Latest 蘑菇影院 Health News Stories
Indiana Weighs Hospital Monopoly as Officials Elsewhere Scrutinize Similar Deals
If Indiana officials approve a proposed hospital merger in western Indiana in the coming months, the state will have its first hospital monopoly created by a 鈥淐ertificate of Public Advantage.鈥 Other such deals have resulted in government reports documenting diminished care in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Funding Instability Plagues Program That Brings Docs to Underserved Areas
A medical residency program designed to train future primary care physicians in outpatient rather than hospital settings has proved an effective means to bring doctors to rural and underserved areas. But it hinges on unpredictable congressional funding.
Biden Plan To Save Medicare Patients Money on Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say
President Joe Biden is campaigning for reelection on his efforts to cut costs for Medicare patients at the pharmacy counter. But independent pharmacists say one strategy makes it unaffordable for them to keep some brand-name medicines in stock.
The Chicken and Egg Problem of Fighting Another Flu Pandemic
The spread of an avian flu virus in cattle has again brought public health attention to the potential for a global pandemic. Fighting it would depend, for now, on 1940s technology that makes vaccines from hens鈥 eggs.
El problema del huevo y la gallina en la lucha contra otra pandemia de gripe
La propagaci贸n de un nuevo virus entre m煤ltiples especies en un 谩rea geogr谩fica amplia eleva la amenaza de que m谩s mutaciones puedan producir un virus que se propague de humano a humano a trav茅s de la transmisi贸n a茅rea.
Tennessee Gives This Hospital Monopoly an A Grade 鈥 Even When It Reports Failure
Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system in Tennessee and Virginia, benefits from the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the United States and is the only option for hospital care for a large swath of Appalachia.
Clues From Bird Flu鈥檚 Ground Zero on Dairy Farms in the Texas Panhandle
Dairy farmers and veterinarians in northern Texas furiously investigated a mysterious illness among cattle before the government got involved. Their observations are telling.
Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding States With Abortion Restrictions
A new analysis shows that students graduating from U.S. medical schools were less likely to apply this year for residency positions in states with abortion bans and other significant abortion restrictions.
What Florida鈥檚 New 6-Week Abortion Ban Means for the South, and Traveling Patients
Florida has served as a haven for Southern pregnant women with little or no access to abortions. But the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion restriction that begins in May 鈥 so now women across much of the South seeking abortions will have to look farther afield.
When Rogue Brokers Switch People鈥檚 ACA Policies, Tax Surprises Can Follow
Some tax filers鈥 returns are being rejected because they failed to provide information about Affordable Care Act coverage they didn鈥檛 even know they had.
M谩s condados proh铆ben el fluoruro en el agua potable. C贸mo afecta a la prevenci贸n dental
En los 煤ltimos a帽os cientos de comunidades han dejado de agregar fluoruro a sus suministros de agua o han votado para evitar agregarlo, a pesar que la ciencia dice que ese nutriente ayuda a la salud dental y previene gastos en tratamientos dentales.
As Bans Spread, Fluoride in Drinking Water Divides Communities Across the US
The broad availability of over-the-counter dental products containing fluoride has some community leaders arguing that its addition to public drinking water is no longer necessary. But public health experts worry that, much like vaccines, fluoridation may be a victim of its own success.
Ten Doctors on FDA Panel Reviewing Abbott Heart Device Had Financial Ties With Company
Most of the doctors the FDA tapped to advise it on an Abbott medical device had financial ties to the company. The FDA didn鈥檛 disclose the payments.
ACA Plans Are Being Switched Without Enrollees鈥 OK
Insurance agents say it鈥檚 too easy to access consumer information on the Affordable Care Act federal marketplace. Policyholders can lose their doctors and access to prescriptions. Some end up owing back taxes.
Your Doctor or Your Insurer? Little-Known Rules May Ease the Choice in Medicare Advantage
Disputes between hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans are leading to entire hospital systems suddenly leaving insurance networks. Patients are left stuck in the middle, choosing between their doctors and their insurance plan. There鈥檚 a way out.
After Appalachian Hospitals Merged Into a Monopoly, Their ERs Slowed to a Crawl
Ballad Health was granted the nation鈥檚 largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in 2018. Since then, its emergency rooms have become more than three times as slow.
Whistleblower Accuses Aledade, Largest US Independent Primary Care Network, of Medicare Fraud
A recently unsealed lawsuit alleges Aledade Inc. developed billing software that boosted revenues by making patients appear sicker than they were.
Toxic Gas That Sterilizes Medical Devices Prompts Safety Rule Update
The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening regulation of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic gas used to sterilize medical devices. The agency is trying to balance the interests of the health care industry supply chain with those of communities where the gas creates airborne health risks.
Southern Lawmakers Rethink Long-Standing Opposition to Medicaid Expansion
While many Republican state lawmakers remain firmly against Medicaid expansion, some key leaders in holdout states are showing a willingness to reconsider. Public opinion, financial incentives, and widening health care needs make resistance harder.
States Target Health Insurers鈥 鈥楶rior Authorization鈥 Red Tape
Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they鈥檒l pay for patients鈥 drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.
