Volunteering for the Holidays Across North Carolina

For years, the saying “it’s better to give than to receive” has punctuated the holiday season, pushing a message of selflessness in a time when it’s easy for us to get wrapped up (no pun intended) in our own material things. But in 2010, science proved that the saying is more than just a catchphrase. It turns out that one’s sense of happiness is greater when they spend relatively more on others than on themselves.

AHIP: Federal Legislation Necessary to Curb Surprise Billing

Cuts, slips, falls, chest pains, difficulty breathing, car accidents, and migraines are just a few of the most cited causes for visits to the emergency room. In total, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Americans make about 137 million visits to the ER each year.  If you find that stat staggering, you might want to sit down for the next one. 

Study Finds Practice of Surprise Billing Rising for Emergency and Inpatient Visits

When it rains, it pours. While Americans are forced to accept the reality of escalating drug costs—some by as much as 909%—a new study published by The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the frequency of surprise billing is also on the rise.

Study Debunks Claim that Eliminating Surprise Billing Shrinks Provider Networks

Fear has a funny way of influencing our thoughts, actions, and decisions. But in a lot of cases, the best antidote for fear is fact.

Hilarious Videos Rip Costly "Solution" to Surprise Billing

Surprise billing is no laughing matter, but we have to give it up to the Coalition Against Surprise Medical Billing for its new, lighter approach. In a series of new spots, the group uses humor—including one scene where an out-of-network barber charges a customer $200 for a haircut—to make its position clear. The ads are specifically pointed at a gimmick called arbitration, in which the private equity groups that employ doctors and take them out of network, are now attempting to use to remove themselves from lawmakers’ microscopes. Stopping surprise billing has been a hot-button issue in Washington D.C. at all levels of government, including with President Donald Trump. As a recap, a surprise bill is the result of a patient visiting a hospital they believe to be in network but receiving care from a provider who is not. It’s unfair, immoral and impacts about one in six patients—including those with insurance. While arbitration might seem like a fair and equitable way to decide the fate of a patient’s charges, it fails to address the root of the problem. Instead of lowering the rates, it puts the decision in the hands of someone else with potentially little knowledge or awareness about how to set the rate in that particular market. Even worse, if a rate is not favorable for the patient, it sets a bad precedent that could lead to more and more providers choosing to go out of network. Each humorous ad ends in the same serious way. It reminds the viewer that arbitration won’t fix the flaws in surprise billing—only fair market-based prices will. We couldn’t agree more, which is why we’ve been speaking out against this unfair practice for years. Check out the ads for yourself here, and sign-up below to find out what you can do to stop surprise billing.

Rep. Pittman and the NFIB – Standing up for lower health care costs

Yesterday, the NC State House passed SB 432, “Birth Center & Pharm Benefits Mgr. Licensure,” and it will be moving on to the Senate for concurrence shortly. If the Senate concurs and the bill is signed by Governor Cooper, it spells disaster for anyone already struggling with the rising cost of prescription drugs.