Patients and Clinicians Across the United States Share the Challenges They Face with Healthcare Costs

BOSTON, Feb. 1 -- The Healthcare Financial Management Association issued the following news release:

On the heels of a tumultuous election season that promised the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, many Americans continue to face uncertainty about how they will access affordable care. Costs of Care, a leading non-profit focused on high-value healthcare, has collected dozens of real stories from both patients and clinicians that illustrate the challenges and opportunities to providing affordable care. As part of their annual Story Contest, sponsored this year by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and Consumer Reports, this year's stories again reveal the many struggles we all encounter with a too often fragmented and high cost healthcare system.

"Both clinicians and patients continue to struggle with how to deliver and receive the best possible care at a lower cost. These stories poignantly highlight the opportunities to improve care and the work yet to be done," says Jordan Harmon, Director of Advocacy at Costs of Care. Neel Shah, MD, Founder and Executive Director of Costs of Care adds that, "Although more Americans are insured than ever before, these stories highlight a persistent and growing epidemic of financial harm in the system."

The finalists' stories were judged by healthcare luminaries:

Andy Slavitt (Former Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)

Bill Frist (Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader)

Sarah Kliff (Senior Editor at Vox)

Glenn Steele (Chairman, xG Solutions & former CEO, Geisinger Health System)

Pat Mastors (Co-Founder and Executive Director, Patients' View Institute

"People on the front lines of health care are often best positioned to identify areas for improvement in the way care is delivered," said HFMA President and CEO Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA. "HFMA salutes Costs of Care for listening to patients and clinicians, and bringing their stories to a national audience."

The winners of this year's Costs of Care Story Contest:

Rebecca Thorsness from Rhode Island, describes the challenge of navigating wide variation in medication prices

Dr. John Loughnane from Massachusetts, describes an innovative way to care for a high needs patient

Dr. Sumit Agarwal from Virginia, discusses his "most costly order" as a primary care physician

All qualifying submissions to the Story Contest will be published biweekly at www.costsofcare.org during 2017 and be made available to the media.

[Category: Health Care]

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