Legislation that takes effect next July will let people buy the medications without a prescription for a limited period. Medical professionals say it’s a step in the right direction but will not significantly increase the use of the medicine without additional efforts.
Most infants in the United States have a hearing screening in their first few days of life. Twenty years ago, before universal newborn screening, many kids missed out on early intervention services that help children with hearing loss access sound and develop spoken language.
Although many consumers pay nothing out of pocket for flu shots, insurers foot the bill. And those prices vary dramatically.
Despite laws requiring that health care providers hand over copies of patient records in a timely fashion, many people have trouble getting theirs. Ciitizen, a Palo Alto, Calif., company that helps cancer patients with the task, recently published a scorecard that rates hospitals, doctors and clinics on their compliance with records requests.
The final directive drew swift responses from the hospital and insurance industries. The Trump administration also released a proposed rule that would require health insurers to spell out for all services beforehand just how much patients may owe for their out-of-pocket costs.
It’s November, do you know where your HHS spending bill is? Still stuck in Congress. Meanwhile, lawmakers move ahead on restricting tobacco products for youth while the administration’s proposal is MIA. Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more health news from the week. Also, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann, host of the podcast “An Arm and a Leg.”
Although service dogs are commonly seen at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a retriever mix is a clinical instructor in the Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology.
Nearly 8 in 10 Americans say the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable, but the odds look grim for Congress to pass significant pricing legislation this year.
Doctors are less likely to prescribe opioids in Germany and quicker to notice if a patient is at risk of abuse. And, for those who do experience addiction, treatment is easier to come by.
Kaiser Permanente just avoided a nationwide strike by thousands of workers, but now faces a new strike threat Monday. The labor battles are exposing the health care giant to scrutiny from lawmakers, health care advocates and others who accuse it of no longer living up to its nonprofit ideals.
