Ryn The Guardian Melberg

Earlier this year both houses of congress were debating legislation that would end practices that led to surprisingly large and unexpected hospital bills. It seemed that passage was all but done. But over the summer, special interests — specifically hospitals and the private-equity-backed companies that have largely taken over their emergency rooms — are standing in the way; spending piles of money on their advocacy ads sponsored under innocuous sounding names like Doctor Patient Unity. Respected neurologist Dr. Steven Goldstein explains how this practice exists and why big business is against it.