Author: Institute of Medicine
Author: Tim Hill
Author: United States. Bureau of Family Services