Month: November 2023

The American Medical Association called on insurance companies, employers, and government programs to cover obesity treatments even as many remain reluctant to pay for them, fearing the costs of covering the drugs at a mass scale. The large physicians’ lobbying group voted to pass a resolution at the association’s interim meeting Monday saying it will ...

For the more than 100 million American adults with obesity, medications such as semaglutide (known by its brand names Wegovy and Ozempic) and tirzepatide, a version of which the Food and Drug Administration approved last week, could be transformative. These drugs are remarkably effective in reducing weight, managing diabetes and reducing cardiovascular complications. But there is still much we don’t ...

Prior authorization is the most burdensome regulatory issue facing medical groups, with 89% saying it is very or extremely burdensome, according to a Nov. 13 report from the Medical Group Management Association. The MGMA’s annual regulatory report surveyed executives from more than 350 group practices, according to the report. Sixty percent of respondents are in practices with ...

The U.S. spends huge amounts of money on health care that does little or nothing to help patients, and may even harm them. In Colorado, a new analysis shows that the number of tests and treatments conducted for which the risks and costs exceed the benefits has barely budged despite a decade-long attempt to tamp ...

The gap in life expectancy between men and women in the United States grew to its widest in nearly 30 years, driven mainly by more men dying of Covid and drug overdoses, according to a new study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. In 2021, women had a life expectancy of 79.3 years, compared with 73.5 years ...

Optum Rx is shifting eight different insulin products to its preferred formulary in a bid to address affordability, the company said Thursday. The product selection includes all rapid-acting and short-acting insulin products as well as some long-acting insulins, according to the announcement. It includes insulins manufactured by Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Optum’s Tier ...

As cold and flu season truly sets in, major home delivery platforms are now allowing customers to purchase products using their health benefits. Both DoorDash and Instacart announced this week that they would accept payments from health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts to cover the cost of health and wellness items. In particular, according ...

Adults are sedentary for an average of 9½ hours each day, studies have shown — and all that sitting could be putting people’s heart health at risk. Researchers from the University of College London (UCL) and the University of Sydney found that replacing just a few moments of sitting with any other type of activity — even ...

California governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 770, a bill related to Single Payer health care in California in October 2023. The bill does not create a Single Payer health system in California, and it does not detail any components of what the system would entail. Instead, it focuses entirely on obtaining federal funding for a state-run single-payer health care system in California.

When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that set a first-in-the-nation minimum wage for healthcare workers, three words in a bill analysis foretold potential concerns about its cost: “Fiscal impact unknown.”