What Do Covered California’s Big Rate Hikes Mean For You?
We answer some key questions to help consumers make sense of the news about large premium increases in the state’s Obamacare exchange.
Cost and Quality
1,381-1,400 of 3,363 results
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‘Don’t Cut Me!’: Discouraged By Experts, Episiotomies Still Common In Some Hospitals
Overall rates are falling in California and nationally but data point to certain hospitals with extremely high percentages.
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Fraud Concerns Emerge As Compounding Drug Sales Skyrocket
Federal spending has soared for drugs that are handmade in local pharmacies, and federal investigators are raising concerns about fraud or overbilling.
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Psychotherapists Gravitate Toward Those Who Can Pay
It goes back to the byzantine way health care — and health insurance — developed in the U.S. in the wake of World War II.
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Younger Seniors Amass More End-Of-Life Care Than Oldest Americans, Study Finds
A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis sheds new light on a widely-held belief about the costs of end-of-life care.
By Rachel Bluth -
Palliative Care Sometimes Adds To Families’ Stress Burden, Study Finds
A study in JAMA finds palliative care counseling for families of chronically ill patients is not routinely needed by all and sometimes increases symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
By Rachel Bluth -
Democrats Unite, But What Happened To ‘Medicare For All’?
Advocates for a single payer health care system say it would be more efficient, but other analysts predict that such an unprecedented change could be extremely disruptive to a key part of the nation’s economy.
By Julie Rovner -
Sounds Like A Good Idea? Regulating Drug Prices
Presidential candidates from both parties have proposals they say would help lower the cost of prescription drugs. But most experts say that efforts to regulate prices might not end up saving much money.
By Julie Rovner and Francis Ying -
Medical Marijuana Linked To Modest Budget Benefits For Medicare Part D, Study Finds
A Health Affairs study determines that Part D spending went down slightly on prescription drugs for which medical marijuana is viewed as a possible alternative.
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Study: Brand-Name Drugs’ High Copays Soak Medicare Part D Patients
A study in Health Affairs finds Medicare Part D beneficiaries were charged copays averaging 10.5 times more for Crestor and Nexium than generic drugs would have cost them.
By Rachel Bluth -
If You Want To Spend A Bundle On Your Bundle Of Joy, Go To Northern California
A new study shows that Sacramento and San Francisco are the two most expensive places to give birth among the nation’s 30 largest metropolitan areas. One possible reason: consolidation of hospitals and doctors.
By Jenny Gold -
Anthem, Express Scripts Face Legal Challenge Over Prescription Drug Prices
The case alleges that insured consumers were overcharged because of a contract agreement.
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Catastrophic Insurance Could Help With Long-Term Care Expenses: Studies
Urban Institute researchers examine how such a plan could work and whether it would be better to make payments when people first need care or after they have used up much of their own money instead.
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Old Motels Get New Life Helping Homeless Heal
Using run-down motels to care for and temporarily house homeless people recently discharged from the hospital helps stabilize them inexpensively, preventing unnecessary and costly returns to ERs and hospitals.
By David Gorn -
HHS Proposes To Streamline Medicare Appeals Process
The changes announced Tuesday seek to eliminate the backlog by 2021.
By Susan Jaffe -
‘Digital Health’ Not Just For Well-Heeled Fitness Fiends
A small group of advocates and entrepreneurs is using mobile phones and digital scales to make a difference in the health of poor people, too.
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California Drug Price Measure Fiercely Opposed By Pharmaceutical Industry
Proposed legislation would require drugmakers to disclose and justify price hikes. The industry has taken to Facebook and Twitter, warning that the proposal could lead to medication shortages in some regions of the state.
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Doctors Wrestle With Mixed Messages When Deciding Whether To Prescribe Painkillers
Though the CDC’s new prescribing guidelines follow a theme of less is more, another federal agency’s patient satisfaction surveys include questions about pain management that some say encourage doctors to prescribe the highly addictive medicines.
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Colon Cancer Screening: Five Things To Know
The U.S Preventive Services Task Force recently expanded the list of approved colorectal cancer screening tests. Here’s a primer on these various tests and how they might be covered now and in the future by health insurance.
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Filling A Prescription? You Might Be Better Off Paying Cash
Amid growing concern about rising drug costs, the practices of prescription benefit management firms are drawing a new level of attention.