MONDAY, Jan. 17, 2022 (HealthDay News) — U.S. insurers are paying millions of dollars a year to cover the cost of ivermectin for COVID-19 patients despite a lack of proof the anti-parasitic drug is effective against the virus, a new study finds. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration andContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 12, 2022 (HealthDay News) — The chance of someone who is covered by Medicaid surviving cancer may depend in part on where they live, a new analysis finds. In states that had lower Medicaid income eligibility limits, cancer survival rates were worse for cancers both in early andContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Jan. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) — It’s a move that could severely limit the number of people taking the controversial new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm: Medicare on Tuesday proposed to only cover the cost of the pricey medication for people enrolled in approved clinical trials. A final decision on coverageContinue Reading
MONDAY, Jan. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Medicare has been told to reassess a significant premium increase it had announced that largely stemmed from the expensive new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s directive, which was announced on Monday, comes shortly after Aduhelm maker BiogenContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Jan. 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Following a months-long and unprecedented review, Medicare officials expect to announce within the next couple of weeks whether the program will cover the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm. The drug’s benefits are in question and its annual price tag tops $28,000. The U.S. CentersContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Jan. 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Many insured cancer patients still experience serious money problems linked to their illness, new research affirms. For example, nearly 3 out of 4 insured patients with colon cancer have major financial hardship in the year after their diagnosis, which affects their social functioningContinue Reading
MONDAY, Dec. 20, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The maker of the pricey new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab) said Monday it will slash the cost of its medication in half, effective Jan. 1, 2022. The move follows widespread criticism of the drug’s original $56,000-a-year price tag. The reduction in the wholesaleContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — “Medicare For All” gets tossed around a lot by advocates of universal health coverage, but a new study finds that today’s Medicare is far from free for seniors and people with disabilities. Instead, a large number of beneficiaries are sliding into medical debtContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Dec. 7, 2021 — Though they live in one of the world’s richest nations, a growing number of young Americans are without ample health insurance. A new study reports that 34% of U.S. kids age 17 and under were “underinsured” in 2019. That means their insurance failed to addressContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Dec. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) — President Joe Biden promised cheaper prescription drugs for all Americans on Monday as his social agenda legislation winds its way through Congress. Biden tried to shift Americans’ focus to pocketbook provisions overlooked in his $2 trillion legislation, which deals with everything from climateContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Dec. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In a sign that the expansion of Medicaid has really worked, new research finds that death rates have declined in states that expanded the public health insurance program. Medicaid expansion began in 2014 as part of the Affordable Care Act (also known asContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Dec. 3, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Nearly 13 million U.S. adults a year skip or delay filling needed prescriptions due to high price tags, new research shows. This figure includes more than 2.3 million Medicare beneficiaries and 3.8 million privately insured working-age adults who didn’t get needed medications eachContinue Reading
THURSDAY, Nov. 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Race-based gaps in health care and health outcomes persist in every region of the United States, a new state-by-state report card shows. Racial and ethnic disparities woven throughout America and its system of health care mean that people of color are more likelyContinue Reading
MONDAY, Nov. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A new and expensive Alzheimer’s drug called Aduhelm is responsible for about half of the $21.60 increase in monthly premiums for Medicare’s Part B outpatient program in 2022, Medicare officials report. The new premium will be $170.10 a month, and the $21.60 boostContinue Reading