Tag Archives: prescriptions

Actuaries report on shortcomings of short-term, limited-duration health plans

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About Joseph Burns

Joseph Burns (@jburns18), a Massachusetts-based independent journalist, is AHCJ’s topic leader on health insurance. He welcomes questions and suggestions on insurance resources and tip sheets at joseph@healthjournalism.org.

In a new study, Milliman actuaries compared costs under health insurance plans that comply with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act versus costs of short-term health plans that do not meet the ACA’s requirements.

Milliman actuaries compared costs under health insurance plans that comply with the requirements of the Affordable Care Act versus costs of short-term health plans that do not meet the ACA’s requirements.

New research about short-term, limited-duration health plans shows that none of the plans studied covered pre-existing conditions and all had coverage limits, according to a new report from Milliman, an actuarial consulting firm. Only one-third of the plans covered prescription drugs and only 42% covered mental health, according to the report.

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As name implies, short-term health plans may not be a good deal for some consumers

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About Joseph Burns

Joseph Burns (@jburns18), a Massachusetts-based independent journalist, is AHCJ’s topic leader on health insurance. He welcomes questions and suggestions on insurance resources and tip sheets at joseph@healthjournalism.org.

For an article on short-term health plans, journalist Nancy Metcalf found an ideal source: Stewart Lamotte, a 64-year-old retired restaurateur from Lawrenceville, Ga.

In a story that Consumer Reports published in December 2017, “Is Short-Term Health Insurance a Good Deal?”, Metcalf explained that when LaMotte shopped for health insurance, he didn’t qualify for a tax credit under the Affordable Care Act. Also, he balked at the $1,000 monthly premium and a deductible of $6,500 that was required for an ACA-compliant health insurance policy. Continue reading →

When covering the opioid epidemic, don’t forget the dental angle

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About Mary Otto

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Photo: ^Thais^ via Flickr

President Donald Trump’s decision to declare opioid addiction a national emergency could be at least a step toward addressing the complex crisis blamed for claiming more than 33,000 lives in 2015.

The emergency declaration potentially could be used to expedite state responses, dispatch U.S. Public Health Service personnel to hard-hit communities and step up requirements for prescriber education, according to Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management, who was interviewed for a Washington Post story. Continue reading →

PDMPs get kudos again for role in fighting opioid crisis

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About Rebecca Vesely

Rebecca Vesely is AHCJ's topic leader on health information technology and a freelance writer. She has written about health, science and medicine for AFP, the Bay Area News Group, Modern Healthcare, Wired, Scientific American online and many other news outlets.

State-run electronic databases that collect opioid prescription information are being hailed as an effective tool to curb opioid abuse in a new report released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC report got a lot of press, mainly for its primary findings that opioid prescriptions have dropped in recent years but still remained three times higher in 2015 than in 1999. The peak opioid prescribing year was 2010, according to the CDC. Continue reading →

Journalists learn about intricacies of prescription drug pricing

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About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Photo: Phillip Bradshaw via Flickr

Many Americans think they pay too much for their prescription drugs, especially those who need life-saving medications for cancer and hepatitis C. Why are drug costs so high in the United States? How can reporters better explain the cost squeeze to their audiences?

These were among the questions that Sarah Emond, M.P.P., executive vice president at the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) in Boston and Peter Bach, M.D., director of the Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in New York City addressed at the Feb. 15  meeting of AHCJ’s New York chapter. Dan Goldberg of Politico moderated the session. Continue reading →

State prescription drug monitoring programs a window into fight against opioid abuse

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About Rebecca Vesely

Rebecca Vesely is AHCJ's topic leader on health information technology and a freelance writer. She has written about health, science and medicine for AFP, the Bay Area News Group, Modern Healthcare, Wired, Scientific American online and many other news outlets.

Photo: ^Thais^ via Flickr

Photo: ^Thais^ via Flickr

With an estimated 78 opioid-related deaths per day nationwide, policymakers, journalists and the public are sounding the alarm on overprescribing of narcotic painkillers.

Reporters covering the opioid crisis might want to look at state efforts to track opioid prescribing by physicians. State prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are electronic databases that gather information from pharmacies on controlled substance prescriptions. PDMPs are potentially powerful disincentives for overprescribing, according to a recent study. Continue reading →