As Workers Struggle With Pandemic’s Impact, Employers Expand Mental Health Benefits
Many job-based health plans broadened their mental health and substance use coverage to make sure workers had the support they needed this year as pandemic stress lingered, the annual KFF survey finds. Also, the proportion of employers offering health insurance to their workers remained steady, and increases for premiums and out-of-pocket health expenses were moderate.
¿No estás vacunado? Si falleces por covid tu familia puede quedarse sin beneficios
La Autoridad de Transporte Metropolitano de Nueva York (MTA) ya no paga un beneficio por muerte de $500,000 a las familias de los trabajadores del metro, autobús y trenes suburbanos que mueren de covid, si los trabajadores no estaban vacunados al momento de la muerte.
Unvaccinated? Don’t Count on Leaving Your Family Death Benefits
Some front-line workers who die of covid-19 have been considered eligible for accidental death benefits because it is presumed their infection was contracted on the job. But some employers now suggest that if the workers didn’t follow established safety protocols, such as getting vaccinated, those benefits may be denied.
Democrats’ Plans to Expand Medicare Benefits May Pinch Advantage Plans’ Funding
As lawmakers weigh new spending provisions to cover dental, hearing and vision services for Medicare beneficiaries, a group supporting Medicare Advantage plans is airing commercials that raise concerns about the funding for those private plans.
Student Nurses Who Refuse Vaccination Struggle to Complete Degrees
The Biden administration is requiring workers at health care facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments to be vaccinated. For the minority of nursing students who have refused a shot, the new policy could mean they can’t get the training they need in a hospital or other health care venue.
Biosimilar Drugs Are Cheaper Than Biologics. Are They Similar Enough to Switch?
Biologic drugs, made from living organisms, and the cheaper biosimilar drugs that mimic them are more complex than chemical drugs and their generic counterparts. The Food and Drug Administration says biosimilars are as safe and effective as the biologics, and doctors agree — but they are cautious about changing the treatment regimen of patients doing well.
Even in Red States, Colleges Gravitate to Requiring Vaccines and Masks
As students return to campus, schools across the country are taking steps to enforce public health advice to keep people safe from covid. In deeply conservative South Carolina when elected officials tried to stop that, a professor took on the establishment and won.
Reading, ’Rithmetic and Resisting Covid: The New 3 R’s as Kids Head Back to School
Children under 12 can’t get a vaccine, so parents are concerned about how to keep them safe as classes resume — especially as the delta variant spreads.
Sign-Up Window for Free COBRA Coverage for Many Laid-Off Workers Closes This Week
The most recent covid relief law offered federal funding to pay insurance premiums for workers who lost their jobs and opted to keep their workplace insurance through COBRA. But the window to take advantage of the subsidized coverage is closing: Many workers would need to enroll in the program by July 31.
Contraception Is Free to Women, Except When It’s Not
The landmark federal health law required most commercial health plans to cover a comprehensive list of birth control methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration free of charge to female patients. But health plans don’t have to cover every option, and newer methods are not included in the federal list of covered services.
Adolescentes voluntarios se abren paso como futuros profesionales en hogares de adultos mayores
Desde que se puso en marcha en 2006, el programa de desarrollo para la carrera en geriatría ha ayudado a más de 700 estudiantes de secundaria de 10 escuelas de bajos recursos, en la ciudad de Nueva York, a adquirir experiencia práctica en cuidados geriátricos.
Teen Volunteers Get a Foot in the Door for Nursing Home Careers
A group of New York senior living facilities offer teens from 10 underserved schools the chance to volunteer and get free training for entry-level health jobs, career coaching and assistance on college prep.
Covid’s Lingering Effects Can Put the Brakes on Elective Surgeries
Even after recovering from covid, many patients experience respiratory or other problems and, since this effect of the virus is so unpredictable, medical experts aren’t sure when it is safe to undergo elective surgery. But medical experts are setting up guidelines.
Suficiente para arruinar el descanso: le cobran $10,322 por un estudio del sueño
Por un estudio del sueño para resolver su apnea, recibió una factura que es seis veces superior a la que paga Medicare.
Enough to Wreck Their Rest: $10,322 for a Sleep Study
The University of Miami Health System charges a truck driver six times what Medicare would pay for an overnight test.
Trouble Managing Money May Be an Early Sign of Dementia
Long before they receive a dementia diagnosis, many people begin to mismanage their finances as their memory, organizational skills and self-control falter.
Doctors Scramble to Understand Long Covid, but Causes and Prognosis Are Elusive
Medical experts are struggling to define or explain the lingering, debilitating symptoms some covid patients experience. Part of the problem is the wide range of symptoms, but doctors say getting a better understanding will mean tracking patients and their outcomes and establishing clinical trials.
Lots of Health Insurance Help in Covid Relief Law — But Do Your Homework First
Democrats’ $1.9 trillion covid relief package will offer some of the most significant help for Americans to pay for health insurance in a decade. But the temporary provisions are complicated. KHN offers tips for consumers.
Sorting Out How Politics, Policies Figure in Flap Over New York Nursing Home Covid Death Rates
The debate begins with the covid death tallies. But the issues go beyond basic numbers.
‘I Wanted to Go in There and Help’: Nursing Schools See Enrollment Bump Amid Pandemic
Enrollment in baccalaureate nursing programs reportedly grew nearly 6% percent in 2020.
