Do You Speak Health Insurance? It鈥檚 Not Easy.
Even savvy consumers stumble over terms like 鈥渃oinsurance.鈥
All Coverage
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Obamacare Insurers Sweeten Plans With Free Doctor Visits
Some insurers are betting that lowering the barrier to seeing a doctor will encourage people to get needed care sooner. If it works, the health plans could save more than they spend on the benefit.
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Worlds Apart: Vast Disparities In Treatment Separate Americans With HIV
Poverty and mental illness are among problems keeping about two-thirds of those infected 鈥 mainly minorities 鈥 from receiving treatment.
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Medicare Payment Changes Lead More Men To Get Screening Colonoscopies
The health law waived Medicare鈥檚 Part B deductible and dropped the 20 percent copayment for the preventive tests.
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Hands Off That Frozen Pizza! Docs Advise Customers As They Shop
An Orange County, California hospital system is posting doctors at supermarkets to help customers make healthier choices. It鈥檚 part of a larger national effort among hospitals to improve community health outcomes.聽
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ER Doctors Say Federal Rules Could Raise Patients鈥 Out-Of-Network Bills
Two physician groups say the government鈥檚 regulations for out-of-network emergency care payments will cost consumers more because insurers will pay less.
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Pharmacists Prescribing Birth Control And What It Means For Wider Access To The Pill
Two western states 鈥 California and Oregon 鈥 have passed laws allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control. Public health advocates see it as a way to expand access to the pill, and many doctors say it鈥檚 safe. But others argue these measures don鈥檛 go far enough.
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Health Plans’ Coverage Of Some Drugs Can Be A Source Of Consumer Confusion
Some medicines, particularly intravenous treatments, are not listed in plans鈥 pharmacy benefit section and, therefore, it鈥檚 difficult to confirm coverage specifics.
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Report: Home Care Workers Need Better Job Protections
Stricter oversight is required to ensure employers comply with labor standards, says worker advocacy group.
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Single-Payer Health Care On Colorado Ballot In 2016
The group ColoradoCareYES gathered enough signatures 鈥 more than 100,000 鈥 to put a single-payer health system on the ballot next fall. But the price tag is a worry to some.
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New Kaiser Permanente Med School Part Of A Growing Trend
Twenty new schools opened in the past decade; but some doubt whether so many new doctors are needed.
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Push On To Make Transparent Medical Records The National Standard Of Care
Four foundations joined forces to provide $10 million in new funding to the OpenNotes project, which will help an estimated 50 million people nationwide gain access to clinical notes, and allow researchers to evaluate how it affects health outcomes and costs.
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Kaiser Permanente To Open Medical School In Southern California
Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson says the new school is part of the HMO’s effort to transform the “health care ecosystem” in the 21st century.
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Baby Boomers Set Another Trend: More Golden Years In Poorer Health
Medicare faces sharp cost increases as more baby boomers reach 65, and their life expectancies grow, as well as their chronic conditions, say researchers at the University of Southern California.
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Learning Soft Skills In Childhood Can Prevent Harder Problems Later
There鈥檚 more to learn at school than reading and math. Duke researchers find that teaching kids to control their emotions, solve problems and work well with others can help keep them out of trouble in their teen years.
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Despite Hopes Of Health Law Advocates, 鈥楳ulti-State鈥 Health Plans Unavailable In Many States
The authors of the law mandated the program to try to generate more competition in areas where few plans were available. But the effort has stalled.
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Advocates Allege Discrimination In California鈥檚 Medi-Cal Program
A civil rights complaint says low payment for doctors results in unequal care for Latinos.
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Last Chances Approach To Sign Up For 2016 Obamacare Coverage
With a two-day extension, December 17th is now the last chance to sign up for Obamacare health insurance coverage聽that starts Jan. 1聽through the federal exchange. Open enrollment for the plans continues through the end of January, however.
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Mental Health Courts Are Popular But Effectiveness Is Still Unproven
The courts are designed as an alternative for people with mental health issues facing legal charges as a way to get help through community services outside of jail.
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Rising Obesity Puts Strain On Nursing Homes
Residences for older adults are increasingly overwhelmed, and unprepared, for huge patients, and facilities rarely accept more than a few.
