Medicare Surprise: Drug Plan Prices Touted During Open Enrollment Can Rise Within a Month
Even the savviest Medicare drug plan shoppers can get a shock when they fill prescriptions: That great deal on medications is no bargain after prices go up.
Medicare
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: News You Might Have Missed
Congress is in recess, so the slower-than-average news week gives us a chance to catch up on underreported topics, like Medicare鈥檚 coverage decision for the controversial Alzheimer鈥檚 disease drug Aduhelm and ominous new statistics on drug overdose deaths and sexually transmitted diseases. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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Why Black and Hispanic Seniors Are Left With a Less Powerful Flu Vaccine
Federal health officials haven鈥檛 taken a clear position on whether a high-dose influenza vaccine 鈥 on the market since 2010 鈥 is the best choice for people 65 and older. Many in that group already opt for the costlier enhanced shot. Those who get the standard vaccine are disproportionately members of ethnic and racial minorities.
By Arthur Allen -
Despite Doctors鈥 Concerns, Pharmacists Get More Leeway to Offer Treatment With Testing
In the battle against covid, pharmacies became a key place for consumers to seek vaccines and testing. Some states are expanding pharmacists鈥 work to include directly prescribing drugs for customers who seek some routine, point-of-care tests, such as those for flu or strep throat. But doctor groups oppose the move.
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At a Tennessee Crossroads, Two Pharmacies, a Monkey, and Millions of Pills
Prosecutors say opioid-seeking patients drove hours to get their prescriptions filled in Celina, Tennessee, where pharmacies ignored signs of substance misuse and paid cash 鈥 or 鈥渕onkey bucks鈥 鈥 to keep customers coming back.
By Brett Kelman -
Medicare Advantage Plans Send Pals to Seniors鈥 Homes for Companionship 鈥 And Profits
Many Medicare Advantage plans send caregivers to the homes of seniors periodically to help with housework and provide companionship. But the workers may also prod seniors into activities that boost the plans鈥 Medicare ratings and federal reimbursements.
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Listen: An Unsettling Investigation Into the Closure of a Chain of Pain Clinics
KHN senior correspondents Jenny Gold and Anna Maria Barry-Jester joined KVPR鈥檚 Kathleen Schock on 鈥淰alley Edition鈥 to discuss their investigation into the abrupt closure of one of California鈥檚 largest chain of pain clinics 鈥 and the patients left behind.
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Patients Divided Over Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug: Is It a 鈥楻isk I鈥檓 Willing to Take鈥 or Just a 鈥楳agic Pill鈥?
Medicare has proposed limiting coverage of Aduhelm, the costly new drug to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, and several prominent groups representing patients and their families are pressing the program to make it more widely available. But among individuals facing the disease, the outlook is more nuanced.
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Seeking to Shift Costs to Medicare, More Employers Move Retirees to Advantage Plans
Private and public employers are increasingly using the government鈥檚 Medicare Advantage program as an alternative to their existing retiree health plan and traditional Medicare coverage. As a result, the federal government is paying the 鈥渙verwhelming majority鈥 of medical costs, according to an industry analyst.
By Susan Jaffe -
Biden Pledges Better Nursing Home Care, but He Likely Won鈥檛 Fast-Track It
CMS chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure says the agency reserves its power to quickly institute new regulations for 鈥渁bsolute emergencies.鈥 On staffing, nursing home residents might need to wait years to see any real change.
By Rachana Pradhan and Harris Meyer -
Fact Check: Biden Sets High Bar in 1st State of the Union Speech
What a difference a year makes. The speech was delivered to a largely unmasked crowd of lawmakers, justices, and Cabinet members in the House chamber.
By Victoria Knight and Colleen DeGuzman -
Plan to Fix Postal Service Shifts New Retirees to Medicare 鈥 Along With Billions in Costs
After a years-long bitter partisan fight over reforming the U.S. Postal Service鈥檚 finances and service, congressional leaders say they have a compromise. The bill, which has won endorsements from both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, would force future Postal Service retirees to use Medicare as their primary source of health coverage.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: Contemplating a Post-鈥楻oe鈥 World
In anticipation of the Supreme Court rolling back abortion rights this year, both Democrats and Republicans are arguing among themselves over how best to proceed to either protect or restrict the procedure. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are at risk of losing their health insurance when the federal government declares an end to the current 鈥減ublic health emergency.鈥 Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Jay Hancock, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode about a couple whose insurance company deemed their twins鈥 stay in intensive care not an emergency.
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Readers and Tweeters Have Mental Health Care on Their Minds
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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鈥業njections, Injections, Injections鈥: Troubling Questions Follow Closure of Sprawling Pain Clinic Chain
In May 2021, Lags Medical Centers, one of California鈥檚 largest chains of pain clinics, abruptly closed its doors amid a cloaked state investigation. Nine months later, patients are still in the dark about what happened with their care and to their bodies.
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Journalists Review Hospital Penalties and Problems Riddling Medicaid Rx Program
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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Inside the Tactical Tug of War Over the Controversial Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug
An epic battle is playing out behind the scenes over whether the government should pay for Aduhelm, an FDA-approved Alzheimer鈥檚 drug that scientists say has not been proven to work.
By Arthur Allen -