Posted on 04/03/2020 10:52:56 AM PDT by Theoria
The Trump administration is expected to use a federal stimulus package to pay hospitals that treat uninsured people with the new coronavirus as long as they agree not to bill the patients or issue unexpected charges, according to two people familiar with the planning.
The plan, which could be released Friday, comes as the White House faces mounting criticism for not launching a special enrollment period for people seeking coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Congressional Democrats also are pressuring the administration and insurers to waive treatment costs for the growing number of Americans who are losing employer-provided health coverage as job losses mount.
Hospitals treating the uninsured often bill patients for the difference between the amount they get from the government and the cost of care. The uninsured also may get bills for care provided by doctors who aren’t directly employed by the hospital. Both would be barred under the administration proposal, and hospitals would likely be reimbursed at current Medicare rates, people familiar with the planning said.
Hospitals are eager to get funding and administration officials are working now to determine how the money will be divided, according to one of the people familiar with the planning. It will go toward revenue assistance, covering the costs of the uninsured, and the needs of hospitals. For example, needs may be higher for hospitals in hotspots hard-hit by the pandemic.
Hospitals, which typically bear the brunt of costs for uncompensated care, have been bracing for an influx of patients. Hospitals of all types provided more than $38 billion in uncompensated care in 2017, according to the American Hospital Association.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
I think my broken arm is a result of COVID19.
Wow..the scams that are going to happen to get my tax money.
This is an effing nightmare.
I thought these things were supposed to be fixed with the almighty Ovomit care.
I’m very appreciative.
I don’t have any insurance. I can’t even begin to pay what they want to charge me while doing anything else, such as eating.
If I get CV, I’ll be dead broke and dead.
Yes, it is.
However, what is the alternative to this?
No insurance, no treatment, and out the door you go to infect others?
Stop and consider that our President is being blamed for a lack of respirators in states and cities. That is how far we have come Comrade. This top down approach and ridiculous blame game really took off after Katrina when the left tried to destroy Bush over their own failures and it has gotten far worse since.
Obamacare is long gone.
Uhhh isn’t that the law regardless of the illness / injury?
I can’t imagine how hospitals could possibly justify charging people now. The phrase is “usual and customary”. No one should be expected to pay their “usual and customary” fee when they clearly didn’t receive “usual and customary” service.
Emergency rooms don’t turn people away and never have in this country.
Next step will be for insurance companies to refuse to pay for COVID-19 medical treatment and then we are one step away from a Single Payer System or Medicare for All.
Will Pelosi try to oversee this like she’s doing businesses?
No. Everyone in an emergency health crises gets care in the ER, there is no payment for the uninsured. Illegals are bleeding hospitals to death.
Some big carriers, Blue Cross and Humana, have waived all copay for treatment of a CV19 diagnosis. Good thing, Humana is my Medicare supplement. I’m high risk in a high risk profession; healthcare worker.
“Some big carriers, Blue Cross and Humana, have waived all copay for treatment of a CV19 diagnosis. Good thing, Humana is my Medicare supplement. I’m high risk in a high risk profession; healthcare worker.”
That’s a more sound solution.
Insurance companies have taken on the risk and are encouraging people to get early treatment in order to mitigate their own risk.
Here comes Fraudapalooza.
>> Obamacare is long gone.
Effectively, it’s not. $10k annual deductibles, limited access, month-out appointments, and a $19k annual premium.
That is the problem with government health care.
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