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Over the past decade, R.I.P. Medical Debt has grown from a tiny nonprofit group that received less than $3,000 in donations to a multimillion-dollar force in health care philanthropy. It has done so with a unique and simple strategy to tackling the enormous amounts that Americans owe hospitals: buying up old bills that would otherwise be sold to collection agencies and wiping out the debt. ... But a study published by a group of economists on Monday calls into question the premise of the high-profile charity. (Kliff, 4/8)

A cancer patient with more than $700,000 in medical bills did not know if she could continue her treatments. Another patient had to take a heart failure medicine her doctor considered not as effective because it was less costly than another he preferred. And a third patient with a $15,000 debt faced years of paying back Bronson Healthcare, a 747-bed nonprofit, community-governed health system with four hospitals in southwest and central Michigan. Fortunately, Bronson’s financial counselors reduced or eliminated the problems the three patients faced by helping them apply for the hospital’s various financial aid programs, enrolling them in nonprofit financial aid programs or switching their Medicare plans to lower their out-of-pocket costs. (Anstett, 4/7)

Millennials and Generation Z are experiencing a new wave of anxiety when it comes to medical costs. According to a new study, 67% of Gen Z and 62% of millennials avoid seeking healthcare because of the price, compared to 46% of Americans overall. The study was commissioned by insurance firm, Assurance IQ. (4/8)

In recent years insurers have ratcheted up their use of prior authorization, causing delays and denials of care that are harming or even killing people, many doctors and patients say. In the past couple of years, more than two dozen states have considered legislation designed to minimize prior authorization delays and denials, and nine states have enacted new laws, according to the American Medical Association, which has advocated for them. (Chatlani, 4/8)

Nursing home operators are bracing for another financial setback: the possibility of lower reimbursements from Medicare Advantage plans next year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ 0.16% base payment rate cut to Medicare Advantage payers in 2025 is ringing alarm bells among nursing home industry trade groups as some insurers said the cut could prompt them to reduce payments to providers. (Eastabrook, 4/8)