- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Medicare Patients 'Under Observation' Face Higher Costs
Simply put: When you're under observation, you're often less insured.
Doctors at Gulf Coast Medical Center were about to discharge 95-year-old June Stanley to a rehabilitation center last spring when Stanley's daughter remembered something she had read about how hospitals classify patients.
Was her mother admitted during her stay?, Carole Brokke wondered. Or had medical staff considered her only "under observation," despite her three days in a hospital bed?
The answer would mean the difference between a standard Medicare bill or one with potentially tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. It turns out that Stanley, who had recently taken a hard fall at a Lehigh Acres nursing home, had not been officially admitted. Insurance would not pay for skilled nursing care.
Read the full story here: http://newspr.es/1hB8KGX
Source: News Press
Blister Packs May Help Solve Medication Adherence Challenges and Lower Health Care Costs
June 10th 2025Julia Lucaci, PharmD, MS, of Becton, Dickinson and Company, discusses the benefits of blister packaging for chronic medications, advocating for payer incentives to boost medication adherence and improve health outcomes.
Listen
