Tag:
Prescription Medications
Latest Headlines
Latest Headlines
Let's address the dark side of Medicare Advantage plans
Medicare Advantage plans are frequently lauded for providing high-quality insurance coverage. And they're widely popular among Medicare-eligible consumers. But there's a dark side to these plans as well. In fact, dozens of federal audit reports indicate that Medicare Advantage plans are making the same kind of deficiencies year after year, especially when it comes to inappropriately rejecting claims. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that in 61 percent of the audits, insurers turned down claims for prescription drugs when they shouldn't have. This is not something to take lightly. Many seniors take prescription medications, and many of those drugs are vital to their health and medical conditions. To potentially block their access to those drugs could prove extremely detrimental.
Healthcare utilization to peak in 2014 with more newly insured patients
Health insurers have benefited greatly from the recent trend of decreased utilization--the 3.9 percent growth in health spending in 2010 was the lowest ever--but that's about to change as consumers
Massachusetts to expand online prescription tracking system to deter drug abuse
Massachusetts health officials approved a plan to crack down on drug addicts who travel from doctor to doctor in search of powerful prescription medications in an attempt to make it easier to detect
Three steps to improving medication adherence, reducing costly hospital stays
Up to half of all patients fail to take their medications faithfully as prescribed, compromising their health and costing the healthcare system $100 billion in preventable hospital stays per year,
CDC warns that MDs should ask about patient supplement use
Particularly given the $34 billion size of the alternative medicine business, it's small wonder if a patient is taking some form of herbal supplement in addition to prescription medications.
Senators consider aggressive health plan regulations
This week, we're getting a first taste of what the Democrats' health reform proposals look like, and it seems they're ready to take aggressive steps right out of the gate. While the plan is very
Survey: 22 percent of respondents have cut back on MD visits
With the U.S. economy in a downturn, it appears that consumers may be responding by cutting back on medical care. According to a new survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 22
NH considers database tracking frequently-abused drugs
New Hampshire's attorney general has begun a push for the state to develop a centralized database tracking frequently-abused prescription medications such as painkillers and stimulants. Attorney
Examining non-drug ADHD options
Can ADHD be treated effectively without traditional prescription medications? Some parents, concerned by the stimulant drugs their children are taking, hope that the answer is yes. Rather than give
