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Surprise out-of-network billing and related patients’ costs are increasing among inpatient admissions and emergency department visits to in-network hospitals, according to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Click here to read the full article.
How Do I Know if I’ve Been Assigned Observation Status or Inpatient Status?
Hospital observation services are short-term outpatient services received when you are in the hospital for monitoring purposes and/or to determine whether you should be admitted as an inpatient. It is important to know that if you are receiving observation services (sometimes referred to as under observation status), you have not been formally admitted to the hospital as an inpatient, even if you are given a room or stay overnight.
This makes it difficult for you to tell if you’re an inpatient or an observation patient. You can’t assume that, just because you’re in a regular hospital room or in a hospital bed rather than on a gurney, you’re an inpatient. Your doctor or attending medical staff would be able to inform you.
Nor can you assume since you’ve been in the hospital for a few days you’re an inpatient. Although observation is intended for short periods of time, it doesn’t always work that way. For example, you go to the emergency room for stomach pain, after a diagnostic blood tests and or imaging/x-rays, there is no conclusive diagnosis and the doctor places you into observation for an overnight stay.
Most private insurance plans do not cover observation. That is why it is important for you to ask the doctor or medical staff if you are being placed in observation or admitted as an inpatient.
However, there is a supplemental plan that can help pay for hospital observation. Contact me for more information.
You don’t have to put off retirement due to health insurance costs. There are many affordable options for health insurance after corporate group insurance. Currently private health insurance plans consist of the Affordable Care Act Plans (most costly), Short Term Plans that offer coverage from 30 days to 12 months (soon to be 36 months) and Indemnity Permanent Plans with zero or low deductibles that provide unlimited hospitalization benefits. The advantage of private health insurance is that you can customize the plans to fit your needs and budget. Contact me with questions!
Did you know when it comes to eye safety, basketball is the most dangerous sport in the United States? However, when it comes to kids under 14, baseball is the leading cause of eye injuries. And these aren’t the only sports that can be dangerous. How about martial arts? Forty-five percent of mixed martial arts injuries are to the face and include the eyes.
In fact, every 13 minutes, there’s a hospital somewhere in the country treating a sports eye injury. Out of every 100,000 injuries, 42,000 are treated at ERs and 13,500 result in blindness.
But don’t let that stop you from participating. For most situations, protective eyewear prevents and lessens the degrees of most injuries. While it’s a nuisance to wear glasses, it beats the heck out of losing your vision temporarily or worse – permanently.
Technology forges better protection and currently, polycarbonate lenses are 10 times as impact resistant as other materials. When it comes to playing your favorite sports, a little protection has life-long benefits.
So don’t forget those glasses!
There’s more information for you at American Academy of Ophthalmology.
When it comes to children, it would be nice to state what numbers constitute a normal blood pressure reading. Here’s the problem. “Normal” blood pressure numbers change as children grow. It’s further complicated by the fact that high blood pressure tends to be asymptomatic. So what’s a parent to do?
For one thing, be aware that family history is a high risk factor. Since testing is easy, get your child’s blood pressure checked at his or her next doctor visit. Checks can begin as early as infancy for children with conditions like premature birth, heart and kidney problems. These and other medical conditions raise blood pressure for young children up to age 10.
Non-medical causes tend to be lifestyle related. Children on poor diets with little exercise are subject to obesity – a major cause of high blood pressure at any age. To avoid medications, make lifestyle changes with better food and more exercise. This leads to weight loss and may be the only treatment needed. If that doesn’t work, medications ranging from diuretics to beta blockers may be prescribed.
As with any medical condition, the earlier the diagnosis, the easier the treatment.
