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Chris Vanderveen (yep…me) Profile picture
@chrisvanderveen
Aug 27, 2019 • 11 tweets • 7 min read • Read on X
THREAD/

1/ I have long said that in health care "the status quo is making far too many people far too much money to want to change the status quo."

No more is this more evident than in the debate over #SurpriseMedicalBills
2/ In Colorado, acting in part on the results of this investigation by @9wantstoknow, legislators finally passed a substantive bill to prevent out-of-network providers from sending surprise bills to patients who visit otherwise in-network facilities.

9news.com/article/news/i…
@9WantsToKnow 3/ Patients have had, for a long time, a legitimate gripe of doing what their insurance wants them to do only to find themselves hit with a bill from a doctor or other provider who they never met, never chose.

Basically, patients want this protection.
@9WantsToKnow 4/ But in order for all Coloradans to have full protection, Congress must act as well (it's complicated)... there has been a flurry of activity there this year to do this... @MichaelBennet has been one of the local leaders to do this. Sides sounded optimistic early on... BUT
@9WantsToKnow @MichaelBennet 5/ While providers say they want a solution for patients, behind the scenes there is skepticism of their true intentions.

Basically, lobbyists are doing what lobbyists tend to do.

modernhealthcare.com/government/sur…
@9WantsToKnow @MichaelBennet 6/ Nationally, an extremely opaque group with no more than a PO Box in Birmingham, Alabama, is spending millions to fight federal surprise billing protection. ($13 million!)

(Hey @DrPatientUnity... it's time for us to chat... we're not giving up on this)

about.bgov.com/news/mystery-g…
@9WantsToKnow @MichaelBennet @drpatientunity 7/ Here's what's CRAZY. All sides say they believe patients should not receive these surprise bills...

But... surprise bills actually add leverage for providers as they fight for more money from insurance companies...

I've seen it happen in Colorado with my own eyes...
@9WantsToKnow @MichaelBennet @drpatientunity 8/ Providers want more money... Duh!

But without a contract with an insurance company, they routinely rely on their patients to file appeals directly after initial claim denied/paid in part.

Keep in mind, many of these providers are seeking 500% Medicare... if not much more.
@9WantsToKnow @MichaelBennet @drpatientunity 9/ without patients, they lose leverage.

and without leverage... they can't get paid... in some rare instances CRAZY amounts...

How crazy? How about $169,000 for intraoperative neuromonitoring (which we found in Colorado too)

9news.com/article/news/i…
@9WantsToKnow @MichaelBennet @drpatientunity 10/ Are you catching on to what I am saying? The status quo is making far too many people far too much money to ever want to change this...

And so they're spending millions to fight something everyone knows must change...

Mad? It's ok... Maybe let your Congressperson know.
*nowhere is this more evident 🤨

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More from @chrisvanderveen

Chris Vanderveen (yep…me) Profile picture
Jan 14
The man accused of murdering two and injuring two others along the 16th St. Mall over the weekend has a complicated past.

One that's already led to some confusion.

I'd like to share what we've learned today about Elijah Caudill, 24, in this THREAD

1/ Image
A few things are clear

Caudill is a convicted felon who has spent time in both state prison system and in various jails since 2021

He was paroled in Aug 23 after a 4.5 months in prison on a THEFT case.

His first arrest as an adult came in 19. For stealing baseball cards

2/ Image
That case was dropped. Things escalated in 2021 when a propety manager told Westminster police Caudill threatened him with a knife before saying, "I will cut your f---ing throat"

Felony menacing charges followed.

So did an 24 months probation.

3/ Image
Read 12 tweets
Chris Vanderveen (yep…me) Profile picture
Dec 19, 2024
Thousands of times every year, for many years, the largest provider of health care in Colorado has elected to do this.

Send process servers to the doors of their patients in search of money.

Money @UCHealth says its owed.

BUT... there seems to be a problem

A 🧵 Image
Let's start with the basics.

UCHealth is a MAJOR provider of care. It cares for millions every year.

So, yes, it is suing a small percentage of its patients for what it says are unpaid medical bills.

But... even a small lawsuit can be a BIG problem for its patients.

2/ Image
UCHealth has long insisted its litigation practices aren't unusual.

"Our practices are pretty consistent with other systems across Colorado and across the country" their Chief Legal Officer told me in January

But... are they???

3/ Image
Read 16 tweets
Chris Vanderveen (yep…me) Profile picture
Oct 11, 2024
You're going to notice a giant mug shot on the stage with the former President today.

I want to talk a little about who that is... Mostly because you're going to see it a lot today

Here he is with @RepBoebert

A quick THREAD

1/ Image
His name is Jose Miguel Reyes-Perez

Earier this year, Lakewood Police arrested him on a felony menacing/vehicle theft case

A tow truck driver said Perez "pointed the rifle" at him.

Police believe he and another were trying to steal a motorcycle, according to arrest report

2/ Image
Aurora Police arrested him on an outstanding warrant on May 22.

That warrant was from JeffCo. He'd been released on a $5000 PR bond, acc to court records, in Feb.

Court records show he was supposed to be arragined in Jefferson County but failed to appear on August 5.

3/
Read 5 tweets
Chris Vanderveen (yep…me) Profile picture
Aug 15, 2024
Ok. Someone much smarter than me is gonna have to answer this for me.

But I’m super duper curious about something with these negotiations.

Mostly about how these reductions in list prices compare with the typical rebates/discounts

Let’s start with the basics (below)

1/
The one thing you have to realize in the ridiculous and messy world of the US health care system is that no one typically pays the list price for anything.

Not for ER visits. Not for CTs. And not for rx drugs.

The latter is a mess. And one that still confuses me…but…

2/
Earlier this year the Commonwealth Fund did a study on the 10 drugs Medicare (the govt) will now “negotiate” prices on.

It’s a remarkably nerdy read. But one that’s important.

3/
commonwealthfund.org/publications/2…
Read 10 tweets
Chris Vanderveen (yep…me) Profile picture
Jun 13, 2024
BIG NEWS

Following joint investigation by @9news and @ColoradoSun... @GovofCO signs bill to prohibit hospitals from suing patients under someone else's name

Here is our original investigation

We found UCHealth had quietly sued patients for years

🧵
1/
 9news.com/article/news/i…
Starting in 2020, UCHealth largely stopped suing patients under its own name in Colorado courts

Why? We still can't say why. UCHealth won't say

But we know right around that time, other hospital systems were under intense public scrutiny for their litigation practices

2/ Image
Last year, when UCHealth wanted Lorena Sanchez to pay more than 24K for a CT scan/ER visit... it elected to sue her... but not under its own name.

Instead, it let Credit Service Company do the work for them.

Which, in turn, hid from the public UCHealth's involvement

3/ Image
Read 9 tweets
Chris Vanderveen (yep…me) Profile picture
Apr 13, 2024
As Colorado becomes just the second state in the country to ban use of the term “excited delirium” on police and autopsy reports… following our yearlong investigation…

I want to take a moment to explain the motivation behind our work.

1/
9news.com/article/news/i…
Years ago, we started examining prone restraint deaths…

Deaths that followed prolonged prone restraint.

We spent years on it and found a lot of cases that were barely covered by local media.

Why? More on that in a moment.

Here’s link:

2/
9news.com/article/news/i…
While looking into deaths that happened during or shortly after prolonged prone restraint, we found many were explained not by use of force but by something known as “excited delirium”

Families often had to google the term after being told that’s why their loved one died.

3/ Image
Read 14 tweets

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