Health Blog

Surprise medical bills can cause significant financial and mental stress, with some bills totaling in the thousands of dollars. These types of bills are so common and hard to understand that Kaiser Health News and NPR have an ongoing monthly feature called “Bill of the Month, where they investigate bills submitted by readers. What are... Read More

You have health insurance and a great primary care provider. Are there other resources that could help you build a personalized strategy to manage your health and wellbeing? Health advisory services are one option to explore. Health advisors do not provide medical care. Instead, they offer a range of services and resources that expand and... Read More

Large medical bills can have a significant impact on your financial wellbeing. Approximately one-third of Americans have some type of medical debt and 28% of those with medical debt owe $10,000 or more according to one survey. The issue doesn’t just affect people who do not have health insurance. With high deductible plans and increasing... Read More

If your 19-year-old college student ended up in the hospital, would you be able to get the information you need about her condition from the doctors treating her? What if your parents were having trouble managing multiple doctor’s appointments? If your spouse or partner had a heart attack, would you be able to make medical... Read More

Whether they’re the result of an unexpected illness or injury, out-of-network care, a high cost medical procedure like joint replacement or organ transplant, or a common but costly medical expense such as labor and delivery, large medical bills not only affect your financial wellbeing, they can also impact your health. The stress caused by high... Read More

While seeking care within your health insurer’s provider network costs less, there are situations when you may decide to seek care outside of the network. For example, if you’re diagnosed with a serious, rare, or complex condition, the physicians and hospitals that have the most experience treating your condition and the best outcomes may not... Read More

If you’re having trouble paying high medical bills or are faced with unexpected medical costs, you may want to consider negotiating with your healthcare providers to reduce the amount you owe. High medical bills and medical debt are problems a growing number of Americans of all ages are facing. According to data collected by the... Read More

If you’ve ever received an unexpected high medical bill you’re not alone. Maybe your primary care doctor or a specialist referred you for diagnostic tests or imaging and you assumed that since your doctor was in your insurance network, he or she would refer you to an in-network facility, which is often not the case.... Read More

Understanding how your health insurance plan works and what benefits and additional services are included as part of the plan can help you get the care you need and save money. The first step to getting the most out of your health insurance is to choose the plan that fits your needs best. Picking a... Read More

You’ve probably signed at least a dozen HIPAA forms at the doctor’s and dentist’s office, your pharmacy, the urgent care center, and perhaps even the local hospital. But what does the information on those forms mean and how does HIPAA help protect the privacy of your medical information? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act... Read More