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When is insurance not really insurance? When you need pricey dental care.

I'm 61 years old and a San Francisco homeowner with an academic position at the University of California-Berkeley, which provides me with comprehensive health insurance. Yet, to afford the more than $50,000 in out-of-pocket expenses required for the restorative dental work I've needed in the past 20 years, I've had to rely on handouts — from my mom.

21 May 2018

ACR urges legislative action on access and cost barriers in rheumatologic care

Rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals convened on Capitol Hill this week to urge legislative action on pressing policy issues affecting rheumatology care during the American College of Rheumatology's Advocacy Leadership Conference, held May 16-17, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

21 May 2018

Vermont legislators pass a drug importation law. So what?

This week, Vermont passed a first-in-the-nation law that would facilitate the state's importation of prescription drugs wholesale from Canada. It represents the state's effort to tackle head-on the issue of constantly climbing drug prices.

18 May 2018

Senior diabetic patients can save significant cost if negotiated rebates are shared at pharmacy counter

Sharing a portion of negotiated rebates at the pharmacy counter could save seniors in Medicare with diabetes more than $350 annually, according to a new analysis from IHS Markit.

17 May 2018

Comprehensive care physician model reduces hospitalization and expense for high risk patients

Patients who need frequent hospitalization account for a disproportionate amount of health care spending in the United States.

17 May 2018

Opioid pharmaceutical marketing influences physicians' opioid prescribing rates

A new study shows the significant impact that even a meal or two paid for by a pharmaceutical company can have on prescribing rates, despite a national decline of opioid prescribing rates.

15 May 2018

Lack of insurance exposes blind spots in vision care

Every day, a school bus drops off as many as 45 children at a community eye clinic on Chicago's South Side. Many of them are referred to the clinic after failing vision screenings at their public schools.

15 May 2018

Older Americans have increased risk for OSA but rarely investigated

In a study of community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older who were asked about sleep disturbances, 56% were estimated to be at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea, but only 8% of the high-risk individuals had been tested for it. Of those tested, 94% were diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.

14 May 2018

Trump vows (again) to lower drug prices but skeptics doubt much will change

President Donald Trump, armed with the expertise of staff seasoned in the ways of the drug industry, unveiled his blueprint to address sky-high drug prices Friday afternoon, promising that increasing industry competition will help Americans save at the pharmacy counter.

11 May 2018

CMS approves national reimbursement coverage for CardiAMP Chronic Myocardial Ischemia Trial

BioCardia, Inc., a leader in the development of comprehensive solutions for cardiovascular regenerative therapies, today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved national reimbursement coverage for the CardiAMP Chronic Myocardial Ischemia Trial.

10 May 2018

Study: Older adults have high risk for OSA, yet illness remains vastly underdiagnosed

Older Americans are often at a high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, yet this illness remains vastly underdiagnosed, a new study finds.

10 May 2018

Penn Medicine experts urge for basic safeguards if Medicaid work requirement policies continue to prevail

When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced controversial policies inviting states to establish work requirements as a condition to receive Medicaid, many in the medical community opposed it.

10 May 2018

Hoping to see your doctor via telemedicine? Here’s a quick guide.

Tucked into the federal budget law Congress passed in February was a provision that significantly expands the use of telemedicine — long a hyped health care reform, and now poised to go mainstream within five to 10 years.

9 May 2018

4 takeaways from Trump’s plan to rescind CHIP funding

President Donald Trump wants to employ a rarely used budget maneuver called "rescission" to eliminate $15 billion in federal spending, including $7 billion from the popular Children's Health Insurance Program.

9 May 2018

Medicare beneficiaries feel the pinch when they can’t use drug coupons

This week, I answered a grab bag of questions about drug copay coupons and primary care coverage on the health insurance marketplace.

8 May 2018

Federal officials say no-go to lifetime limits on Medicaid

The Trump administration's promise of unprecedented flexibility to states in running their Medicaid programs hit its limit Monday.

8 May 2018

Research shows prevalence, health-care utilization, and costs of alcohol-related cirrhosis

More than one-third of cirrhosis cases are related to alcohol, a seven-year national study of more than 100 million privately insured people has found.

4 May 2018

For shame: ‘Pharma bro’ Shkreli is in prison, but Daraprim’s price is still high

It was 2015 when Martin Shkreli, then CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals and the notorious "pharma bro," jacked up the cost of the lifesaving drug Daraprim by 5,000 percent. Overnight, its price tag skyrocketed from $13.50 a pill to $750.

4 May 2018

Sprained your knee? The cost of a brace could sprain your wallet.

One July evening, Carol Harnett was in a crosswalk in downtown Portland, Ore., when a driver made an illegal turn and hit her. Transported by ambulance to a hospital, she was diagnosed with a severely sprained right ankle and left wrist, as well as a concussion.

3 May 2018

As proton centers struggle, a sign of a health care bubble?

The Maryland Proton Treatment Center chose "Survivor" as the theme for its grand opening in 2016, invoking the reality-TV show's tropical sets with its own Tiki torches, palm trees and thatched booths piled with pineapples and bananas.

2 May 2018

Medicare News and Research

When is insurance not really insurance? When you need pricey dental care.

ACR urges legislative action on access and cost barriers in rheumatologic care

Vermont legislators pass a drug importation law. So what?

Senior diabetic patients can save significant cost if negotiated rebates are shared at pharmacy counter

Comprehensive care physician model reduces hospitalization and expense for high risk patients

Opioid pharmaceutical marketing influences physicians' opioid prescribing rates

Lack of insurance exposes blind spots in vision care

Older Americans have increased risk for OSA but rarely investigated

Trump vows (again) to lower drug prices but skeptics doubt much will change

CMS approves national reimbursement coverage for CardiAMP Chronic Myocardial Ischemia Trial

Study: Older adults have high risk for OSA, yet illness remains vastly underdiagnosed

Penn Medicine experts urge for basic safeguards if Medicaid work requirement policies continue to prevail

Hoping to see your doctor via telemedicine? Here’s a quick guide.

4 takeaways from Trump’s plan to rescind CHIP funding

Medicare beneficiaries feel the pinch when they can’t use drug coupons

Federal officials say no-go to lifetime limits on Medicaid

Research shows prevalence, health-care utilization, and costs of alcohol-related cirrhosis

For shame: ‘Pharma bro’ Shkreli is in prison, but Daraprim’s price is still high

Sprained your knee? The cost of a brace could sprain your wallet.

As proton centers struggle, a sign of a health care bubble?

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