That Discount at the Pharmacy Counter May Pack Hidden Costs
Next time you go to the pharmacy, you might be offered a coupon on your prescription drugs. While it may sound like a great deal — with the prospect of saving hundreds of dollars — the decision to accept it is complicated, especially for people with insurance. Even as prescription drug costs rise, patients with […]
Trump Promised Cheaper Drugs. Some Prices Dropped. Many Others Shot Up.
Since his second term started, President Donald Trump has announced, negotiated, or floated a flurry of initiatives aimed at taming the excesses of the pharmaceutical industry. No surprise. About 60% of American adults are “worried about being able to afford prescription drug costs for themselves or their families,” a recent KFF nationwide poll showed. More […]
A New Medicare Option for Weight Loss Drugs: What Older Americans Should Know
Starting in July, Medicare beneficiaries may be able to get a GLP-1 prescription for weight loss for $50 a month. It’s a notable shift for Medicare, which has long been barred from covering weight loss treatments. The drugs, such as Wegovy and Zepbound, are effective but can be expensive without insurance coverage. They’re available in […]
HHS’ Healthy Food Agenda Puts Hospitals on Notice About Patients’ Meals
Complaints about hospital food are certainly not new, and Jell-O and fruit juice are often the butt of related jokes. But the Trump administration has recently upped the ante. It is urging the public to report hospitals and nursing homes that serve sugary drinks, nutrition shakes, or meals that it says don’t meet dietary guidelines […]
The Help That Many Older Americans Need Most
On a recent Monday, Sandy Guzman, a community health worker in rural Oregon, drove to visit a patient in her 60s in a small city called The Dalles. The patient lived alone, and “really struggles with social isolation,” Guzman said. After a serious fall and subsequent surgery, the woman was using a wheelchair. She confided […]
Trump Admin Reclassifies Medical Marijuana As A Less-Dangerous Drug
AP: Trump Reclassifies State-Licensed Medical Marijuana In Historic Shift President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana as a less-dangerous drug, a major policy shift long sought by advocates who said cannabis should never have been treated like heroin by the federal government. The order signed by Todd […]
Medigap Premiums Leap, and Consumers Have Few Alternatives
After decades of selling insurance, Illinois-based broker John Jaggi had never seen anything like it. More than 80 of his customers who were enrolled in the same Medicare supplemental plan from the insurer Chubb got hit last August with a 45% increase. “In my 49 years of doing biz as a broker, I’ve never seen […]
To Weed Out Fraud, CMS Orders All States To Undergo Medicaid Audit
AP: Dr. Oz Announces A Medicaid Audit In All 50 States The Trump administration will require all 50 states to explain their plans to revalidate some of their Medicaid providers in a national escalation of anti-fraud efforts that have so far largely focused on specific states, Dr. Mehmet Oz said Tuesday. The Centers for Medicare […]
Real Estate Investors Profit From Long-Term Care While Residents Languish
By the time she was hospitalized in 2020, Pearlene Darby, a retired teacher, had suffered open sores on both legs, both hips, and both heels, as well as a five-inch-long gash on her tailbone. She died two weeks later at age 81 from infections and bedsores, according to her death certificate. Her daughter sued the […]
What the Health? From KFF Health News: Abortion Pills, the Budget, and RFK Jr.
The Host At the Trump administration’s request, a federal judge in Louisiana this week agreed to delay a ruling affecting the continued availability of the abortion drug mifepristone. That angered anti-abortion groups that want the drug, if not banned, at least more strictly controlled. But the administration clearly wants to avoid big abortion fights in […]