Health Care
-
These states tried an Obamacare public option. It hasn’t worked as planned.
In Nevada, officials face an uphill battle implementing a policy the state’s incoming Republican governor called “bullshit” — and the state is already proposing easing targets for insurers to account for higher-than-expected medical inflation. And in Washington state, which was the first to pass a public option in 2019, enrollment remains paltry, and while the cost of the health insurance plans has decreased, state health officials said the policies available are still too expensive. “It’s still got a ways to go,” said Washington state Rep. Eileen Cody (D), who sponsored the state’s public option bill. “It’s not exactly what I had envisioned — I’ll put it that way.” With Republicans…
-
Surviving the Health Care System: 5 Money-Saving Tips
This story is part of So Money, an online community dedicated to financial empowerment and advice, led by CNET Editor at Large and So Money podcast host Farnoosh Torabi. I actually had a pleasant trip to the dentist once. Years ago, after a routine teeth cleaning, I was given a pricey estimate for a necessary dental procedure. Since the cost exceeded my insurer’s maximum annual coverage, I would have to pay $1,000 out of pocket. Desperation and fear made me speak up. “Can we reduce the price somehow?” I asked, with the dental bib still affixed to my shirt. That’s when things took a turn for the better.…
-
Spending bill secures funds for Native American health care
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Access to health care for Native Americans and Alaska Natives will be bolstered with funding included in a massive government spending bill awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature. The U.S. House passed the measure Friday, avoiding a government shutdown and providing more certainty for a federal agency that delivers health care to more than 2.5 million people. A coalition of lawmakers from Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, California and elsewhere fought to include advanced appropriations for the Indian Health Service in the bill, marking a first for the chronically underfunded agency as a way to ensure that services continue in case of potential funding disruptions. With the legislation, IHS…
-
TRICARE awards a new healthcare contract with an eye toward lessons learned
Military family members and retirees who use TRICARE will see changes to their healthcare starting in 2024. The Defense Health Agency (DHA) announced its new contract for TRICARE services on Dec. 22. The new contract for civilian health care, known as T-5, will start in 2024. Humana Government Business and TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corporation will be the regional contractors, with Humana covering the TRICARE east region and TriWest providing coverage to the TRICARE west region. … READ MORE Military family members and retirees who use TRICARE will see changes to their healthcare starting in 2024. The Defense Health Agency (DHA) announced its new contract for TRICARE services on Dec. 22.…
-
2022’s most interesting health care research papers, according to the experts
Though the pandemic and all its attendant health care crises remained the major health care story of 2022, churning all the while in the background has been the critical work of academic scholars, operating on longer timelines, who are still trying to make sense of US health care and of medicine itself, to get a better idea of what’s wrong and how to make it better. To wrap up this year, I asked a couple dozen health policy experts what research released this year (though, as one of them reminded me, these papers are often years in the making) had surprised them, changed their thinking, or struck them as especially…
-
MA doctor indicted for alleged involvement in 2 health care fraud schemes
A Massachusetts doctor has been indicted by a federal grand jury for his alleged involvement in two separate health care fraud schemes, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Dr. Pankaj Merchia, 49, of Brookline and Boca Raton, Florida, was indicted on money laundering and health care fraud charges, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston. Merchia, who specializes in sleep and internal medicine according to the state Board of Registration in Medicine, was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on Tuesday. TOP MASSACHUSETTS COURT RULES AGAINST OVERTURNING LAW PROHIBITING PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE An email seeking comment was sent to his attorney. A Massachusetts doctor was indicted on…
-
What’s wrong with health care, and how to fix it
Why is the US health care system more than willing to pay for expensive hospitalizations and procedures but unable to prevent debilitating and expensive medical conditions in the first place — for example, by controlling a patient’s high blood pressure and diabetes before they lead to kidney failure? Why aren’t there enough primary care providers or providers who care for mental and substance use disorders? Why is the US health care system maddeningly complicated, even for something as simple as a prescription refill, and why can’t patients get the information and support they need to care for their own medical conditions? Get Weekend Reads from Ideas A weekly newsletter from…
-
Jim Cramer recommends these 5 health care stocks in 2023
CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday presented investors with a roster of health care stocks that should be on their shopping lists for next year. “Wall Street likes profitable companies with consistent results, nice dividends and reasonably valued stocks,” he said, adding, “The biggest [health care] winners were boring, consistent operators with cheap stocks.” related investing news Cramer said that health care stocks have stayed relatively steady this year because they tend to be recession-resistant stocks — in other words, they perform well regardless of the state of the economy. Here are his picks: Danaher Cramer predicted that the company will have a banner year in 2023 and called it “one…
