Latest news with #PetersonCenteronHealthcare
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Washington could exempt medical debt from credit reports
(Getty Images) When Kristopher Shook was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer at age 42, his only concern was beating it, no matter the cost. As a result, he accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. He was diagnosed with two types of lymphoma cancer — follicular lymphoma, an incurable cancer, and large B cell lymphoma, which is aggressive. He was only given a 15% chance of survival. 'There was no price tag on my life and I was willing to do whatever it took to survive,' Shook said. 'I wasn't concerned about the medical bills.' The hospital gave him two years to pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt. When he couldn't pay it on time, the hospital sold it to a collections firm, which added 12% interest. Shook was threatened with lawsuits, wage garnishment, and court action. He felt penalized for beating cancer. Shook's situation is not unique. Nationwide, about 20 million people, or nearly one in 12 Americans, owed $250 or more in medical debt in 2021, according to an analysis released last year by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF. Medical debt is a leading cause of personal bankruptcy in America and got worse after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. To alleviate some of the negative effects this debt might have on people in Washington, Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, is sponsoring Senate Bill 5480, which would prevent medical debt from appearing on a person's credit report. He said the bill is an attempt to help people in 'really unfortunate situations' avoid snowballing financial difficulties. 'But we're not trying to provide a path for folks to get around paying their obligations,' Riccelli said. The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday on a 35-12 vote, with six Republicans — Sens. John Braun, Chris Gildon, Paul Harris, Curtis King, Ron Muzzall, and Jeff Wilson — voting with Democrats in favor. The bill will next go to the House for consideration. The legislation comes amid uncertainty over a similar effort at the federal level. In early January, the Biden administration finalized a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule to prevent medical debt from appearing on credit reports. It was set to take effect in March. But it's since been paused by the Trump administration and also faces legal challenges. Riccelli's bill is a way for the state to provide extra protections. It also goes further than the federal rule in certain ways, including by preventing medical devices such as wheelchairs and prosthetics from being taken away from people if they don't pay their debt on time. This bill would only apply to Washington residents. Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, is among those who criticized the bill. 'It can enable further bad choices,' Wagoner said in a floor speech. 'If you are already suffering from crushing debt, but it doesn't have to be exposed, you now can take a future loan to put you further in debt and make life actually worse.' The Washington Collectors Association, an industry group for debt collectors, originally opposed the bill, but after amendments adopted a neutral position. Eliminating medical debt from credit reports could increase credit scores by an average of 20 points, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A low credit score can cause a range of problems for people, including when trying to rent an apartment or buy a home. And blemishes on a credit report can last for years. Meanwhile, many people are underinsured and don't know they qualify for charity care or financial assistance because hospitals often fail to screen for it. And even for people with insurance, expensive health care costs and high deductibles and copays can add up. Shook always considered himself healthy, so he used a high deductible health care plan where he paid low monthly costs for insurance. This resulted in higher out-of-pocket costs as he went through chemotherapy, scans and follow-up care for his cancer. In the first year after a leukemia diagnosis, care can cost almost half a million dollars, and drugs for cancer can be $10,000 per prescription, said Adam Zarrin, director of state government affairs for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 'I think that people want to save their lives and health care just costs too much,' Zarrin said. 'There's just not enough money in the world to pay off your medical bills.'
Associated Press
29-01-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
PBGH Launches Groundbreaking Health Care Data Project, Tackling Data Transparency Challenges and Strengthening Employer Fiduciary Compliance
Oakland, California, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amid the untenable healthcare affordability crisis, Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH), a nonprofit coalition representing 40 private employers and public entities across the U.S., announced the launch of its commercial health care data project to equip employers with vital and unprecedented transparency on the cost and quality of commercial health care and key insights that will enable them to be effective, prudent fiduciaries. In this first deployment, PBGH will aggregate and analyze the actual claims and demographic data from five jumbo employers and public purchasers across ten geographic markets with Hospital Price Transparency rule datasets, Transparency in Coverage ('TiC') payer datasets and provider quality metrics to meet fiduciary requirements under the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). The employers' data will be combined with the transparency files to generate comparative commercial benchmarks correlating cost and quality and provide employer-specific use cases based on their exact data – achieving unprecedented transparency and customized analytics to inform the employers' carrier and network strategy, direct contracting, and more. 'PBGH created this initiative because employers do not have access to the data they need to be prudent fiduciaries,' explained Won Andersen, Chief Operating Officer of PBGH. Under the project, PBGH will analyze cost variations, allowing employers to compare the best 'deal' by hospital, network, and carrier based on actual prices at the service code level, rather than relying on self-reported aggregated carrier data. Additionally, it will correlate price variation data with provider quality data to provide a comprehensive understanding of value. 'We are developing a new level of transparency and analysis that does not currently exist for the commercial market,' continued Andersen. 'This project represents a pivotal step toward enhancing transparency and accountability in health care spending and purchasing, ultimately benefiting employers and their employees and families.' 'The high cost of health insurance is a growing burden on employers and slows wage growth for workers,' said Caroline Pearson, executive director of the Peterson Center on Healthcare. 'Yet companies that are motivated to deliver higher-value coverage for their employees still lack the data, tools, and market influence to stem the rise in health care spending. This initiative will empower employers with critical insights into the cost and quality of care to foster informed decision-making.' The PBGH Health Care Data Project is supported by a grant from the Peterson Center on Healthcare. About Purchaser Business Group on Health PBGH is a nonprofit coalition representing nearly 40 private employers and public entities across the U.S. that collectively spend $350 billion annually purchasing healthcare services for more than 21 million Americans and their families. In partnership with its members, PBGH initiatives are designed to test innovative operational programs and scale successful approaches that lower healthcare costs and increase quality across the U.S.
