Healthcare groups across the country, including Lee Health, are delaying some elective procedures to deal with the rising cases of COVID-19. However, those delays can affect the cost of care for patients. Elective procedures are case-by-case, but experts urge patients to get informed and speak with multiple professionals before taking any action. Hospitals are nearing […]
Anyone who has seen a doctor lately knows just how costly care can be. Unpaid medical debt is now unimaginable, reaching into the hundreds of billions. A newly published study shows people in the South have the most trouble paying up. Nearly 20% of people have a medical debt of around $400, and that debt […]
In March 2020, before the world completely changed, Sandy Germain and her husband Joe were at Daytona Bike Week. When they started coming down with cold and flu symptoms, the COVID-19 virus had started to spread in Florida. They returned home to Naples, and at the advice of their physician, went to the closest hospital […]
Insurance companies cover preventative care as an incentive for you to stay on top of your health; however, there is fine print for these so-called free exams and procedures with health care providers. A viewer from Fort Myers contacted WINK News’ Cost of Care after getting an unexpected $240 bill at what was supposed to […]
A Cape Coral couple almost had to make the difficult decision of staying in their marriage or getting a divorce all over the cost of prescription medication. WINK News Health and Medical reporter Veronica Marshall explain what may have gone wrong so it won’t happen to you. Through their 30 years of marriage, the Kanz […]
When Jan Trefzer went to a doctor for back pain, she expected to pay $45—her insurance copay for specialist care. But Lee Health billed her insurance for facility charges both times Trefzer went to the doctor at the Sanctuary, an outpatient center in Fort Myers. Those facility charges added $550 to Trefzer’s total out-of-pocket cost […]
Figuring outpatient out of pocket cost upfront for medical care can be an exhausting exercise, that the Trump administration hopes to streamline. But hospitals are fighting it. Hospital groups including the American Hospital Association are suing the Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services over its price transparency rule. All hospitals in the […]
The Leones are a picture of an all-American family. Dad is a firefighter and mom stays at home with their two children. But on top of everything else a mother has on her to do list, Allison Leone has spent much of the last year battling with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (Florida Blue) […]