This article was originally published in the Torrance Daily Breeze on April 4, 2012.
Los Angeles County's health services director said Tuesday that he was concerned about recent patient care problems at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, but believes the hospital is working to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | October 5, 2011
After trying for months to get some relief on $72,000 in medical debt, Andy Gee has made some progress.
Our center profiled Gee, of San Francisco, as part of our Diagnosis of Debt series. The report aired Sept. 12th on KQED Public Radio’s The California Report.
Gee was hit by a car last October and rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where he had emergency surgery on an open leg fracture. He then had to stay at the hospital for six days. When it was all said and done – despite having health insurance – Gee owed San Francisco General Hospital and the SFGH Medical Group $72,000.
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | October 3, 2011
The California Report's host Rachel Myrow and Kelley Weiss talk about tips for avoiding medical debt burdens. Transcript below.
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | September 30, 2011
In the last few years it’s become more and more apparent that making changes to the health care system is a monumental task.
As protesters for and against the federal health care law took to Washington’s Capitol before the measure passed last year…to the heated GOP primary race debates calling for the repeal of the law today, many are left wondering if it’s politically possible for the government to help them avoid mounting medical bills.
But as it stands now, the Affordable Care Act has several provisions that consumer advocates say will help keep Californians out of debt:
Center Staff | September 20, 2011
Emily Bazar on Valley Public Radio by CAHealthReport
Center Staff | September 14, 2011
Senior Writer Emily Bazar appeared on Capital Public Radio's Insight program today to discuss her in-depth report on high rates of heart procedures in certain California communities. Bazar published her two-part series in the San Francisco Chronicle. She found that the town of Clearlake, for example, posted rates five to six times the state average for elective angioplasty and angiography between 2005 and 2009.
Modesto, Calif. – Practicing family medicine in one of the most economically depressed cities in the country, Eric Ramos has watched his patients make wrenching choices about health care.
One couple, longtime patients, had to decide whether to maintain coverage for the wife, who had chronic kidney failure, or instead for her diabetic husband. "He decided to cover her," Ramos, 55, says of the husband, "and he's scraping by." How? With medications Ramos obtains from pharmaceutical representatives or elsewhere.
Increasingly in California and other states, doctors such as Ramos are taking matters into their own hands, finding ways to continue care for patients who have no insurance and no money.
Staff | September 12, 2011
Kelley Weiss, CHCF Center for Health Reporting | September 12, 2011
HospitalBillHelp.org: Information about California’s Hospital Fair Pricing Act, how to manage medical debt
Hospital Fair Pricing Act: Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
JustHealth: consumer group helping patients with medical bills
Consumer Reports: How to check medical bills for errors and avoid excessive debt
