Ron DeSantis has not commented on his plans for healthcare should he get elected to the White House. But examining his record gives a good idea of what to expect.
KFF Health News
Under mounting pressure from patient advocates and government regulators, the three major credit agencies over the last two years have taken a series of steps to remove some medical debts from credit reports.
Medicare has long been in control of the prices for its services, but until now the drug industry has successfully fought off price negotiations.
Scores of drugs, many with limited benefit, cost more than $50,000 a year. Some drugs, mostly used to treat rare diseases, cost over $700,000 annually—in the United States.
Medical identity theft can happen if someone loses a wallet with their insurance card in it, for example, or a piece of mail from their insurer goes astray.
The CDC calls the 644 mostly Southern counties where rates of the disease are high the “Diabetes Belt.” And of those counties, more than half have high levels of medical debt.
PBMs—called by some the Pharma Benefits Mafia—are at the center of the circle of pointing fingers, each one blaming the next for sky-high drug prices. And reaping huge profits at patient expense in the meantime.
Unaccredited companies, sometimes calling themselves “medical consultants” or “coaches,” suggest they can provide quick turnaround times on claims and higher benefit checks.
On a Friday morning before Memorial Day weekend 2018, a tank holding waste from labs working with Ebola, anthrax, and other lethal pathogens became overpressurized, forcing the liquid out a vent pipe—and no one had noticed.
Although Horizon says it now has 20 drugs under development, in its 15 years of existence it has yet to license a product it invented. Yet the company has written a new playbook for how to build a modern pharmaceutical colossus.
Sara McLin’s son burned his hand on a stove. She took him to an in-network emergency room near their home in Florida which did not treat him. But they sent bills anyway—to her son, so she can't dispute them.
Few things about the American health care system infuriate patients and doctors more than prior authorization, a common tool whose use by insurers has exploded in recent years.