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Close to two-thirds of Americans carrying medical debt, 64%, owe the money to hospitals, whether for inpatient, outpatient or ER services. 

In announcing its proposed changes to the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule for 2027, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services justified the reduced reimbursement by pointing to rates paid by private insurers, which are on average 16% less than what the federal government pays.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said agents and brokers, acting on behalf of enrollees, were failing to submit necessary documentation on applications, such as Social Security numbers and immigration details. 

In a complaint, a California doctor accused his former employer and colleagues of making false statements to damage his reputation. The hospital argued, successfully, that the internist failed to exhaust internal dispute resolution procedures that could have stopped him from losing income.

The doctor, visiting Montana from Pennsylvania for a ski trip, says he did not even realize at first what had happened.

The COVID-19 public health crisis ended in May 2023, three and a half years after HHS declared the pandemic a national health emergency. However, public anger over U.S. healthcare’s response is still rearing its ugly head in 2026.