"The [medical credit] cards also don't provide the same type of financial protections as debt held by a health care organization, according to a new report from U.S. Public Interest Research Group. That's because any charges on these cards aren't considered medical debt, unlike a bill owed to a hospital or health care office, the consumer advocacy group notes."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medical-credit-cards-credit-score-how-to-pay-health-care-bill/

#personalfinance #credit #healthcare #medicine #businessofmedicine

“There’s a large body of research showing that health care consolidation leads to increases in prices without clear evidence it improves quality,” said Zachary Levinson...“There’s some concern that, for example, when a larger health system buys up a smaller independent hospital in a different region, that hospital will become less attentive to the specific needs of the community it serves...”

https://stateline.org/2023/09/07/some-states-back-hospital-mergers-despite-record-of-service-cuts-price-hikes/

#healthcare #hospitals #mergers #businessofmedicine #healtheconomics

A private equity firm bought and closed Seasons Midwifery and Birth Center in Thornton, CO in October.

Staffers and community advocacy groups reorganized Seasons as a nonprofit organization and struck a note of triumph and defiance in announcing its reopening in January as the free-standing Seasons Community Birth Center. They accept private insurance and Medicaid.

https://coloradosun.com/2023/02/08/seasons-birth-center-reopened-nonprofit/?_hsmi=245296095&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9k-0dcNHZNmeemeTuHWvcMhK3tJgcXP5iLNhtSc-ozfPs--WBEMD9gww0nt5l_DrZmh-ZfxGO85woYlrCIEaDTvGkgKg

#healthcare #privateequity #businessofmedicine #obstetrics