While critics keep throwing up a false narrative about “ambulance chasing,” self-enriching lawyers, their labors and the civil legal system have proven yet again their effectiveness in wringing financial justice for those harmed by health care giants. The nation’s largest pharmacy chains have tentatively agreed to pay $10 billion in settlements for dispensing an avalanche of….
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U.S. fixes ACA ‘family glitch’ as insurers start key open enrollment season
The Biden Administration has tackled the “family glitch” in Obamacare, issuing new eligibility rules that will open up more affordable health insurance for many more poor, working poor, and middle-class Americans who otherwise might struggle to pay for coverage, even as provided by their employers. This change in health care regulation is taking effect, even….
Continue ReadingU.S. toughens law to ensure patients’ full access to their medical records
Patients have hit a red-letter day in the long, too-difficult struggle to win control of a crucial part of their care — their electronic medical care records. Hospitals and other caregiving institutions no longer can block access to these documents, with federal law now holding them accountable for any runarounds they may try. As Stat,….
Continue ReadingA newly diagnosed apnea patient finds healthy sleep costly and treatment aids questionable
With millions of patients struggling with long delays in getting replacements for night-breathing devices recalled by their manufacturer over the machines’ potential health risks, a seasoned health journalist has reported an intriguing, personal counterpoint on the growing prevalence of the problem of sleep apnea and its routine, costly, inconvenient care. Jay Hancock, who has been….
Continue ReadingBig hospitals’ buck-raking schemes exploit poor and pile on medical debt
Big hospitals and hospital chains that enjoy the financial and reputational benefits of nonprofit or charitable status have taken major fire for maximizing profits while piling on patients’ crushing medical debt and exploiting the poorest and most vulnerable of the injured and sick. Medical economists, in recent times, have zeroed in on hospitals and their….
Continue ReadingSome sensible guidance on exercise, diet, sleep and weight gain
We’re barraged by so much health hokum that it’s a relief when common-sense reminders come along about crucial wellness concerns like exercise, diet, and sleep. Timely information on these issues has been reported by the Washington Post (here on movement myths and here on sleep and weight), the Athletic on a soccer nutritionist’s insights on….
Continue ReadingIt’s past time for Congress to reconsider propriety of FDA ‘user fees’
Members of Congress, as usual, are racing to meet a deadline: This time, to determine the funding for the federal Food and Drug Administration, an agency with some of the most consequential responsibilities affecting Americans’ health. In their furious political and financial machinations, though, lawmakers aren’t asking the tough, critical question about the FDA’s leading….
Continue ReadingStrike by 15,000 in Minnesota a clear sign of growing crisis in nursing
The coronavirus pandemic has not only caused sustained damage to the U.S. health workforce, it also apparently has accelerated a looming crisis in nursing care, as has been shown by a three-day strike by 15,000 private-sector nurses in Minnesota. Theirs was the largest such walkout by nurses and it sought to underscore how pay inequities,….
Continue ReadingTwo U.S. regulatory agencies rip nursing homes for sketchy debt collection
Two federal regulatory agencies have rebuked nursing homes and their debt collectors, warning them that they may be breaking the law with sketchy efforts to make loved ones and friends pay for the care of sick, injured, and debilitated residents in long-term facilities. Bottom line: A lot of the forms that you may sign for….
Continue Reading$439 million settlement shows Big Tobacco sees riches still in vaping
Parents, educators, politicians, federal regulators, and advocates for Americans’ better health all should pause and consider the prime takeaways from a company’s willingness to strike a $439 million settlement with three dozen states figuratively shutting a barn door long after the nag has bolted. Hint: Big Tobacco is relentless in its efforts to addict regular….
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