Doctor’s Rx For A Stiff Knee: A Prescription For 90 Percocet Pills
Following minor surgery, KHN’s consumer columnist sees how easily doctors offer pain pills, fueling epidemic of opioid addiction.
Insuring Your Health
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Despite ACA Cost Protections, Most Adolescents Skip Regular Checkups
Only 48 percent of kids ages 10 to 17 have well-child visits, even though the federal health law requires insurers to pick up the entire tab, a study finds.
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Some States Roll Back ‘Retroactive Medicaid,’ A Buffer For The Poor — And For Hospitals
The retroactive payments provide protection for poor patients who can be enrolled in Medicaid after becoming seriously ill. That enrollment process takes time, and the look-back provision helps guarantee coverage they would have been entitled to if they had enrolled earlier.
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Study Gives Mixed Reviews On Laws To Equalize Cancer Patients’ Out-Of-Pocket Costs
Most states have laws that require that cancer patients who get their treatment orally rather than by infusion in a doctor’s office not pay more out-of-pocket. A new study finds that the impact of those laws is mixed.
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Enrollment 2018
Past-Due Premiums, Missing Tax Forms May Hamstring Marketplace Customers
People hoping to get federal subsidized marketplace coverage may need to make sure their 2017 premiums are paid and that they filed all the correct documents with their 2016 taxes.
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Millennials Embrace Nursing Profession — Just In Time To Replace Baby Boomers
Nursing generally offers stable earnings and low unemployment, which likely sounds good to young adults who came of age during the Great Recession.
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Enrollment 2018
Enrollment News To Bank On: Obamacare Is Still Here So It’s Time For Coverage Checkup
Open enrollment for the federal health law’s marketplace plans begin Nov. 1. In most states, the sign-up period ends Dec. 15, about six weeks sooner than past years.
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Want An IUD? Take Note Of Trump’s New Birth Control Policy.
Some employers may opt to claim a religious or moral exemption and women could have to pick up some of the cost of this expensive contraception option.
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Social Security Giveth, Medical Costs Taketh Away
Out-of-pocket health costs eat up about 18 percent of retirees' incomes.
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Long-Term Disability Insurance Gets Little Attention But Can Pay Off Big Time
People who become disabled because of accident, injury or illness can turn to long-term disability insurance to pay a portion of their income.
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Hepatitis C Drug’s Lower Cost Paves Way For Medicaid, Prisons To Expand Treatment
The drug, sold under the name Mavyret, can cure all six genetic types of the liver disease in eight weeks at a cost of $26,400, well below other options.
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Out-Of-Pocket Costs Often Keep Pricey New Cholesterol Drugs Out Of Reach, Study Finds
Research published this week by JAMA Cardiology analyzed pharmacy claims data related to a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs.
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Need An MRI? Anthem Directs Most Outpatients To Independent Centers
The insurer says hospital-based imaging services are too expensive and the independent facilities provide high-quality care.
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Narrow Networks Get Even Tighter When Shopping For Mental Health Specialists
The average provider network includes only 11 percent of all the mental health care providers in a given market, according to a study this month in the journal Health Affairs.
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Bemoaning Budget Cuts, Navigators Say Feds Don’t Appreciate Scope Of The Job
The Trump administration has dramatically trimmed money for the groups that help people enroll in marketplace plans, but those navigators say federal officials have unrealistic assessments of the tasks involved.
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Prevention Experts Propose Easing Advice On Number Of Cervical Cancer Screenings
A draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says women between ages 30 and 65 should get a Pap test every three years or an HPV screening every five years, but they don’t need to do both.
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If You’re Blindsided By Health Plan Changes, Learn The Root Causes — And Your Rights
Insurers can reduce benefits or change cost sharing, but they are generally supposed to tell enrollees about the change beforehand. And although plans must tell patients when they are denied coverage, sometimes treatment is affected for other reasons.
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Mayo Pain Expert: Holistic Approach Helps Patients Ditch Opioids
Painkillers were never designed to be used over the long term, says the head of the Mayo Clinic’s pain rehabilitation center. Instead, patients should try other approaches, including relaxation therapies. But getting insurers to cover them might take coaxing.
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Oregon, Texas Are Latest States To Put Down Markers On Abortion Coverage
The governors of both states signed abortion legislation last week. Texas will restrict insurance coverage while Oregon will require that it be covered.
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Too Few Patients Follow The Adage: You Better Shop Around
Three-quarters of participants in a newly released study said they did not know of resources for comparing health care costs, while half said that if a website were available to provide such information, they would use it.