Thread regarding Ascension Health layoffs

• Did you know that the exact same procedure can be more expensive depending on where you have it done? Most people know that if they receive care in their doctor’s office or go to a lab or imaging center, rather than the hospital, they won’t be charged as much.

• But when a doctor’s office or lab can “pretend” it is a hospital, it can charge more.

• Patients who have been getting the same treatment from the same provider for years may suddenly get a much larger bill and a higher out-of-pocket charge simply because a hospital recently bought their doctor’s practice. Now that doctor’s office bills as if it is a hospital.

https://pirg.org/articles/why-doctors-offices-bill-patients-as-if-theyre-in-a-hospital-and-why-that-should-stop/

• Medical bills have upended the lives of millions of Americans, with hospitals putting liens on homes and pushing many people into bankruptcy. In recent years, lawmakers have railed against privately operated hospitals, and states have passed laws intended to make medical billing more transparent and limit aggressive debt collection tactics.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/19/1188421336/102-000-stay-in-a-state-mental-health-hospital-nc