Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KHN:
At Urgent Care, He Got 5 Stitches And A Big Surprise: A Plastic Surgeon’s Bill For $1,040
It was a Sunday morning in late November when Bryan Keller hopped on a bike for a routine ride to pick up his groceries, cruising with ease in a relatively empty New York City. The surprises came fast and hard: a fall that sent his head into the pavement and left him bleeding profusely and in shock, a trip to an urgent care clinic for five stitches and then a $1,039.50 bill. (Pradhan, 8/2)
KHN:
12,000 Square Miles Without Obstetrics? It’s A Possibility In West Texas
The message from Big Bend Regional Medical Center was stark: The only hospital in a sparsely populated region of far West Texas notified local physicians last month that because of a nursing shortage its labor and delivery unit needed to temporarily close its doors and that women in labor should instead be sent to the next closest hospital — an hour’s drive away. That is, unless the baby’s arrival appears imminent, and the hospital’s unit is shut down at that point. In that case, a woman would deliver in the emergency room, said Dr. Jim Luecke, who has practiced 30-plus years in the area. (Huff, 8/2)
KHN:
Restoring A Sense Of Belonging: The Unsung Importance Of Casual Relationships…
