Pamela Valfer, in her home art studio in Pasadena, California. She was tested three times for covid and received a statement saying she might be responsible to pay $125 per test despite a ban on out-of-pocket costs. (Heidi de Mrco/KHN)
Because there are no caps on cost, consumers and insurers often get billed hundreds of dollars for the most reliable PCR test. Prices are rising and they can’t fight back.
Pamela Valfer needed multiple COVID-19 tests after repeatedly visiting the hospital last fall to see her mother, who was being treated for cancer. Beds there were filling with COVID patients. Valfer heard the tests would be free.
Mental health services wane as insurers appear to skirt parity rules during pandemic
Emmarie Huetteman
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Therapists and other behavioral health care providers cut hours, reduced staffs and turned away patients during the pandemic as more Americans experienced depression symptoms and drug overdoses, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.
The report on patient access to behavioral health care during the COVID-19 crisis also casts doubt on whether insurers are abiding by federal law requiring parity in insurance coverage, which forbids health plans from passing along more of the bill for mental health care to patients than they would for medical or surgical care.
He Bought Health Insurance for Emergencies. Then He Fell Into a $33,601 Trap. ProPublica 2 hrs ago
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In the spring of 2019, Cory Dowd suddenly found himself without health insurance for the first time. A self-employed event planner, he had just finished a Peace Corps stint that provided health benefits, but he was still more than a year away from starting a graduate program that would provide coverage through his university.
So, like countless others in an online world, he went insurance shopping on the internet.
He Bought Insurance in Case of Emergency. Then Came a Bill for Over $30,000.
Trump-era deregulation of health insurance has led to an explosion of short-term plans carrying high risk for patients.
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In the spring of 2019, Cory Dowd suddenly found himself without health insurance for the first time. A self-employed event planner, he had just finished a Peace Corps stint that provided health benefits, but he was still more than a year away from starting a graduate program that would provide coverage through his university.
COVID Testing a Windfall for Hospitals, Labs, and Others medscape.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medscape.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.