Private Equity Firms Exploit Patients
Seeking Emergency Care
The growing presence of private equity-backed providers is becoming an all too common influence in the health system – and one of the leading drivers behind egregious surprise medical bills that bankrupt families across the country. Learn more about how private equity firms exploit the market at the expense of patients – and why surprise medical billing reforms need to address the soaring cost of these bills.
Coalition Statement on Latest Surprise Billing Proposals
Following the release of surprise billing proposals from the House Committee on Ways & Means and the House Committee on Education and Labor, the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing issued the following statement: “At a time when millions of Americans are...
Bloomberg Law: Air Ambulance Companies Defend ‘Balance Billing’ Of Patients
Below is an excerpt from an op-ed published in Bloomberg Law. To view the full article, click here. Air Ambulance Companies Defend 'Balance Billing' Of Patients By Alex Ruoff Billing patients directly for services an insurer won’t cover is critical to the business...
Washington Post Op-Ed: The health-care industry is letting surgeons behave like muggers
Patients continue to bear the serious financial consequences of surprise medical bills from private equity firms and hospitals. Cynthia Weber Cascio, a patient and former reporter, recounted her own personal experience navigating a hospital maze that ultimately landed...
Kaiser Health News: Hospital Group Mum As Members Pursue Patients With Lawsuits And Debt Collectors
See below highlights from an article published in Kaiser Health News. Read the full article here. "The American Hospital Association, the biggest hospital trade group, says it promotes 'best practices' among medical systems to treat patients more effectively...
Private Equity Firms Spent +$53 Million Last Year To Kill Surprise Billing Reforms
With millions of Americans still facing the threat of bankrupting surprise medical bills, Bloomberg profiles the onslaught of private equity money in 2019 that stalled the hope of a solution for consumers. The article notes that, “No advocacy group spent more than...
ICYMI: New Analysis Shows Surprise Billing Charges Far Exceed Negotiated Rates, Adding $40 Billion in Annual Costs
Last month, a new analysis from Yale University’s Zack Cooper, Hao Nguyen, Nathan Shekita and Fiona Scott Morton zeroed in on some of the out-of-network providers and specialists who have built up a track record of sending surprise medical bills to patients. Not...
(Boston Globe) Ending surprise billing: A moral test for physicians
Below, see highlights from an op-ed published in the Boston Globe: Ending surprise billing: A moral test for physicians by Ashish K. Jha, M.D., MPH. To read the full piece, click here. "Most people, quite reasonably, think that if the hospital is in-network,...
Do They Or Don’t They? It Sure Looks Like Private Equity Firms Balance Bill Consumers
Recently, the private equity companies behind the most egregious surprise billing practices have tried to distance themselves from their bankrupting charges. They say they aren’t balance billing patients, but their actions suggest the exact opposite. We’ve been...
While You Were Carving Turkey… Private Equity Firms Were Digging In For More Profits From Patients
While you were preparing your Thanksgiving feast, ProPublica published a harrowingnew investigation about aggressive debt collection lawsuits from TeamHealth against low-income patients struggling to pay staggering bills. Since 2017, Southeastern Emergency Physicians,...
White House: We’re ready to bring an end to surprise medical bills, is Congress?
Below is an excerpt from an op-ed published in USA Today. To view the full op-ed, click here. White House: We're Ready To Bring An End To Surprise Medical Bills, Is Congress? (Nov. 27, 2019) By Joe Grogan, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council After...