As an emergency room physician, I know that time is one of a medical professional’s most vital resources. You could have a great doctor and a solid treatment plan, and catch the disease at its very first symptom, and still have medical complications because an insurance company denied the prior authorization claim.
With a fraction of beds in play for new arrivals, waiting room patients — even some arriving by ambulance — are increasingly likely to be seen, examined and treated in the lobby. The consequences are as predictable as they are devastating: worse patient outcomes, fragmented care, longer hospital stays, ballooning costs and rising frustration and anger among staff and patients.
What does it mean for health outcomes when so many people don't believe in the doctors, drug companies and the public agencies who are there to treat us? What can be done to bring trust back?
Democratic lawmakers have narrowed the scope of a proposed crackdown on hospital M&As, focusing it on private equity and excluding nonprofit operators from additional oversight after pushback from the industry's powerful lobby.
The nonpartisan CBO estimates that the Republican budget bill that passed the House by one vote this morning would trigger about $500 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare. This is because Congress is bound by the statutory Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYGO”) Act, which requires any spending to be offset by automatic cuts, to avoid deficit spending