health care news stories on Newser

Retiring? Better Have $240K for Health Care

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:27:05 CDT

Retiring this year? You and you significant other will need $240,000 for health care expenses, according to Fidelity Investments' latest annual projection. That's up 4% from last year's $230,000 estimate, which is a typical—and actually fairly modest—increase, BusinessWeek reports. Since 2002's $160,000 estimate, the annual...

Medical Bills? Your Credit Score Could Take a Whack

Neal Colgrass — Sat, 05 May 2012 16:41:00 CDT

That unpaid medical bill your insurance company promises to cover for you? Watch out, because even small medical bills are more likely to damage your credit score these days, the New York Times reports. A Texas man was surprised to find that an unpaid $200 ambulance bill (for his son's...

Black Kids Not Receiving Equal Care in ER: Study

Matt Cantor — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:37:56 CDT

Black kids don't receive the same emergency-room care that white children do, according to a new study of 2,000 kids who sought treatment for abdominal pain in 550 hospitals. It found that black children were 39% less likely to receive painkillers than their white peers. The racial gap grew...

Highest, Lowest Doctor Salaries

John Johnson — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:17:06 CDT

The annual survey from Medscape/WebMD has all kinds of interesting factoids about physician finances—including the fact that many doctors regret their career choice. Highlights: Highest paid: Radiologists and orthopedic surgeons make $315,000, followed by cardiologists ($314,000), anesthesiologists ($309,000), and urologists ($309,000). Lowest paid: Pediatricians ($156,...

Debt Collectors Go After Patients ... in the ER

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:08:05 CDT

One of the country's biggest medical debt collectors has reached a new low: sending employees into hospital emergency rooms to "encourage" patients to pay past medical debts before receiving treatment. The Minnesota attorney general is investigating Accretive Health's practices; its debt collectors are allegedly instructed to all but pose as...

Health Report: Same Test Can Cost $786—or $1,819

Matt Cantor — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 08:23:13 CDT

Yet another factor that could put a crimp in your wallet when it comes to health care: The cost of procedures such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and Pap smears vary wildly across the nation, according to a new report picked up by USA Today . Researchers found that colonoscopies, for instance, could...

Clarence Thomas: Justices Ask Too Many Questions

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:12:46 CDT

Clarence Thomas thinks that his fellow Supreme Court justices asked too many questions during the recent oral arguments over health care—and that they ask too many questions, period, reports AP . "I don't see where that advances anything," Thomas told an audience at the University of Kentucky last night. "Maybe...

Health Care Costs for Family of 4 to Top $20K This Year

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:47:20 CDT

Health care costs for a family of four covered on an employer's insurance plan are expected to exceed $20,000 this year, an increase of 7% from last year—and more than double the $9,235 it would set you back in 2002. Under such plans, employers pay a large...

Day 2: SCOTUS Weighs Individual Mandate

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:50:07 CDT

Today's the big day: The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the focal point of the challenge to President Obama's health care law, the individual mandate. If the mandate is upheld, everyone in the US will be required to purchase health insurance or pay a penalty; it's up to the...