Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
The New York Times article noted “Restricting consumers to a fixed network of doctors and hospitals, called in-network coverage, helps keep costs down, and for the first year, none of the 16 insurance companies in New York’s exchange deviated from that model.”
“Advocates for consumers had lobbied hard for out-of-network coverage, saying that some patients needed more choices, particularly since the networks are being kept small to further reduce costs. Under the current in-network system, someone who lives part of the year out of state, or a student at a college out of state, are not covered while they are away, except for emergency care.”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
Some interesting advice on “visiting hours”…
The New York Times blog vignette read: “For 15 years Anna was a solitary figure sitting at the far end of our waiting room for her annual checkups, having shaved a half-hour off her workday so she could hustle over before we locked our doors.”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 3.2 million people in the U.S. have chronic hepatitis C infections. Most of them haven’t been diagnosed.”
The NPR story reported that “Sovaldi is the first hepatitis C pill that doesn’t have to be accompanied by interferon for some types of hepatitis.”
“Sovaldi has been found to be remarkably effective, essentially curing 90 percent or more patients with a common form of hepatitis C in 12 weeks.”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
The Washington Post article noted: ”There’s been much written in the past year about just how hard it is to get a simple price for a basic health-care procedure.”
“About two dozen industry stakeholders, including main lobbying groups for hospitals and health insurers, this morning are issuing new recommendations for how they can provide the cost of health-care services to patients.”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
A Kaiser Health news story noted “Federal rules ensure that none of the millions of people who signed up for Obamacare can be denied insurance — but there is no guarantee that all health services will be covered.”
“A 2011 GAO report sampling data from a handful of states before the health law took effect found that patients were successful 39 to 59 percent of the time when they appealed directly to the insurer. When appealing to a third party (such as the state insurance commissioner), patients also were often successful in getting the service in question – winning as many as 54 percent of such decisions in Maryland, for example. ”
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Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Health Navigator
The New York Times article noted: “On the advice of his doctor, a famed weight-loss guru and author of popular diet books, he went on a low-fat, low-calorie diet. He avoided snacks. He kept a careful diary of what he ate and weighed himself daily. He hired a personal trainer and rode a horse for exercise.”
“Obesity experts said Taft’s experience highlights how very difficult it is for many fat people to lose substantial amounts of weight and keep it off, and how little progress has been made in finding a combination of foods that lead to permanent weight loss.”
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The New York Times article noted “Restricting consumers to a fixed network of doctors and hospitals, called in-network coverage, helps keep costs down, and for the first year, none of the 16 insurance companies in New York’s exchange deviated from that model.”
