Group Appointments With Doctors: When Three Isn’t A Crowd
More doctors are holding appointments with multiple patients, a trend some say may help ease a forecasted shortage of physicians.
Consumers Don’t View Curbing Costs As Their Job When Choosing Treatments, Study Finds
Researcher says she and colleagues were “surprised at how firmly and frequently people talked about not wanting cost considerations to factor into decision-making at all.”
Caveat For Contraceptive Coverage; Early Retirees May Get Cheaper Plans On Exchanges
Columnist answers readers’ questions about birth control provisions and subsidized coverage on state-based insurance marketplaces.
Key Long-Term-Care Insurer To Raise Women’s Premiums
Although the Affordable Care Act seeks to end health plans’ use of gender to set prices, the new rules don’t apply to policies for long-term care.
Today Few Public Family Planning Centers Accept Insurance
Most women can expect to get contraceptives without paying out of pocket for them thanks to the federal Affordable Care Act. Women who are young or those who are poor and rely on publicly funded family planning centers for reproductive health services are covered, too. But there’s a catch. Many of the state and local health departments, […]
New Coverage May Spur Younger Women To Use Long-Acting Contraceptives
The health law specifies that birth control is a covered service in many plans ending the burden of a high up-front cost for IUDs and hormonal implants.
Observation Units Can Improve Care But May Be Costly For Patients
Sometimes patients who are kept in the hospital to monitor their condition are not formally admitted and must pick up a bigger share of the cost.
Long-Term Care Protection May Be Toothless
There aren’t many investments people make to protect themselves against something that may happen 20 or 30 years down the road. Yet that’s exactly what long-term care insurance purchasers do. But a provision in those policies that people rely on to help ensure their coverage will meet their needs decades hence may do nothing of […]
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions about the new pregnancy benefits offered in the health overhaul, assurances that current insurance policies will be honored in the future and switching employer health plans.
Long Waits For Consumers When Medicare Is ‘Secondary Payer’
A new law sets schedules for providing details about medical claims in cases where a beneficiary suffers a personal injury due to someone else’s negligence.
Hospices, Wary Of Costs, May Be Discouraging Patients With High Expenses
A survey finds that more than three-quarters of hospices have restrictive enrollment policies designed to keep away patients with high-cost medical needs.
Health Law Offers Dental Coverage Guarantee For Some Children
The requirement is only for individual and small-group health plans, and some advocates worry that the new benefits may not be sufficiently comprehensive or affordable.
When An Employer Drops Coverage, Workers Lose Their Tax Advantages
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions, including how alternative medicine might be treated under the health law, and offers more details about coverage for adult children.
When Employers’ Health Plans Disappear, Workers Often Have Few Options
Unexpected events, such as a corporate bankruptcy or sale or a decision by an employer to discontinue insurance, can undermine the security of on-the-job coverage.
Study Finds Coverage To Help Kick Smoking Can Be Tricky
A recent review of 39 health plans finds details about who is covered to smoking-cessation treatments and who pays for them can be confusing and inconsistent.
When A Plan Overpays For A Service, Is A Patient Responsible For A Refund?
Experts say that overpayments occur for a variety of reasons and they can create headaches for providers and patients alike.
Weighing A State Mini-COBRA Plan; Premiums Based On Pay
Insurance columnist answers readers’ questions about choosing coverage after leaving a job, health law requirements for small businesses and salary-based premiums.
Medical Questions About Gun Ownership Come Under Scrutiny
High-profile law in Florida prohibiting doctors from asking patients about guns was overturned in the courts. But the 2010 federal health law restricts insurers, employers and HHS from asking.
Advocates Of Medical Marijuana Face Another Hurdle: Insurance Coverage
Even as more states move to allow the drug for medicinal purposes, health policies rarely cover its use. Some patients spend hundreds of dollars a month or more on the drug.
High Deductible Plans Offer Low Premiums But Steep Risks
More employers are offering these insurance options, but they can leave workers paying thousands of dollars for care before the coverage kicks in.
