Amazon Ends Support For Third-Party HIPAA-Compliant Alexa Skills

Amazon is ending support for a program that allowed patients to share HIPAA-protected health information with healthcare organizations through Alexa. The news was first reported by Voicebot.ai. The invite-only program, which first launched in 2019, allowed select developers to create and launch HIPAA-compliant healthcare skills for Alexa (skills are the third-party voice apps that run on Alexa ...

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New Bipartisan Retirement Savings Bill Introduced (While Awaiting SECURE 2.0)

The Retirement Savings for Americans Act would establish a new program that gives workers access to portable, tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts with federal matching contributions for low- and middle-income workers.

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Many Americans View The Economy As A Major Healthcare Concern: Oscar Health Survey

Ongoing economic challenges are a top health-related concern for many people, according to a new survey from Oscar Health. Oscar teamed with Morning Consult to poll 1,000 people from across the U.S. and found 44% consider the economy the largest challenge facing their health, 19% more than the next-highest concern mentioned in the survey, the COVID-19 pandemic. ...

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Lasik Eye Surgery More Dangerous Than Previously Thought?

Lasik eye surgery has been known in the common vernacular as a surgery that is both beneficial and low-risk for quite some time now. And while that is generally true, there are reportedly risks that some doctors neglect to tell their patients about. According to an investigation done by the Food And Drug Administration (FDA), these risks include a ...

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MedPAC Wants Pay Boost For Docs And Hospitals

MedPAC wants Congress to increase hospitals and clinicians’ 2o24 Medicare payment rates. Why it matters: If Congress opts not to follow the recommendations, CMS has to make payment updates according to current law — setting up another year of providers running to lawmakers for relief from Medicare cuts after the fact. * Commissioners hashed out draft payment recommendations ...

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‘Off The Charts’: California Hit With Very High Flu Activity, Among Worst In U.S.

California is now reporting very high flu levels, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the respiratory illness continues to surge nationwide.

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Word & Brown Hosts Post-Election Conversation With NAHU CEO

Paul Roberts, Word & Brown’s Senior Director of Education and Market Development, hosted a conversation this month with Janet Trautwein, CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), concerning the results of the November 2022 election.

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California Senior Citizens Are Hit Hard As COVID-19 Surges This Winter

There has been a troubling spike in coronavirus-positive hospital admissions among seniors in California, rising to levels not seen since the summer Omicron surge.

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Blue Shield To Lay Off Hundreds Of California Workers, Including Many In Sacramento Area

Blue Shield of California will be terminating 150 employees in the Sacramento region and 74 in Lodi as part of statewide layoffs affecting 373 people, according to notices the company filed with the state’s Employment Development Department. The company released a statement, saying: “As a nonprofit health plan, Blue Shield of California is driven by ...

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Kaiser’s Northern California Nurses Vote To Ratify Four-Year Contract With Big Pay Raises

Nurses and nurse practitioners at Kaiser Permanente voted overwhelmingly to ratify a four-year labor contract that secured them the biggest wage increases in about 20 years, their union announced Monday. The California Nurses Association represents more than 21,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners throughout the company’s Northern California operations. “With this new contract, we will ...

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