I’ve written about the risks of consuming alcohol several times now. Despite the fact that we have been told for decades that a little bit of alcohol can lower the risk of heart disease, there...
Diane Archer
Will Congress extend Medicare telehealth coverage?
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Congress opened up telehealth coverage in Medicare and millions of older adults and people with disabilities have taken advantage ever since. Telehealth allows them to...
Senator Whitehouse proposes pre-approval of prior authorization...
Joyce Frieden reports for MedPageToday on Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s proposal to address unseemly and inappropriate use of prior authorization by insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans...
Live longer, avoid ultraprocessed foods
A few weeks ago, I took a New York Times quiz on ultraprocessed foods, sure I could identify them and complete the quiz with flying colors. I didn’t flunk, but my score was equivalent to a D+...
FTC cleaning up junk patents on 20 brand-name drugs
Pharmaceutical companies don’t only get to set their prices on brand-name drugs, they can flood the FDA with patents to keep those brand-name drugs without generic competition for extensive...
How other wealthy countries deliver superior health care...
Aaron Carroll, President and CEO AcademyHealth, writes about our broken health care system on the Commonwealth Fund blog and explains how other wealthy countries do better for their citizens and...
New bill in Congress would cancel medical debt
Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Ro Khanna just released a bill designed to cancel medical debt, reports Joan Greve for The Guardian. Senator Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib are...
Hospitals delay care for older adults in ERs, causing them...
Judith Graham reports for KFF Health News on the plight of older adults in hospital emergency rooms. Hospitals often keep older adults in their ERs for extended periods before getting them admitted...
Eat less intermittently, live longer?
Experiments with lab mice show that if you reduce their caloric intake by 30 to 40 percent, the mice typically live 30 percent longer. The goal is to reduce caloric intake enough to cause biological...
Humana threatens to close some Medicare Advantage plans and...
Suzanne Blake reports for Newsweek on the consequences of Humana closing some of its Medicare Advantage plans in 2025 and claiming it will reduce benefits in other Medicare Advantage plans in order...