Michelle Andrews

Author's posts

Did Your Doctor ‘Ghost’ You? An Employment Contract May Be To Blame

How “noncompete” clauses in contracts between doctors and hospitals or clinics prevent patients from seeing their longtime doctors.

New Mexico Eyes A ‘Medicaid Buy-In’ Plan To Insure More Residents

While some officials urge expansion of the Medicare system, several states are mulling a different way to ensure residents have affordable coverage: Help them buy into a Medicaid-like plan.

The High Cost Of Sex: Insurers Often Don’t Pay For Drugs To Treat Problems

Medicare and many private insurers view prescribing drugs to improve sexual function as a lifestyle issue that’s not medically necessary to pay for.

Hep C And Drug Abuse Often Go Hand In Hand, But Screening For Infection Lags

As the number of people who inject drugs has soared, the rate of hepatitis C infection has climbed steeply, too, because the disease can be tied to sharing needles. Yet many drug patients are not checked for the virus that can damage the liver.

Why Aren’t More Users Of Opioids Or Meth Screened For Hepatitis C?

As the number of people who inject drugs and share needles has soared, the rate of infection with Hep C has climbed too. Yet many drug treatment patients aren’t tested for the liver-damaging virus.

Need Health Insurance? The Deadline Is Dec. 15

Enrollment is lagging compared with last year’s pace. But experts say sign-ups tend to accelerate as the deadline nears, and many people will be automatically re-enrolled, so the final numbers could approach last year’s totals.

Attention, Marketplace Shoppers: Don’t Delay On 2019 Enrollment

Plans offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces for 2019 are on sale now. Consumers should check them out soon, because in many states most sales end on Dec. 15.

New Contractor For Food Stamps Upsets Cart For Farmers Markets

If a popular app used by many farmers markets to process federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits is no longer offered next spring, consumers’ access to fresh produce may be stalled.

New Contractor For Food Stamps Upsets Cart For Farmers Markets

If a popular app used by many farmers markets to process federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits is no longer offered next spring, consumers’ access to fresh produce may be stalled.

States Act To Safeguard Young Cancer Patients’ Chances To Have Children

Fighting cancer often involves toxic therapies that can cause infertility. In the past couple of years, five states have moved to require that plans pay for services such as egg removal and storage.