The American media’s lazy reporting and obsessive hatred for President Donald Trump have given us years of sloppy, biased, misleading, and often completely false news coverage. White House Special Assistant Steven Cheung called the media out on Thursday for uncritically pushing North Korean propaganda.Cheung was responding to the Washington Post’s widely circulated “scoop” on Thursday that North Korea saddled the United States with a $2 million invoice for the medical care of hostage Otto Warmbier, an American college student brutally imprisoned by the communist regime who died from his mistreatment shortly after President Trump secured his release. The Washington Post treated the story like a dark secret kept by an embarrassed Trump administration, a “ransom” payment handed over by the same president who frequently criticizes his predecessor Barack Obama for paying a vastly larger ransom in cash to Iran. It was meant as a “gotcha” story … [Read more...] about Hayward: U.S. Media Falls for North Korean Propaganda About Otto Warmbier’s $2 Million Hospital Bill
Medical billing colleges
North Korea issued $2 million bill for comatose Otto Warmbier’s care
By Washington Post PUBLISHED: April 25, 2019 at 10:04 am | UPDATED: April 25, 2019 at 10:09 am By Anna Fifield | The Washington Post BEIJING – North Korea issued a $2 million bill for the hospital care of comatose American Otto Warmbier, insisting that a U.S. official sign a pledge to pay it before being allowed to fly the University of Virginia student from Pyongyang in 2017. The presentation of the invoice – not previously disclosed by U.S. or North Korean officials – was extraordinarily brazen even for a regime known for its aggressive tactics. But the main U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions passed down from President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the situation. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The bill went to the Treasury Department, where it remained – unpaid – throughout 2017, the people … [Read more...] about North Korea issued $2 million bill for comatose Otto Warmbier’s care
Senators borrow from baseball arbitration to solve problem of surprise medical bills
John Tozzi, Bloomberg Published 7:20 am PST, Thursday, February 7, 2019 In most markets, when a buyer and a seller can't settle on a price, they walk away. Medicine is different. Doctors and insurance companies often sort out who owes what only after a patient has been treated, especially in emergencies. When they disagree, patients can end up with unexpected bills they can't pay. Efforts to keep patients from getting stuck in the middle are gaining steam in Washington. Six Senators sent a letter to health plans and providers this week seeking data on surprise medical billing. President Donald Trump pledged in January to stop unexpected medical bills. One possible solution, already in place in New York and a handful of other states, puts insurers and doctors through so-called baseball-style arbitration. Each side submits a price, and an arbiter chooses one. Both sides are bound by the decision. Patients' charges for out-of-network care are limited to what they would owe … [Read more...] about Senators borrow from baseball arbitration to solve problem of surprise medical bills
As their bills pile up, furloughed workers suffer in the shadows
Oliver was born on New Year's Eve, 10 weeks early and nine days after we stopped paying his father, an air traffic controller from Lakeville. The only hospital in the area equipped to care for a baby that premature wasn't in-network for his family's health insurance, but the longest government shutdown in American history has shut down the department that could have helped his father, Joseph, adjust his coverage. So Oliver's parents are spending the first weeks of 2019 in the neonatal intensive care unit, watching over their son, while the medical bills pile up and no paychecks arrive. "I take solace in what matters most: Oliver is getting a little stronger and a little closer to home every day," Joseph wrote in a note to Sen. Tina Smith. "Please do what you can to reopen the government and leave us with one less worry." Smith showed Joseph's letter to her colleagues last week, along with a photo of Oliver in his incubator, cocooned in tubes and wires, wiggling his little pink toes. … [Read more...] about As their bills pile up, furloughed workers suffer in the shadows
Harvey-displaced family in Cypress gets help with home repairs, medical bills
By Chevall Pryce, Staff writer Published 7:20 pm CST, Friday, November 30, 2018 More than 15 months after Hurricane Harvey, the Griffith family is still unable to live in their home. The Griffiths received a heavy load following the storm. After the family lost their house to flooding, their farm-to-table restaurant Season’s Harvest closed temporarily. Even after reopening, they are still struggling to regain business. The mother, Joanne Griffith, was diagnosed with cancer soon after the storm. “With all of those things, the money runs out,” said Beket Griffith, owner of Season’s Harvest and father of the Griffith family. “We had kind of gotten to that point that we were just kind of at the end. We had used whatever resources we had; we used whatever resources had been made available to us.” Over a year later, the Griffith family is gaining stability thanks to help from several local philanthropic organizations. Champions Sunrise … [Read more...] about Harvey-displaced family in Cypress gets help with home repairs, medical bills