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Crunching the numbers
- Most hospitals aren’t following a law that requires hospitals to post their prices for services online. According to early data from hospitals that made their numbers public, patients receive dramatically different bills for the same services, and those with insurance often are charged more than patients without coverage.
- Police and prosecutors can take cash and property they suspect to be connected to a crime through a process called civil asset forfeiture. In Massachusetts, law enforcement agencies can keep the money they seize, even if it belongs to someone whose charges were dismissed.
How to help Afghan refugees
Deepa Shivaram of NPR compiled this list of things you can do to help those fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Organizations that help refugees when they first arrive in the United States, like Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, are seeking volunteers to help with things like meal assistance and mentorship.
New from BigIfTrue.org
Water rates have been increasing for years, and local utilities don’t always offer programs to assist people who can’t afford to pay their bills.
Oklahoma City news and arts writer Jeremy Martin wrote yesterday about the need for water assistance. Here are some quick facts:
- The Department of Health and Human Services created a water assistance program in June, but it’s a temporary measure that will only last through 2023.
- As of early August, almost a third of Americans were having trouble paying for typical household expenses, like water.
- Now people in many communities owe their local water utilities a lot. In Texas, about 64,000 customers owe the San Antonio Water System more than $40 million in late bills. For perspective, HHS’ water assistance program reserved $92.4 million for the whole state of Texas this year.
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Thank you for reading Hard Reset. You can find me here at bryant@bigiftrue.org and 405-990-0988.
– Mollie Bryant
Founder and editor, BigIfTrue.org