Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mich. Legislation Would Require Equal Coverage Of Chemo Treatments
Cancer patients and survivors are lobbying lawmakers to make Michigan the latest in a long line of states to require equal insurance coverage of chemotherapy regardless of whether the drugs are given by needle or taken orally. The push addresses the tendency for chemo pills to cost patients much more out of pocket, both because they are more expensive and because health insurers cover them differently than IV chemo. (Eggert, 5/21)
Nearly half of therapists in California don’t take insurance, according to a recent survey from the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. The same is true of psychiatrists. (Dembosky, 5/24)
In other insurance news, Vermont is the first state in line to require public and private health plans to cover vasectomies without copays and deductibles —
Vermont is poised to become the first state to require public and private health insurance to cover vasectomies without copays and deductibles under a bill Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law Monday. The legislation inserts into state law mandates from the federal Affordable Care Act but goes beyond them to include additional birth control methods, such as vasectomies. (5/23)
