McCombs Healthcare Innovation Initiative

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, the largest hospital system in Memphis, Tennessee, said it has suspended “court collection activities” over unpaid medical bills, days after an investigation by MLK50 and ProPublica detailed its relentless pursuit of debts held by poor people and even its own employees.

Nonprofit Christian Hospital Suspends Debt Collection Lawsuits Amid Furor Over Suing Its Own Employees — ProPublica Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is reevaluating its policy after an MLK50-ProPublica investigation found that it had filed 8,300 lawsuits in the past five years, including against many of its own employees.

"On May 7, the Texas Department of Insurance said it would seek a cease and desist order in administrative court against Aliera for misleading customers into thinking they were buying insurance and blurring the line between the for-profit parent company and its affiliated nonprofit health-share ministry. The company countered members know exactly what they are getting.

Still, the similarities between traditional health insurance plans and the products Aliera promotes can be striking. Aliera’s website touts individual and family coverage that includes “primary care physician visits, pharmaceuticals, basic eye and hearing examines (sic), both in- and out-patient procedures, extended hospitalizations, urgent care needs, labs and diagnostic procedures.” Plans come in gold, silver and bronze, using the same metal designations as insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act’s exchange."

Buyer beware: When religion, politics, health care and money collide

New E-Tattoo Enables Accurate, Uninterrupted Heart Monitoring for Days - UT News AUSTIN, Texas — The leading cause of death in Texas is heart disease, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, accounting for more than 45,000 deaths statewide in 2017. A new wearable technology made from stretchy, lightweight material could make heart health monitoring easier and m...

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/coverage-losses-substantial-confusion-in-arkansas-following-implementation-of-medicaid-work-requirements/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Chan-Twitter-General&utm_source=Twitter

Coverage losses, substantial confusion in Arkansas following implementation of Medicaid work requirements For immediate release: June 19, 2019 Boston, MA – Thousands of adults in Arkansas lost insurance coverage in the first six months after Medicaid work requirements were implemented, with no change i…

From :

Why does the U.S. treat insulin like a luxury, when it’s so widely and gravely needed?

Desperate Measures: The Skyrocketing Price Of Insulin In America - 1A In the U.S., there’s another kind of caravan crossing borders in search of survival: diabetic Americans traveling to Canada to get cheaper insulin.

Great story from our friends at UT Health Science Center at Tyler.

Tyler doctors secure $36M for clinical trials for drugs to combat lung scarring Dr. Steven Idell and a team of researchers will continue to test drugs, LTI-01 and LTI-03, that could possibly reverse pulmonary fibrosis.

A Year After Spinal Surgery, A $94,000 Bill Feels Like A Backbreaker Spinal surgery made it possible for Liv Cannon to plant her first vegetable garden. "It's a lot of bending over and lifting the wheelbarrow and

Dollars and Sense: UT trying to solve hidden problem in healthcare The debate over solving the healthcare crisis in America usually focuses on insurance companies and prescription drug makers.  Not much attention is given to the doctors who order tests, prescribe drugs and perform procedures.

The Business of Improving Health - REthink The brain — and the body. In health innovation, academia’s ideation is often made real by industry’s ex*****on.

Texas' Uninsured Rate Is Bad And Getting Worse. But Lawmakers Did Nothing About It This Session. When lawmakers ended this year’s legislative session, they had addressed their biggest goals: They tamped down property taxes, overhauled school finance

Track outcomes that matter to attack health care dysfunction Focusing on outcomes that are important to patients can transform care delivery and cut physician burnout, health business expert says.