Drug Rebates Reward Industry Players — And Often Hurt Patients
A new JAMA study examines how drug rebates can direct money to middlemen and force Medicare patients to cough up more money.
Medicare
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Target Of Medicare Insider Trading Case Boasted He Was Unstoppable ‘Beast’
Prosecutors say hedge-fund traders made millions trading on information leaked from Medicare.
By Christina Jewett and Melissa Bailey -
Navigating Aging
Like Hunger Or Thirst, Loneliness In Seniors Can Be Eased
About a third of older adults feel lonely, but learning better ways to engage with others and improve relationships can help them avoid such feelings.
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UnitedHealth Doctored Medicare Records, Overbilled U.S. By $1 Billion, Feds Claim
The company, which is the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage operator, denies wrongdoing and argues that the Justice Department “fundamentally misunderstands” how Medicare Advantage works.
By Fred Schulte -
Quiz: Help Us Take The Pulse Of Our Readers
Even the most exalted among us realize health care policy is complicated. Here's a pop quiz to see what you have learned as a regular reader of Kaiser Health News.
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Medicare Failed To Investigate Suspicious Infection Cases From 96 Hospitals
The HHS inspector general’s office found that Medicare should have done an in-depth review of suspicious or aberrant infection reports from scores of hospitals.
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Navigating Aging
Drug Coverage Denied By Medicare? How Seniors Can Fight Back
Senior citizens have to be patient and keep close records to appeal when Medicare plans refuse to cover their medicines.
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Exodus By Puerto Rican Medical Students Deepens Island’s Doctor Drain
Interest in medical schools is high in Puerto Rico, but many students look to the U.S. mainland for residencies because of higher pay and the commonwealth's declining economy. The migration of young talent is both a symptom and an exacerbation of the island’s medical woes.
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Drugmakers Dramatically Boosted Lobbying Spending In Trump’s First Quarter
With high drug prices creating widespread controversy, top pharmaceutical companies and their trade group vastly increased their lobbying spending on Capitol Hill.
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Sen. Grassley Demands Scrutiny Of Medicare Advantage Plans
The powerful chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to explain $125 million in overcharges by insurers.
By Fred Schulte -
GOP Bills To Replace Obamacare Do Not Tinker With Lawmakers’ Coverage
Republicans are hoping to overhaul the federal health law. Among the law’s many provisions is a requirement that members of Congress and their staffs buy their health insurance on the law’s marketplaces.
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Repeal & Replace Watch
Death By 1,000 Cuts: How Republicans Can Still Alter Your Coverage
There are many ways beyond legislative repeal for the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to unravel the Affordable Care Act.
By Jay Hancock -
Markups On Care Can Fatten Hospital Budgets — Even If Few Patients Foot The Full Bill
A study finds that higher charges are associated with greater payments by private insurers, which can drive up costs for employers and consumers who pay their way.
By Chad Terhune -
Justice Department Joins Lawsuit Alleging Massive Medicare Fraud By UnitedHealth
The Department of Justice is joining a whistleblower lawsuit in a fraud case against UnitedHealth in which damages could top $1 billion.
By Fred Schulte -
By Law, Hospitals Now Must Tell Medicare Patients When Care Is ‘Observation’ Only
Not being officially admitted — a status known as observation care — can have financial consequences for beneficiaries, and patients had often complained they were not informed.
By Susan Jaffe -
Repeal & Replace Watch
Trump, Dems Look For Common Ground On Drug Prices
Two Democratic congressmen met with President Trump to seek his support for a bill to expand the government’s ability to negotiate drug prices, but it’s not clear it would have much impact or will gain support.
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Dentistry Advocates Aim To Fill Medicare Gaps
Brushing aside a political climate that favors federal cuts in health care spending, advocates for oral health are pushing to expand Medicare to provide America’s elderly with dental benefits.
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Docs Bill Medicare For End-Of-Life Advice As ‘Death Panel’ Fears Reemerge
The federal program paid $16 million in the first six months of 2016 to counsel 223,000 patients about treatment preferences in their last days.
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Judge Upends Effort To Limit Charity Funding For Kidney Patients’ Insurance
A federal judge in Texas last month issued a preliminary injunction barring the government from enforcing a rule allowing insurers to refuse to insure dialysis patients who get premium assistance from charity groups.
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Despite Prevention Guidelines, Few Smokers Seek CT Scans To Check For Lung Cancer
Lung cancer screening rates have not changed much even though the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that smokers get checked, according to a new study.