Clear Healthcare Advocacy

What if a law passed but no one enforced it? That’s essentially what has happened with one small but helpful rule about hospitals and financial assistance for medical bills. The Affordable Care Act, the health law also known as Obamacare, requires nonprofit hospitals to make financial assistance available to low-income patients and post those policies online. Across the U.S., more … Read More

I listened to an interesting podcast a couple weeks ago regarding healthcare-related “cascade events.” (I realize “interesting” might be a stretch for those of you who, unlike me, aren’t completely geeked out by all things relating to the ridiculous cost of healthcare—but don’t stop reading, yet.) What made this podcast really interesting to me was that I’d just been through … Read More

Having a baby is STRESSFUL!! The physical and emotional effects of pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period are A LOT to deal with. Throw in the medical bills arriving from all directions, and the once normally-functioning parents of a newborn can find themselves in a sleep-deprived, stressed-out, can’t-squeeze-one-more-thing-into-naptime mess! Before you get your postpartum panties in a bunch, here are … Read More

The rising cost of medical care in the U.S. is a significant burden to patients—especially those who are uninsured or underinsured—as they find themselves strapped by medical debt. Ironically, much of this medical debt is for services provided by non-profit hospitals which, as part of their requirements for tax-exemption, are required offer financial assistance (or “charitable care”) to patients who … Read More