MONEY

This Is Why Hospitals Can Charge $6,000 Or $60,000 For The Exact Same Procedure

ZERO HEDGE – Several months back, we pointed out how new disclosure laws would be forcing hospitals to disclose the cost of services and rates negotiated by insurers. Now, the numbers are starting to trickle in - and they're ugly. Roughly 6,000 hospitals across the nation are starting to reveal the rates they negotiate with insurers for a number of procedures. The figures show how widely prices vary for the same procedure depending on who is paying,...

Florida Man Gets 20 Years For Covid Cash Theft

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who received more than $1.9 million in coronavirus relief funds faces up to 20 years in federal prison for laundering most of the money through a fake business. Among his purchases were a luxury car and a pickup truck, federal prosecutors said. Keith William Nicoletta, 48, of Dade City, pleaded guilty Monday to a conspiracy to launder stolen COVID relief funds, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Tampa. He...

COVID-19 Fraud Is Big Business

Be aware of scammers pretending to be COVID-19 contact tracers. Legitimate contact tracers will never ask for your Medicare number, financial information, or attempt to set up a COVID-19 test for you and collect payment information for the test.

Porn Stars Get ‘Crushing’ News About Their Livelihoods

Pornhub banned from Visa, Mastercard over videos of rape, underage sex PLUS: The health costs of too much porn AP via Headline Wealth – Mastercard and Visa said Thursday they would block their customers from using the credit cards to make purchases on Pornhub following accusations the pornographic website showed videos of rape and underage sex. They reacted following an investigation by opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times that also alleged the site depicts revenge...

Irresistibly Cute: BBB Warns On Pet Sales Scams

Online puppy scams rising sharply in 2020, BBB warns Dec 2, 2020 Better Business Bureau – The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased demand for pets as people seek adding a pet to the family to ease the loneliness and tension of prolonged time at home. Many feel that they now have more time to train a puppy. With this rising demand has come a spike in pet scams, in which an online search ends with a would-be...

Boy, 9, Falls Off Bike, Needs Stitches; ER Bills $18,933

After Kid’s Minor Bike Accident, Major Bill Sets Legal Wheels in Motion Julie Appleby, Kaiser Health News, November 25, 2020 Adam Woodrum was out for a bike ride with his wife and kids on July 19 when his then 9-year-old son, Robert, crashed. “He cut himself pretty bad, and I could tell right away he needed stitches,” said Woodrum. Because they were on bikes, he called the fire department in Carson City, Nevada. “They were great,” said...

Hospital Profits Soar While Millions Face Economic Hardship

"Unpayable charges are a calamity for our patients, too many of whom ... become burdened by devastating debt, hounded by bill collectors or driven into bankruptcy." Nov 22, 2020 Salon – Hospitals in the United States charge patients as much as 1,800% more than their costs amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study. The 100 most expensive hospitals in the United States charge between $1,129 and $1,808 for every $100 of their costs, according...

Biden’s Medicare Agenda Could Bankrupt US Hospitals

Biden plan to lower Medicare eligibility age to 60 faces hostility from hospitals Older patients with private health insurance are the bread and butter of many U.S. hospitals Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News | November 11, 2020 Of his many plans to expand insurance coverage, Joe Biden’s simplest strategy is lowering the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 60. But the plan is sure to face long odds, even if the Democrats can snag control of the Senate...

COVID Care Is Free, If You Know This

Hospital bills for uninsured COVID patients are covered, but no one tells them | "Asking questions about insurance coverage is often referred to as a 'wallet biopsy,' and can result in fines for hospitals or even being temporarily banned from receiving Medicare payments." Nashville Public Radio – When Darius Settles died from COVID-19 on the Fourth of July, his family and the city of Nashville, Tennessee, were shocked. Even the mayor noted the passing of a 30-year-old...

Anthem Revenue Up 16%, Tops $30B For Quarter

Anthem tops 3Q forecasts | Oct 28, 2020 | Indianapolis (AP) – Anthem delivered a better-than-expected third quarter even though a jump in benefit expenses and other costs contributed to an 81% drop in the health insurer's net income. The Blue Cross-Blue Shield coverage provider also said Wednesday that it was leaving its 2020 earnings forecast unchanged, as insurers continue to deal with uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthem covers more than 42 million people...

California Collects $100M From Shuttered Restaurants

Fed up: Restaurants seek state booze, health fee refund | Oct 26, 2020 | Los Angeles (AP) – California's financially battered restaurants filed government claims Monday to recover more than $100 million in fees for liquor and health permits and tourism charges that they say were assessed even though their businesses were shuttered or only partially operating under long-running coronavirus orders. Few industries have been hit as hard during the pandemic as restaurants, which in California were...

Wells Fargo CEO: Blacks Are Simply Not Qualified For Top Bank Jobs

“There is a very limited pool of Black talent.” Sep 23, 2020 | AP, NEW YORK - Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf apologized Wednesday for comments he made about the difficulty of finding qualified Black executives. Scharf said that “there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from” in corporate America. The memo to employees was written in June, but became public this week. The comments and similar statements made in a Zoom meeting, reported by...

4 Years For Scammer Who Duped Florida Medicare Recipients

Land O’ Lakes man sentenced to four years in prison, ordered to pay $3.42M in restitution for fraud Sep 8, 2020 Tampa Bay Business Journal – A Land O' Lakes man has been sentenced to four years in prison for his part in a health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare-aged residents. Samuel Friedman, 45, of Land O’ Lakes, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for health care fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office...

COVID-19 Scams Target Your Credit Card Info

Scam Alert: Things a COVID Contact Tracer Wouldn’t Say Julie Appleby, Aug 20, 2020 Kaiser Health News – State officials and federal agencies warn there’s a new phone scam circulating: Some callers posing as COVID-19 contact tracers try to pry credit card or bank account information from unsuspecting victims. The grifters apparently are taking advantage of a genuine public health intervention that’s crucial to stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus: contact tracing. In one such scheme, detailed in...

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