Sep 25, 2017 - Health

McCaskill calls out ER company for surprise medical bills

Sen. Claire McCaskill wants answers from Envision Healthcare. Photo: Susan Walsh / AP

Sen. Claire McCaskill has sent a letter to Envision Healthcare CEO Chris Holden, demanding answers about the company's practices of billing emergency room patients for out-of-network charges. McCaskill heavily cited a New York Times report and a study that found an Envision subsidiary called EmCare routinely manages hospital ERs and avoids contracting with insurers so it can bill higher rates to patients.

Why it matters: Envision has faced heat from patients and shareholders, and now an influential politician is pushing to know sensitive matters, like how many complaints its ERs have fielded and what percentage of ER visits involve out-of-network billing. Envision has until Oct. 11 to respond to McCaskill's office.

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Axios
Updated 21 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 32,881,747 — Total deaths: 994,821 — Total recoveries: 22,758,171— Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 7,079,909 — Total deaths: 204,503 — Total recoveries: 2,750,459 — Total tests: 100,492,536 — Map.
  3. States: New York daily cases top 1,000 for first time since June — U.S. reports over 55,000 new coronavirus cases.
  4. Health: The long-term pain of the mental health pandemic — Fewer than 10% of Americans have coronavirus antibodies.
  5. Business: Millions start new businesses in time of coronavirus.
  6. Education: Summer college enrollment offers a glimpse of COVID-19's effect.
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Axios
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Durbin on Barrett confirmation: "We can’t stop the outcome"

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday that Senate Democrats can “slow” the process of confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett “perhaps a matter of hours, maybe days at the most," but that they "can’t stop the outcome."

Why it matters: Durbin confirmed that Democrats have "no procedural silver bullet" to stop Senate Republicans from confirming Barrett before the election, especially with only two GOP senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — voicing their opposition. Instead, Democrats will likely look to retaliate after the election if they win control of the Senate and White House.

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Jacob Knutson, Rashaan Ayesh
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

The top Republicans who aren't voting for Trump in 2020

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge announced in an op-ed Sunday that he would be voting for Joe Biden.

Why it matters: Ridge, who was also the first secretary of homeland security under George W. Bush, joins other prominent Republicans who have publicly said they will either not vote for Trump's re-election this November or will back Biden.

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