Latest news with #medicalbills
Independent Singapore
15-05-2025
- Health
- Independent Singapore
Chinese tourist insists Sentosa beach club should foot $1,252 medical bill after her child suffers toe injury
SINGAPORE: A Chinese tourist from Shanghai is insisting that a beach club take responsibility and compensate her for medical bills after her daughter suffered a toe injury at the club's premises. Mrs Hong Yu took to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu and recounted that she had brought her family to Singapore during the five-day May Day holiday. The family visited Sentosa's Ola Beach Club on May 4. While her daughter was playing in the club's pool, the child suddenly complained of pain in her foot. Upon checking, Mrs Hong discovered a bleeding cut on her daughter's toe. Staff at the beach club apparently called for medical assistance and helped to bandage the wound. However, Mrs Hong was later advised that the injury appeared deep and needed further medical attention. She approached the club's manager, asking that the establishment assume full responsibility and cover all medical costs. The manager reportedly told her that there were no immediate guarantees and handed her a business card, advising her to follow up via email. Mrs Hong then took her daughter to Mount Elizabeth Hospital, where the child received stitches. She later shared an image of the $1,252 medical bill online, along with an email from Ola Beach Club confirming they would follow up on the matter. A spokesperson for Ola Beach Club has since acknowledged the incident and told Shin Min Daily News that staff responded promptly and continued to liaise with the customer via email. The spokesperson added that the customer's concerns have since been addressed. 'The safety and well-being of our customers is of paramount importance to us,' the beach club said in a statement.
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Nonprofit hospitals are obligated to offer discounted health care, but some patients slip through cracks
Have you ever received a medical bill you weren't expecting? Even worse, how about a medical bill you can't possibly afford? A CBS News analysis of IRS data found some nonprofit hospitals in Philadelphia and across the country attempt to collect hundreds of millions of dollars a year from low-income patients. All the big hospitals in the Philadelphia area are nonprofit, and that means they receive federal, state and local tax breaks. In exchange, nonprofit hospitals are required to provide free or discounted care to those who can't afford to pay. However, our investigation found the law is vague, and some patients may be falling through the cracks. Despite walking with a cane and struggling to stand for long periods of time, Denise Costa-Mudrey spends a few hours a day as a lunch aide at a school in Stratford, New Jersey. It's a job, she says helps her pay off medical bills. In 2022, Costa-Mudrey says she went in for a follow-up surgery at Jefferson Hospital after a knee replacement at a different facility, but still struggles to walk. She says the bill was higher than expected because there was a complication, and she was put in a medically induced coma for two weeks. CBS Philadelphia "And when I came out of it and they took the tube out, and then they told me everything that happened, and I was just in shock," Costa-Mudrey recalled. Costa-Mudrey, who's on social security disability and Medicare for insurance, is still getting bills for that hospital stay. She told CBS News Philadelphia that she struggles financially and was eventually able to work out monthly payments with collection agencies, which take over the debt of health care systems, so she can get by. Costa-Mudrey isn't alone, and some patients are worse off than her. The CBS Data Team looked at the latest numbers available and, on a 2022 tax form in a section for "bad debt expense," Jefferson says it sent bills totaling nearly $8.5 million to patients who were "eligible under the organization's financial assistance policy." CBS Philadelphia Federal law requires nonprofit hospitals to provide "sufficient" community benefits and a written financial assistance policy in exchange for those big tax breaks. However, the law does not specifically define the meaning of sufficient community benefits. "When nonprofit hospitals behave like for-profits, the community is not really getting their side of that bargain," said Dr. Vikas Saini, the president of the Lown Institute, a research organization for health care. CBS Philadelphia According to that 2022 tax form, Jefferson details its financial assistance policy, saying in part, "a patient may qualify for discounts on medical care if there is no health insurance available, or has health insurance, but that insurance does not fully cover the medical care needed." We found the policy online and on Costa-Mudrey's bills, it says to call Jefferson to see if you could be eligible for financial assistance. Costa-Mudrey says that's how she got set up on the monthly payment plans. In a statement to CBS News Philadelphia, a Jefferson spokesperson said there are no active balances associated with Costa-Mudrey and, "While the patient did not qualify for presumptive exemption at the time services were rendered, we cannot retroactively determine if she would have qualified for financial assistance. Despite being guided on the process, the patient never completed a financial assistance application." When patients can't pay, it causes financial strain for many organizations. "When people can't afford care, they can't pay for it. But there's a question about where the money is supposed to come from," said Jill R. Horwitz, PhD, a UCLA Law Professor with an expertise in nonprofit health policy. Horwitz says nonprofit hospitals offer much more than just discounted health care for the low-income population. They're more likely to have emergency departments, psychiatric wards and drug rehabs – services she says are known to be vital but not profitable. Horwitz and other experts agree that the entire health care system needs an overhaul, and she believes the fix needs to come from Washington, not community hospitals. "The ordinary nonprofit hospital in America, in a given year, operates at a negative operating margin. There is no money tree," Horwitz said. A spokesperson for Jefferson emailed, "Jefferson Health is dedicated to providing exceptional care to every member of our community—regardless of their ability to pay. Through our Financial Assistance Program, we offer support to patients who are uninsured, underinsured, ineligible for government assistance, or otherwise unable to afford medically necessary or emergency healthcare services, based on their individual financial circumstances." If you're having trouble paying medical bills, start by looking up the hospital's financial assistance policy and see what payment options might be available to patients.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Man raises money for friend injured in Thailand
Friends of a man who was left in a critical condition after being hit by a motorbike in Thailand are fundraising to cover his medical bills. Ricky Eury, 39, from Hanham in Bristol, was crossing a road in the city of Phuket when he was struck by the vehicle, sustaining serious head injuries as well as fractures to his nose and ribs. His family have said they cannot claim for the cost of his care as his travel insurance had expired two days before - so friends held a fundraising event at Lost Horizon in Bristol on Saturday. Harry Bradford, one of Mr Eury's friends, said: "It's amazing how many people have come down. It's a testament to him and how many good friends he's got." More news stories for Bristol Watch the latest Points West Listen to the latest news for Bristol Mr Eury was in the country to find inspiration and ingredients for his business Gorilla Thai Kitchen, which has two sites in Bristol. He has now been discharged from hospital as an outpatient but is still bleeding on the brain and will not be able to come home for another three to five months. "The main thing he needs is money. We've had such a good response today," Mr Bradford said. A crowdfunder has been set up to raise £45,000 but Mr Bradford said the cost of Mr Eury's care might be "way above" that. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Restaurateur critically injured in Thai bike crash Man hurt in Thai bike crash makes 'slow progress'
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
That's So Raven star hospitalized with 'extremely severe' illness as fans donate $25K
A That's So Raven fell ill when on the road in April which sent him to the hospital. Turns out Rondell Sheridan has been struggling with 'extremely severe case of pancreatitis,' according to a friend. The former Disney Channel star shared an update on his health on social media Tuesday. Now he has asked his fans for help paying his medical bills as he has set up a GoFundMe page. He already has about $25K of his $35K goal. Rondell played Victor Baxter on That's So Raven and was also in Cory in the House and Raven's Home. He's also appeared in The Jamie Foxx Show, Kenan & Kel, Cousin Skeeter, A Different World. His GoFundMe is being run by a friend. 'Hello friends and family. My name is Isabel Beyoso, and I am creating this page on behalf of my very dear friend Rondell Sheridan because he has been admitted to the hospital twice in the last month due to an extremely severe case of pancreatitis,' Isabel wrote. 'He has not been able to work since April 12, 2025 and will not be able to return to work for the unforeseable future. 'The doctors have said he just has to wait for his pancreas to do what it's going to do before any further treatment can be considered, and in the meantime, he will be mostly bedridden, while in recovery. 'If we can all come together to help him financially for his medical and monthly bills while his body heals, I know this will be one giant stress we can collectively take off his shoulders, so that he can focus on resting, recovering, and healing. 'Every little bit helps and he appreciates you immensely.'
