Julia Belluz reports for Vox that it might be time for the government to step in, tax junk food, and help address the obesity epidemic in the United States. A tax on unhealthy and high-calorie food...
Diane Archer
“Premium support” undermines Medicare
Speaker Paul Ryan and former HHS Secretary Tom Price, among others, have called for redesigning Medicare from a program that covers all medically necessary services for a fixed premium to one in...
If you’re often tired during the day, you could have sleep...
Many people suffer from sleep apnea, particularly older adults. Sleep apnea is a pausing of breath or shallow breathing while you sleep. But, because it occurs during sleep, it often goes...
Hospitals plan to launch drug manufacturing business
A group of hospitals are stepping into the drug manufacturing business as a way to combat high drug prices and drug shortages. Intermountain Healthcare, a large non-profit hospital system, is leading...
There may soon be a female Democratic doctor in the House
Erin Mershon of StatNews reports that, over the last almost 60 years, there have been 49 physicians who have become members of Congress. Of that group, only a few have been Democrats and only two...
Could government price caps on out-of-network care lead to lower...
A new working paper from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows that a government price ceiling on out-of-network care allows Medicare Advantage plans (commercial health plans that offer...
Less health care is often better care
Dr. John Mandrola, a cardiac electrophysiologist practicing in Louisville KY, writes in Medscape about why less health care is often better care. As a physician, he believes that simplifying care...
Medicare Advantage: Disenroll between January 1 and February 14
Editor’s note: As of January 1, 2019, you can disenroll from a Medicare Advantage plan between January 1 and March 31 of each year. Many people enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan, (a...
Two tips for keeping your emergency care costs down
There were 451 emergency room visits for every 1,000 people in America in 2014, up more than 10 percent in the last decade. Medicare always covers emergency care. But, the ambulance trip and the...
New cancer drugs cause serious side effects
Laurie McGinley at the Washington Post reports on new cancer drugs–checkpoint inhibitors–that cause serious side effects. These therapies treat people with advanced melanoma and complex...