Graduates Without Health Coverage Should Consider Their Parents’ Plan
The health law guarantees that until the age of 26, children can stay on a family plan. There are exceptions, however, including when the young adult is offered insurance at work – even if that insurance is not as good as Mom and Dad’s.
Some Church Groups Form Sharing Ministries To Cover Members’ Medical Costs
The groups are financed through a monthly fee, and those revenues are divvied up and sent to members when they have health care expenses.
People Who Donate Organs For Transplants Can Have Difficulty Getting Insurance
Live organ donors – who can offer kidneys or part of their liver, lung or pancreas
Health Overhaul Could Double Community Health Centers’ Caseload
The centers, designed to help low-income and uninsured people, offer an affordable option for care, but it can also be tough to get an appointment.
Some Doctors Ask Patients To Sign ‘Pain Contracts’ To Get Prescriptions
Critics say the agreements, designed to help educate consumers about the dangers of opiods, invade patient privacy and damage trust.
Demand Grows For Palliative Care
Seriously ill patients, even when not facing death, can benefit from better pain and symptom management, care coordination and help setting goals from specially trained teams, which typically include a doctor, a nurse, a social worker and a spiritual counselor.
For People With Mental Health Issues, Care Is Often Elusive
The wait for an appointment with an expert can be long, and psychiatrists especially are in short supply. Psychologists seek to expand their role by prescribing drugs.
Pharmacists Expand Role To Help Educate And Coach Patients
Consumers often find it easier to get time with a pharmacist than a doctor, so drug stores are offering more outreach programs about chronic health problems.
Some Medical Practices Move To Monthly Membership Fees For Patients
These new plans cut out insurance policies and offer unlimited access to doctors and nurse practitioners for a modest, set fee.
Insurance Trade-Off: Reducing Premiums By Eliminating Expensive Doctors, Hospitals
Some insurers are offering consumers a hefty break if they pay more out-of-pocket when they use certain high-cost providers in their network or are cutting the providers from the coverage.
Health Law Forces Changes To Reduce Hospitals Readmissions
20 percent of Medicare patients are back in the hospital within 30 days, a trend that endangers patients and raises health costs.
Experts Seek To Simplify Medication Labels That Often Confuse Patients
Many people do not take drugs as directed-skipping doses, taking the wrong number of pills or taking them at the wrong time of day. Poor adherence results in millions of dollars of medical expenses each year.
Some Doctors Dispute Benefits Of Early Diagnosis
Dartmouth researchers argue that ordering screenings for people with no symptoms too often leads to costly treatment for people who would likely never have gotten sick.
Mediation Offers An Alternative To Malpractice Lawsuits
Patients seeking redress may find this option provides the same benefits as a court battle but quicker and with less emotional toll.
Should Infertility Treatment Be Considered Essential?
Currently, policies provide only skimpy coverage for these services, which are often expensive. But this is an issue that regulators are wrestling with as they determine what conditions should be included in plans under the health law.
Making End-Of-Life Decisions Is Hard On Family Members
Few people have advance directives and even when they do, the documents often don’t cover the exact situation, leaving loved ones to make critical decisions in a void.
Some States Have Options To Help Consumers Find Individual Health Coverage
For people who can’t get insurance through work, finding a plan is often difficult. In addition to the high-risk pools that have recently generated a lot of attention, other options may be available, depending on which state a consumer lives in.
Insurers Sometimes Reject Neonatal Intensive Care Costs
In these specialized units for premature infants or babies with special needs, the doctors and other personnel may not be under contract with an insurer’s network even though the hospital is covered.
Some Policies Restrict Coverage By Limiting Visits To The Doctor
The new health law eliminated lifetime and most annual dollar limits for consumers but some plans cut costs by covering only a defined number of doctor appointments, prescriptions or other services.
Few Seniors Have Long-Term Care Insurance
Given the complexity of these high-cost policies, experts agree it’s tough to decide whether they’re right for you.
