"Luigi got them shook"

[orangecrush]

North Carolina’s Atrium Health says it will forgive the debts of 11,500 people — less than a week after NBC News reported that the company has aggressively pursued former patients’ medical debts, placing liens on their homes to collect on bills.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/-miracle-nc-couple-free-nearly-100000-medical-debt-15-years-rcna183426

[DeepWinter]

1. yes and no

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/fact-check-did-atrium-health-wipe-debts-after-brian-thompson-killing/ar-AA1vO64P

Atrium Health did not remove liens on people's houses because of Thompson's killing.

The decision to remove the debts was made in September, and the couple featured in the NBC article had their debt removed in November.
(More at link)

[sarisataka]

2. Gee, that makes murder worth it /sarc

Oh, just one more thing…

Then, in early November, the Lindaburys received a letter from Atrium Health telling them it was removing what was left on the lien — $92,262 — and leaving them free and clear of any obligation to the hospital.

They received the letter forgiving the debt a month before the murder. So unless Atrium Health is prescient, the murder did not influence this in any way.

[questionseverything]

16. See post #3, it was a news report on the collection that made them forgive the debt

[Dennis Donovan]

3. Atrium agreed to write off the debt before the CEO shooting:

They were shamed into it by an NBC News story:

NBC News - 'Like a miracle': N.C. couple free of nearly $100,000 medical debt after 15 years

The lien on Donna and Gary Lindabury's home for a 2009 heart surgery debt was among 11,500 Atrium Health wiped away after an NBC News report.

Dec. 12, 2024, 7:20 PM EST
By Gretchen Morgenson



For 15 years, Donna and Gary Lindabury, of Vylas, North Carolina, lived with the financial equivalent of an anvil over their heads: a medical debt owed to a nonprofit hospital that at one point reached $200,000.

The debt, owed to Atrium Health for emergency heart surgery Gary underwent in 2009, grew over the years to include almost $100,000 in interest charges, Donna, 72, told NBC News. “We were striving, we were trying, we paid our bills,” she said. “But I just couldn’t afford to pay that hospital.” 

As the years went by and the debt remained, the hospital system placed a lien on the Lindaburys’ home, allowing it to recover what was owed if the couple sold the property.

“We’ve been just so consumed with just trying to get by with this problem,” Gary, 80, said.

Then, in early November, the Lindaburys received a letter from Atrium Health telling them it was removing what was left on the lien — $92,262 — and leaving them free and clear of any obligation to the hospital.

/snip

Here's the NBC News story from September that spurred Atrium to write-off the debt:
'Making peoples' lives hell': When he couldn't pay for cancer treatment, the hospital sued

I think, if the media would report more on the business practices of healthcare companies (insurance companies and medical conglomerates that manage hospitals, nursing homes, physician practices, etc), more would revise their business practices out of shame like Atrium did.

[Meowmee]

17. We need more focus on it by media

Not that it will likely happen after orange psycho takes over.

[EYESORE 9001]

4. As stated, the insurance company did agree to forgive some loans before the murder

but, in m experience, insurance companies drag their feet when it comes to money out of their pocket. I think it’s within the realm of possibility that the shooting put a little giddy-up in their timetable.

[Silent Type]

5. Atrium is not an insurer. The are a big provider group. My guess is they realized they weren't going to collect on those

accounts anyways, so why take the publicity hit for trying to squeeze blood out a turnip.

[Evolve Dammit]

9. Consumers don't know that. To them , it's just another scary bill they can't pay.

[Silent Type]

11. Oh I get it. Lots of consumers don't know difference among providers, insurers, Medicare, ACA, etc.

[Evolve Dammit]

20. Yes. And the intracies thereof.

[vanessa_ca]

18. Atrium/Advocate Health didn't do anything out of the goodness of their heart. NC fought hard as they kicked and screamed

Inside North Carolina’s fight to make hospitals relieve billions of patient debt

North Carolina officials had been quietly laboring for months on an ambitious plan to tackle the state’s mammoth medical debt problem when Gov. Roy Cooper stepped before cameras in July to announce the initiative.
-snip-
Less than six weeks later, the gamble paid off. The state received a federal blessing. And every one of North Carolina’s 99 hospitals agreed to the state’s demands. In exchange for federal money, hospitals would wipe out billions of dollars of patient debt and adopt new standards to shield patients from crippling bills.
But it was no sure thing. The behind-the-scenes story of North Carolina’s effort — based on hundreds of pages of public records and interviews with state officials and others involved — reveals a months-long struggle as the state went toe-to-toe with its hospitals.
Multibillion-dollar health systems and the industry’s powerful trade group vigorously fought the medical debt plan, records show. They sowed fears of collapsing rural health care. They warned of legal fights and a showdown with the legislature. And they maneuvered to get the federal government to kill the plan.
-snip-
Many hospital systems in North Carolina stood to get nearly twice as much money by agreeing to participate in the debt relief plan, state figures show. Charlotte-based Atrium, for instance, would get about $1.7 billion next year, compared with roughly $900 million if it didn’t sign on.
-snip-

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article291589970.html#storylink=cpy

Advocate waited until the last day of the state’s deadline for participation in the program. It calls for the state to pay hospitals up to $800 million – and considerably more in the following year – in federal Medicaid money if they agree to forgive medical debt that state officials say they would likely not have collected anyway. The plan also has provisions to prevent low-income residents from accruing future medical debt.

While Advocate agreed to participate in the program, it sent a note to state officials noting that state’s “good intentions” could lead to unintended consequences, such as:

Health insurance costs spiking for businesses and individuals if the insurance risk pool shrinks with fewer participants paying premiums.
Businesses could discontinue offering health benefits if their workforce qualifies for care that may be free.
People could reject insurance coverage since hospitals are now directed to provide free or deeply discounted care, even to those who are commercially insured.
Health systems in rural communities not be capable of accepting the policy’s requirements and face tougher economic struggles.

-snip-
https://businessnc.com/atrium-health-signs-onto-ncs-4-billion-medical-debt-relief-plan/

[Amishman]

6. If anything has for-profit healthcare execs scared, its not that Luigi did what he did

It's that the general public hates them so much that the people are cheering for Luigi for doing it.

[TBF]

8. Exactly - people don't normally go around cheering for murderers

It is because so many people have had such outrageous experiences with insurance that it just hit at that level.

[Silent Type]

12. Plenty of people fell in love with Charles Mason, Ted Bundy, Dalhmer, Timothy McVeigh, Hitler, Stalin, etc.

[ShazzieB]

14. Oh, please.

None of that us in any way analogous to this situation. NONE of it.

I hope you've enjoyed letting us all know that you are morally superior to those of us who can't work up any crocodile tears to shed over this event. Good for you. Have a nice night.

[TBF]

15. Oh come on now - don't be silly

Maybe a few zealots but you know full well that a lot of support came out for Luigi, much more than just a few fringe lunatics.

I want to be clear that this doesn't mean the general public really supports murderers running around at large, just that on this topic there was a kind of a karma response. And most would expect him to be held accountable.

Finally, the industry would not be running around increasing their security if they thought this was just one nut job. They know they are not loved in the community. This morning there was a letter from the head of UH Andrew Witty in the New York Times (op ed first page) trying to do some damage control. I hope he's serious and continues to reach out. My family actually has this insurance so I'd love to see some improvements in claim management.

[ShazzieB]

13. Exactly!

And the public hates greedy insurance companies with good reason. Because of that, this shooting unfortunately touched a nerve in a lot of people. In my case, it was a nerve that I didn't even know was there until this event twanged it.

***Obligatory disclaimer: No, that doesn't excuse murder; killing people is wrong; I am not celebrating this man's death, etc., etc.***

It just so happens that I can relate better to the people who are having feelings that some consider inappropriate than to the extremely rich, privileged man who was shot. If someone disapproves of that, go right ahead and do so. I feel the way I feel, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. C'est la vie.

[mercuryblues]

7. A CEO gets murdered

and the bigwigs are scared, beefing up security, I am willing to bet they are also lobbying the government to make laws to protect THEM

Hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of children die in school shootings are just collateral damage of the 2nd Amendment. Can't do a thing, tots and pears.

I am so sick of this.

[Evolve Dammit]

10. I was thinking exactly the same thing. Or if it was an average white, black, asian, latino that got killed and not rich

and powerful (like Oz). Sorry, just saw Wicked.

[Prairie Gates]

19. Lui e il vendicatore

Mio papà si chiamava Antonio Andolini. E questo è per te.

Aaaah noooo...è il figlio!

[Celerity]

24. ...

[milestogo]

21. United Health Care sent me a questionnaire asking for detailed feedback.

First time ever.
I didn't answer it. I have no issues with them.

[TBF]

22. I hope they send me one -

We have had their insurance for decades. Good & bad here. I can't get too angry on a personal level because they did a great job on the one out of the blue serious hospitalization that I had nearly 10 years ago. Getting authorizations for tests/meds on a chronic illness is more cumbersome. I do understand they need procedures, but some of it is ridiculous. So, my feedback would be very mixed but certainly not horrible.

Others, though, have reported really bad stories. So it is a very individual thing.

[milestogo]

25. Agreed

My only complaint is that they sent me a letter changing my primary care provider without telling me why. I couldn't get an answer. They assigned me someone else who I'd never been to on the other side of town.

I called and couldn't get it changed. So I went online and changed it back myself. Finally, when I needed an appt I called the clinic and they said I could not make an appt with her. No reason. So it starts to feel personal. When I saw her colleague I asked him and he told me that she has too many patients and they are short on doctors - but he acted annoyed that I asked. When you've been seeing a doctor for 10 years and they suddenly refuse to see you, its a big deal, even if you are not that sick.

But I gather that there is a doctor shortage everywhere. I called up and asked to see a specialty doc I had seen before and was told he wasn't available for 4 months. Who wants to wait 4 months with a problem?

So I have never had a lack of coverage, just a lack of good communication.