Are Debtor Prisons Returning To America?
8:01-8:06 Headlines 8:06-8:07 One Minute Music Break 8:07-8:35 State Secret: Why Are Uninsured Patients Paying The Highest Prices? INTRO: Inequality in the U.S. medical billing system leaves the uninsured paying far more for medical care than those with insurance. We speak with a patient who was uninsured when she received an emergency appendectomy and was charged five times higher than what Medicaid would have paid and others including the Legal Aid Society’s Elisabeth Benjamin author of the report, “State Secret” which finds New York City hospitals aren’t informing patients about available state government charity funds. Today we take a look at the state of health care in the U.S. today. In November, the Senate narrowly approved President Bush’s package to overhaul Medicare. And in the run up to the 2004 presidential election, health care is one of the main points of contention as Democratic presidential candidates hotly debate the issue on national TV. Well today we are going to tak
