Charles Ornstein, Author at Pacific Standard

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Social Justice

Even After Doctors Are Sanctioned or Arrested, Medicare Keeps Paying

An analysis of recently released data shows that dozens of physicians who received payments from Medicare in 2012 had been kicked out of Medicaid, charged with fraud, or settled claims of overbilling Medicare itself.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Drowning in Backlog: Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion May Be a Victim of Its Own Success

With open enrollment over for private health insurance claims, states are struggling to process hundreds of thousands of Medicaid applications.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

A Better Way to Pick the Doctor That’s Right for You

For years, patients have had few ways to compare doctors beyond their reputations. With a huge Medicare data release, that may soon change.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Does It Matter That Teaching Hospitals Have Close Ties to Drug Companies?

Nearly every large drug maker based in the United States had at least one academic medical center official on its board, raising questions about their independence.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Judging Obamacare: How Do We Know If It’s a Success or a Failure?

Sign-ups were supposed to formally end yesterday, and attention is shifting from marketing to measuring whether the law is meetings its goals.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Smoking Mad: Tobacco Users Caught Up in Insurer’s Obamacare Glitch

After signing up for coverage and disclosing they were smokers, about 100 New Hampshire consumers, including Terry Wetherby, find their new Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield policies canceled because they were charged incorrect “non-smoker” rates.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

During Final Obamacare Push, Is There Anything Worth Celebrating?

A fellow at American Enterprise Institute faults steps by the Obama administration to delay parts of the Affordable Care Act, saying they amount to dismantling the program in ways that will make it harder to sustain.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Medicare’s Drug Program Needs Stronger Protections Against Fraud

A new report finds that more than half of insurance companies in Medicare’s drug program haven’t reported fraud cases to the government. The findings echo an earlier investigation that found fraud flourishing in the program.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

When a University Hospital Backs a Surgical Robot, Controversy Ensues

The former head of a prestigious Boston hospital found it unsettling that the surgical staff of an Illinois university medical center endorsed the medical device in an ad in the New York Times magazine. After he started asking questions, the hospital asked that the ad be suspended.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Epic Fail: Where 4 State Health Exchanges Went Wrong

Oregon, Minnesota, Maryland, and Massachusetts are still struggling to get back on track after a disastrous launch that makes HealthCare.gov look successful by comparison.

Charles Ornstein