For Aspiring Doctors With Disabilities, Many Medical Schools Come Up Short
A national survey finds that medical schools should do more to help doctors with disabilities thrive. Although some schools do make needed accommodations, others need to take basic steps to help.
What’s Next For ‘Safe Injection’ Sites In Philadelphia?
Philadelphia officials gave the OK to establishing safe-injection sites for drug users. But it’s unclear where the sites would be located and who would fund and operate them.
It’s In The Mail: Aetna Agrees To $17M Payout In HIV Privacy Breach
In a low-tech snafu, information about HIV treatment was visible through the cellophane window on envelopes sent to about 12,000 consumers.
Aetna acuerda pagar $17 millones por revelar estatus de miembros VIH positivos
La aseguradora envío cartas en las que era visible la parte en la que se mencionaba que los destinatarios estaban tomando medicamentos contra el VIH.
Desintoxicarse uno mismo: una pesadilla digna de “Freddy Krueger”
Expertos piensan que es casi imposible rehabilitarse de la adicción uno mismo. Pero Elvis Rosado demostró que la motivación personal puede lograr que sea una meta posible.
Do-It-Yourself Detox Can Be ‘Freddy Krueger’ Scary — And Usually Fails
Treatment for opioid addiction can be expensive and difficult to coordinate. That might make some people tempted to think they can overcome the addiction on their own. This rarely works.
Pre-Obamacare, Preexisting Conditions Long Vexed States And Insurers
Before the federal health law guarantee that consumers cannot be turned down because of their medical history, it was difficult to balance insurers’ needs to make a profit and individuals’ needs for coverage.
Travel Ban Adds Stress To ‘Match Week’ For Some Doctors
Matching with a residency program had an added layer of stress this year for doctors-in-training from the countries affected by President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
Dentists Work To Ease Patients’ Pain With Fewer Opioids
Dentistry is at a crossroads and many in the field are reassessing their narcotics prescribing habits.
Children Exposed To Hepatitis C May Be Missing Out On Treatment
Hepatitis C can be passed from mothers to babies, but it often is not diagnosed until much later in a person’s life. Specialists are debating new screening practices to catch the disease earlier.
Patients Want To Price-Shop For Care, But Online Tools Unreliable
A tough diagnosis and a high-deductible insurance plan motivated one couple to shop carefully for care. But they hit a snag — inaccurate prices on online calculators. Who can comparison shop if the price tags are wrong?
The Hospital Is In Network, But Not The Doctor: N.Y. Tries New Balance Billing Law
Consumers in New York are getting new protections against “balance billing,” where insurers bill patients for the difference between what insurers pay and what providers want, and states considering similar laws are watching closely.
Pa., Del. Move To Maintain Health Insurance Subsidy Access
A soon-to-be-announced Supreme Court ruling could threaten health insurance subsidies for millions of people in about three dozen states. But many state officials aren’t sharing contingency plans lest they be seen as supporting Obamacare.
FDA Heads Into Uncharted Territory Of ‘Biosimiliar’ Drugs
Under a new process set out by the health law, the FDA approved the first so-called biosimilar drug for sale in the U.S. It’s a copy of the cancer medicine Neupogen that will be sold under the brand name Zarxio.
Operator? Business, Insurer Take On End-of-Life Issues By Phone
Fear keeps many patients and doctors from talking to each other about end-of-life care. One company, hired by insurers, has made a rather unusual business fostering those conversations.
Primary Care Shortage? Not For The Insured, Study Shows
Researchers posing as nonelderly adult patients made nearly 13,000 calls to primary care practices across Pennsylvania, New Jersey and eight other states between fall 2012 and spring of last year. What they found may provide some comfort amid growing concerns of doctor shortages, especially as more people gain coverage through the Affordable Care Act, potentially […]
Some Young People Won’t Get Tax Help for Obamacare Insurance
A new study shows that younger people in eight cities who make more than about $32,000 a year won’t get tax credits to help pay for insurance premiums.
What’s Next For Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Expansion?
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has backed away from a controversial work search requirement in his Medicaid overhaul proposal that’s now under federal review. Even so, experts say it’s unclear whether that move will be enough for the plan to gain final approval. At stake are billions of dollars in federal funding for Pennsylvania and new […]
Libraries Serve As Health Insurance Info Hubs
In Philadelphia and across the country, librarians are digging into the details of the Affordable Care Act to help patrons sign up for health insurance.
Pennsylvania Governor Talks Up Plan To Expand Medicaid His Way
Only about half the states so far are planning to expand Medicaid coverage to thousands of low-income adults. Pennsylvania’s Republican governor has a plan to do that, with caveats.