Posts Tagged: billing

Dialysis dispute targets billing, health

A patient receiving blood dialysis treatment. (Photo: Khajornkiat Limsagul, via Shutterstock)

by LISA RENNER posted 06.19.2018

The Madera patient says he likes his Kaiser doctor and has no desire to switch to publicly funded Medicare, even though he qualifies. But if Senate Bill 1156 is approved, Adames likely wouldn’t get that choice. The bill would require that patients like him receiving third-party assistance would either need to enroll in Medicare or Medi-Cal (for those who are low income), or if they choose to stay on private insurance, they will only receive reimbursement at Medicare or Medi-Cal’s much lower rates.

The 10 lobbying firms in Sacramento brought in more than $40.4 million during 2013, including more than $11.5 million during the final quarter of the year alone. The figures were listed Monday in the Capitol Morning Report, which provides detailed scheduling, employment, campaign and job information to elected officials, government employees, trade groups and lobbyists, among others.

OPINION: Just as patients don’t want to see a $15 charge for an aspirin on their hospital bill, hospitals don’t want to charge patients those prices. Hospital pricing has evolved because of decades of government regulations, cost shifts to private payers and unfunded government mandates (including expensive seismic retrofitting), inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and the obligation for hospitals to treat all patients, regardless of ability to pay.