FRIDAY, Dec. 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — After facing weeks of pushback, health insurer Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said Thursday it will not go ahead with a policy change that would have limited reimbursements for anesthesia during medical procedures. If the proposed policy had taken effect, it would haveContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Dec. 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The advent of GLP-1 weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound has spurred debate as to whether the drugs’ cost should be covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers. Late last month, the Biden administration proposed that the drugs be covered by MedicareContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 4, 2024 (HealthDay News) — American seniors still pay more for health care than their counterparts in most other wealthy countries do, despite coverage by Medicare, a new study finds. They are also more likely to postpone or skip needed care because of cost concerns. “In the U.S.,Continue Reading
TUESDAY, Nov. 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) — The outgoing Biden administration will propose that pricey GLP-1 obesity medications such as semaglutide (Wegovy), and tirzepatide (Zepbound) be covered by Medicare and Medicaid. However, the move would have to be approved by the new Trump administration. Right now, a law passed byContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Nov. 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) — U.S. health care costs are among the world’s highest, and 1 in 4 adults with health coverage struggle with high out-of-pocket costs, a new survey shows. The survey — by the Commonwealth Fund, a health-care focused think tank — finds that most peopleContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) — If Congress lets healthcare tax credits established during the pandemic expire, 4 million Americans will become uninsured, a new analysis warns. The tax credits, which have significantly lowered out-of-pocket costs for millions of Americans, are set to expire at the end of 2025.Continue Reading
TUESDAY, Nov. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will pick celebrity physician and former TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees both health insurance programs. More than 150 million Americans now receive health care coverage fromContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Nov. 8, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Having a child can cause significant and ongoing financial hardship for new parents, even if they are covered by health insurance, a new study shows. More than half of people with private insurance spent more than $1,000 out of pocket on childbirth, andContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Nov. 5, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Poorer folks’ access to blockbuster weight-loss drugs through Medicaid remains limited, a new KFF analysis has found. Only 13 states currently allow Medicaid to cover treatment of obesity using glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist (GLP-1) medications, researchers discovered. Under the Medicaid system, individual states areContinue Reading
MONDAY, Oct. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Hospice care is a compassionate and heartfelt enterprise, involving a medical team dedicated to maintaining a person’s comfort and dignity as they face the final curtain. Now, new research shows hospice is also incredibly cost-effective as a health care service, a new reportContinue Reading
MONDAY, Oct. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A simple tweak in available vial sizes of the breakthrough Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi could save Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars each year, a new analysis claims. About 6% of Leqembi (lecanemab) is discarded because patients are frequently prescribed doses lower than theContinue Reading
MONDAY, Oct. 14, 2024 (HealthDay News) — About 6.5 million “Near Dual” seniors are struggling to afford long-term care as they grow older and more frail, a new study warns. “Near Dual” seniors are those who are eligible for Medicare but are only at the cusp of eligibility for Medicaid,Continue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) — When it comes to coverage for the pricey GLP-1 weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, only a fifth of large U.S. companies cover the medications in their health insurance plans, a new survey shows. In a report published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs,Continue Reading
MONDAY, Oct. 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Two new studies show insurers continue to deny claims for preventive care that is supposed to be free under Obamacare. And insurers are more apt to reject claims from patients who are Asian, Black or Hispanic as well as those with low incomes,Continue Reading