Tag Archives: Hospitals

Forced Arbitration: A Sneaky Rip-Off

Businessmanhave an ace under his sleeve while meet his client or partner

Update: The CFC submitted a letter in strong support of the proposed rule to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on August 22. View it here (pdf). When a bank or other financial institution engages in unfair, deceptive or downright abusive rip-offs, consumers should get their day in … Read More ›

Abandoned Nursing Home Residents Live Months In Hospital, Waiting

by Anna Gorman, KQED

Nursing home residents are entitled to hearings under federal law to determine whether they should be readmitted after hospitalization. The state Department of Health Care Services holds the administrative hearings, but has said it is not responsible for enforcing the rulings. But the state Department of Public Health, which oversees nursing homes, neglects to enforce the rulings and sometimes disagrees with them, according to advocates and court documents. … And since many nursing home residents have publicly-funded insurance, it means taxpayers are on the hook for hospital stays long after the patients are ready for discharge. Read More ›

New Rules To Limit Tactics On Hospitals’ Fee Collections

by Robert Pear, The New York Times

Pregnant woman worrying over bills

“With these rules, it should be easier for low- and moderate-income people to get care without having to worry about a hospital or a bill collector hounding them for money they don’t have,” said Jessica L. Curtis, a lawyer at Community Catalyst, a national consumer group based in Boston. … The rules generally require nonprofit hospitals to give consumers at least 120 days before taking “extraordinary collection actions,” which include reporting debts to credit bureaus and using debt collection agencies. Read More ›

Preventable Deaths and Other ‘Adverse Events’ in Hospitals: News Reports on the Problem Include Murky Official Data

surgical team seen from perspective of a patient on a gurney

“Hospitals in California have reported 6,282 adverse events to the state in the last four fiscal years. They range from ‘death associated with an error,’ to ‘stage 3 or 4 decubitus ulcer,’ or bedsores,” the NBC Bay Area Investigative Team reported. Sacramento ABC affiliate News10’s own investigation yielded similar findings. Read More ›