Mistaken identity leads to big hospital bill mix-up : Shots

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Mistaken identity leads to big hospital bill mix-up : Shots

In 2013, Grace E. Elliott spent a night in a hospital in Florida for a kidney infection that was treated with antibiotics. Eight years later, she got a large bill from the health system that bought the hospital. This bill was for an unrelated surgical procedure she didn’t need and never received. It was a case of mistaken identity, she knew, but proving that wasn’t easy.

Shelby Knowles for KHN


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Shelby Knowles for KHN

In 2013, Grace E. Elliott spent a night in a hospital in Florida for a kidney infection that was treated with antibiotics. Eight years later, she got a large bill from the health system that bought the hospital. This bill was for an unrelated surgical procedure she didn’t need and never received. It was a case of mistaken identity, she knew, but proving that wasn’t easy.

Shelby Knowles for KHN

Earlier this year, Grace Elizabeth Elliott got a mysterious hospital bill for medical care she had never received.

She soon discovered how far a clerical error can reach — even across a continent — and how frustrating it can be to fix.

During a college break in 2013, Elliott, then 22, began to feel faint and feverish while visiting her parents in Venice, Fla., which is about an hour south of Tampa. Her mother, a nurse, drove her to a facility that locals knew simply as Venice Hospital.

In the emergency department, Elliott was diagnosed with a kidney infection and held overnight before being discharged with a prescription for antibiotics, a common treatment for the illness.

“My hospital bill was about $100, which I remember because that was a lot of money for me as an undergrad,” said Elliott, now 31.

She recovered and eventually moved to California to teach preschool. Venice Regional Medical Center was bought by Community Health Systems, based in Franklin, Tenn., in 2014 and eventually renamed ShorePoint Health Venice.

The kidney infection and overnight stay in the E.R. would have been little more than a memory for Elliott.

Then another bill came.

The Patients: Grace E. Elliott, 31, a preschool teacher living with her husband in San Francisco, and Grace A. Elliott, 81, a retiree in Venice, Fla.

Medical Services: For Grace E., an emergency department visit and overnight stay, plus antibiotics to treat a kidney infection in 2013. For Grace A., a shoulder replacement and rehabilitation services

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6 superfoods for faster muscle recovery | Health

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6 superfoods for faster muscle recovery | Health

While it is essential to keep your body moving and following consistency in your workout routines. It is also important to take required rest periods to allow your body to heal itself and regain its composure. When you are regularly engaging in physical activity, muscle injury and recovery come as a part and parcel, however, they should never pose a long-standing excuse to cut yourself off from living a healthy lifestyle. Lucky for you, there are food items you can include in your diet to promote faster muscle recovery so you can get back to your workout routine swiftly yet smoothly. The beauty of these food items is that they can all be easily procured from your local market without burning a major hole in your pocket. (Also read: 5 muscle-building red flags you must know )



In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Abhinav Mahajan, Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutritionist, suggested six superfoods to add to your diet for faster muscle recovery.

1. Spinach


Spinach is loaded with health benefits and a must-have post-workout food
(Unsplash)

There’s a reason why Popeye the Sailor was obsessed with this superfood. Spinach contains approximately of 5 grams protein in a cup-sized quantity. It is also packed with anti-inflammatory vitamins like A, B and C. Making it a must-have post-workout food. And there’s a variety of ways in which you can consume spinach. From pesto pasta to good old sabzi, you can also include this superfood in vegetable smoothies for easy digestion.



2. Watermelon


Watermelon with its 92% water composition, makes for the perfect post-workout snack or drink as it is great for hydration.
(Unsplash)

Watermelon is one of the favourite post-workout food that countless fitness experts swear by. When you work out, if you’re doing it right, you will sweat, which is why you need to rehydrate later on. And, Watermelon with its 92% water composition, makes for the perfect post-workout snack or drink as it is great for hydration. It also contains vitamin which helps with inflammation as well as other essential vitamins and minerals which aid muscle recovery.



3. Bananas


Bananas are anyway one of the favourites among fitness freaks as it is packed with iron and vitamins.
(Pixabay)

Bananas are anyway one of the favourites among fitness freaks as it is packed with iron, and contain fibre,

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To prevent medical debt, the U.S. could learn from Germany’s health care system : Shots

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To prevent medical debt, the U.S. could learn from Germany’s health care system : Shots

Dr. Eckart Rolshoven examines a patient at his clinic in Püttlingen, a small town in Germany’s Saarland region. Although Germany has a largely private health care system, patients pay nothing out-of-pocket when they come to see him.

Pasquale D’Angiolillo for KHN


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Pasquale D’Angiolillo for KHN

Dr. Eckart Rolshoven examines a patient at his clinic in Püttlingen, a small town in Germany’s Saarland region. Although Germany has a largely private health care system, patients pay nothing out-of-pocket when they come to see him.

Pasquale D’Angiolillo for KHN

PÜTTLINGEN, Germany — Almost every day, Dr. Eckart Rolshoven sees the long shadow of coal mining in his clinic near the big brownstone church that dominates this small town in Germany’s Saarland.

The region’s last-operating coal shaft, just a few miles away, closed a decade ago, ending centuries of mining in the Saarland, a mostly rural state tucked between the Rhine River and the French border. But the mines left a difficult legacy, as they have in coal regions in the United States, including West Virginia.

Many of Rolshoven’s patients battle lung diseases and chronic pain from years of work underground. “We had an industry with a lot of illnesses,” said Rolshoven, a genial primary care physician who at 71 is nearing the end of a long career.

The Saarland’s residents are sicker than elsewhere in Germany. And like West Virginia, the region faces economic hurdles. For decades, German politicians, business leaders and unions have labored to adjust to the mining industry’s slow demise.

Diagnosis: Debt

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But this is a healthier place than West Virginia in many respects. The region’s residents are less likely to die prematurely, data shows. And on average, they live four years longer than West Virginians.

There is another important difference between this former coal territory and its Appalachian counterpart: West Virginia’s economic struggles have been compounded by medical debt, a burden that affects about 100 million people in the U.S. — in no state more than West Virginia.

In the Saarland, medical debt is practically nonexistent. It’s so rare in Germany that the federal government’s statistical office doesn’t even track it.

The reason isn’t government health care. Germany, like the U.S., has a largely private health care system that relies on private doctors and private insurers. Like Americans, many Germans enroll in a health plan through work, splitting the cost with their employer.

But Germany has

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10 Minute Ab Workouts: 5 Exercises To Try

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10 Minute Ab Workouts: 5 Exercises To Try

A lot of us have busy schedules, so it’s not always easy to find time for a full-body workout. That’s why we’ve rounded up five simple 10-minute ab workouts that are great for getting your heart rate up and working all your major muscle groups.

The best part about these 10 minute ab workout is that you can always add more resistance and keep progressing, while training not just your abs, but also the rest of your body!

10 Minute Ab Workouts That You Must Try

1) Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are a great 10 minute ab workout that can be done anywhere. They’re a compound exercise, meaning they work multiple muscles at the same time, making them more efficient and effective than isolation exercises. Mountain climbers also target your core and upper body for an overall total-body workout.

To do mountain climbers:

  • Start on all fours with hands under shoulders and knees under hips.
  • Brace abs so they’re tight — this will stabilize your body as you move.
  • Pull your right knee toward your chest while keeping your left leg straight behind you.
  • Return to the start position, and repeat by bringing your left knee toward your chest while keeping your right leg straight behind you — that’s one rep!
  • Repeat in rapid succession for a minute before resting. Do 3-4 sets of this exercise.

2) Planks

This one is a classic 10 minute ab workout. Planks are the foundation of a strong core, and they can help improve posture and lower back pain as well as increase your overall strength.

  • To start, lie on your stomach with your forearms on the floor below you supporting your weight, with fingers facing forward (not inward).
  • Keeping your body straight and tight from head to toe, lift yourself off of the floor by engaging your core and glutes.
  • You can hold this position for as long as possible or up to 60 seconds at first.
  • Either way, try to increase that time over time so that eventually you can hold it for 30-60 seconds comfortably.

3) V-ups

V-ups are an incredible 10 minute ab workout to fire up your core. They are a bit more challenging than most other ab exercises, but you can always get stronger by trying this exercise!

You can try this exercise by following these steps:

  • Start in a push-up position, with your hands slightly wider than
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Israeli model opens up on living abroad, anxiety and a busy career

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Israeli model opens up on living abroad, anxiety and a busy career
International model Coral Simanovich said she misses Israel but living away has brought her family closer.

At only 31-years of age, Simanovich, who is married to Spanish soccer star Sergi Roberto and a mother of two young children, is managing not only an international modeling career but is also a fashion designer and co-founder of NoCo Jewelry.

Simanovich is the presenter of French luxury beauty brand “Stenhal”, and the first Israeli to be in a campaign by “Guess”.

The picture perfect family has been living a lavish life in Barcelona since September 2016.

“My family is everything,” Simanovich said. “My home. My heart. My health. At least that’s how it is for me. It effects everything in life. I’m talking about my original family as well as the family I have built.

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קורל סימנוביץ'־רוברטו

קורל סימנוביץ'־רוברטו

Coral Simanovich and Sergi Roberto family

(Photo: Instagram)

“The distance and living abroad is fraught with a lot of longing, and on the other hand there is something special about living far away because the relationship is always closer,” she said. “When you miss them, you appreciate your family way more. Its no longer taken for granted that you have them, so the relationship grows closer. I speak with them at least ten times a day.”

A new mother, Simanovich admits that parenting is ” a combination of the best and most challenging” thing that happened to her.

“In my opinion its one of the biggest tests of a relationship,” she said while sharing that it introduced a lot of new challenges into her and her husband’s marriage. “If you can get through that, its a sign that something there is strong.”

Simanovich, keeping her modeling and fashion career, does her best to have a balanced diet, workout regularly, and live a healthy lifestyle.

“I care about what I eat but I’m not fanatic at all. My focus is not on how I look, but rather on how I feel, what is healthy for me and what is good for my body,” she said. “If I didn’t eat healthy for a couple of days in a row, I won’t feel good, but not because its fattening. I don’t have a menu – I eat everything.

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קורל סימנוביץ'־רוברטו

קורל סימנוביץ'־רוברטו

Coral Simanovich

(Photo: Shai Yehezkel, Styling: Reuven Cohen)

“Living with an athlete also has an influence,” Simanovich said. “He eats really healthy food

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‘A ticking time bomb’: healthcare under threat across western Europe | Health

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‘A ticking time bomb’: healthcare under threat across western Europe | Health

For decades, western Europe’s national healthcare systems have been widely touted as among the best in the world.

But an ageing population, more long-term illnesses, a continuing recruitment and retainment crisis plus post-Covid exhaustion have combined, this winter, to create a perfect healthcare storm that is likely to get worse before it gets better.

“All countries of the region face severe problems related to their health and care workforce,” the World Health Organization’s Europe region said in a report earlier this year, warning of potentially dire consequences without urgent government action.

In France, there are fewer doctors now than in 2012. More than 6 million people, including 600,000 with chronic illnesses, do not have a regular GP and 30% of the population does not have adequate access to health services.

In Germany, 35,000 care sector posts were vacant last year, 40% more than a decade ago, while a report this summer said that by 2035 more than a third of all health jobs could be unfilled. Facing unprecedented hospital overcrowding due to “a severe shortage of nurses”, even Finland will need 200,000 new workers by 2030.

In Spain, the health ministry announced in May that more than 700,000 people were waiting for surgery, and 5,000 frontline GPs and paediatricians in Madrid have been on strike for nearly a month in protest at years of underfunding and overwork.

Efforts to replace retiring workers were already “suboptimal”, the WHO Europe report said, but had to now be urgently extended to “improve retention and tackle an expected increase in younger people leaving the workforce due to burnout, ill health and general dissatisfaction”.

In a third of countries in the region, at least 40% of doctors were aged 55 or over, the report said. Even when younger practitioners stayed despite stress, long hours and often low pay, their reluctance to work in remote rural areas or deprived inner cities had created “medical deserts” that were proving almost impossible to fill.

“All of these threats represent a ticking time bomb … likely to lead to poor health outcomes, long waiting times, many preventable deaths and potentially even health system collapse,” warned Hans Kluge, the WHO regional director for Europe.

In some countries the worst shortages are among GPs, with France in particular paying the price for previous planning errors. Back in 1971, it capped the number of second-year medical students through a so-called

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