Medical Debt Collector or Patient Assistance? Nonprofit’s Model Raises Ethical and Legal Questions

Hospitals are donating unpaid debt to a Tulsa-based not-for-profit that claims to connect patients with social services including housing help, food assistance, transportation, addiction treatment or credit counseling.

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You Can’t Fix What You Don’t See

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By William Rusteberg

Has your company tried, over and over again, to solve ever increasing health care costs?  “Yes, of course we have, but nothing seems to work!” is a common answer. “We bid out our employee health insurance every year through multiple brokers, we reduce benefits to offset rate increases, and we even light a candle 24 hours before year-end renewal!”

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Mike Keogh

“Don’t bother doing something unless you’re radically different from the competition” – Richard Branson

By Bill Rusteberg

Mike Keogh was an extraordinary man. A former BCBSTX salesman in the 1950’s, he later built  an independent brokerage in San Antonio with great success. I met Mike in the early 80’s and did quite a bit of business with him.

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Cash Pay Health Insurance Is The Future (and the future is now)

Insured members pay for health care with cash provided by insurance plan funds and paid directly to medical caregivers at the point of service. No patient responsibility and no balance billing. Everyone wins, the plan, plan members and medical caregivers…………Meanwhile under traditional status quo health plans……………

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Tyler, Texas Chamber Against Hospital Pricing Transparency Rules

Plaintiffs Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America (“U.S. Chamber”) and Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce (“Tyler Chamber”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), bring this action for declaratory and injunctive relief against the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Department of Labor, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, and the current heads of those agencies in their official capacities (collectively, “Defendants”), alleging as follows:

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Hospital Price Transparency – Not a Cure for the Disease

Transparency has revealed just how absurd the current contracting process is, and has in many ways caused more confusion and obfuscation……………….Costs could very likely rise in many markets as systems learn about higher prices being charged by their competitors – the definition of ‘unintended consequence………….

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