Category: Health Insurance
Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’
Should Kennedy win Senate confirmation, his critics say a radical antiestablishment medical movement with roots in past centuries would take power, threatening the achievements of a science-based public health order painstakingly built since World War II.
Health insurance premiums to rise for WA small businesses by about 12%
This marks the highest increase for small employers in the last decade.
Health News Headlins
Weight-loss drugs for stroke prevention – Harris’ “At-home Medicare” proposal – Infant deaths have risen after Dobbs – Pink Cocaine
Medicare Open Enrollment Period Begins Today
Visit Medicare.gov now through December 7 to compare all your coverage options. You could save money, find better coverage, or both! If you decide to enroll in a different option, your new coverage will start January 1.
Medicare Open Enrollment Opens Next Week
Medicare Open Enrollment starts next week! It’s your chance to review or change your prescription drug and health coverage for next year.
What’s New and What To Watch For in the Upcoming ACA Open Enrollment Period
Current enrollees who do not update their information or select an alternative will be automatically reenrolled in their current plan or, if that plan is no longer available, into a plan with similar coverage.
Health News Headlines
Washington to keep abortion pill stockpile – Free COVID tests – Brett Favre diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease
At Catholic Hospitals, a Mission of Charity Runs Up Against High Care Costs for Patients
Catholic health systems like CommonSpirit Health, Ascension, PeaceHealth, Trinity Health, and Providence St. Joseph pay their chief executives millions of dollars a year. CommonSpirit Health’s then-CEO Lloyd Dean earned roughly $28 million in 2022; he was among nearly three dozen executives who pulled down more than $1 million that fiscal year, according to the health system’s tax filings. Elsewhere, Rod Hochman, CEO of Providence St. Joseph Health, earned $12.1 million. Ascension CEO Joseph Impicciche was paid $9.1 million, according to corporate tax filings.
Harris Did Not Vote to ‘Cut Medicare,’ Despite Trump’s Claim
Trump’s statement is wrong both on the hard numbers and his interpretation of what they mean.
U.S. Has Lowest Life Expectancy Among Rich, English-Speaking Countries: Study
A new study comparing expected lifespans among six high-income English-speaking countries found that Australians live the longest while American lifespans faltered over the last three decades.
Health News Headlines
Millions became uninsured as Medicaid programs cut coverage – More than 700 US hospitals at risk of closing – High cost of cancer screening
Looking for nursing home info?
Medicare.gov makes it easy to find and compare nursing homes in your area. Personalize your results by filtering for what matters most to you — like inspection results, location, quality ratings, and more.
Why Many Nonprofit (Wink, Wink) Hospitals Are Rolling in Money
“Hospitals are some of the biggest businesses in the U.S. — nonprofit in name only,” said Martin Gaynor, an economics and public policy professor at Carnegie Mellon University. “They realized they could own for-profit businesses and keep their not-for-profit status. So the parking lot is for-profit; the laundry service is for-profit; they open up for-profit entities in other countries that are expressly for making money. Great work if you can get it.”
States struggle to help patients navigate insurance hurdle known as ‘step therapy’
Millions of Americans have experienced similar frustrations under protocols known as step therapy, or fail-first policies. Insurance companies, and the pharmacy benefit management companies that handle prescriptions for them, often refuse to cover a specific drug until after the patient has tried cheaper alternatives. Insurers argue that step therapy — taking drug treatment one step a time — prevents wasteful spending by directing patients to less expensive, but still effective, treatments.
Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped in Medicare Advantage Plans.
Medicare pays private insurers a fixed amount per Medicare Advantage enrollee and in many cases also pays out bonuses, which the insurers can use to provide supplemental benefits. Those extra benefits work as an incentive to get people to join the plan but that the plans then restrict the access to so many services and coverage for the bigger stuff.”