Single-payer and the long game

 It looks like California’s single-payer dreams will be delayed at least another year. After suffering a devastating blow in the Capitol last winter, advocates had been eager to reintroduce legislation that would create a first-in-the nation, state-run health care system.

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Word & Brown Presents New ACA Links and Ease Integrations

The Tech Team Updates for this month offer more news you can use concerning Ease, the online enrollment platform for health insurance brokers working in the 2-250 employee marketplace.

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Senators Question Why PBMs ‘Even Exist’ In Heated Hearing Amid Push For Reform

Senators pilloried the lack of transparency from pharmacy benefit managers during a hearing Thursday, as lawmakers hope to pass reforms this session.

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Senate Panel Launches Effort To Shore Up Health Workforce And Ease Crippling Shortages

A key Senate panel is launching a major effort to shore up the healthcare workforce after lingering shortages have roiled the industry. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing Thursday on addressing the crisis. Some of the policy solutions include expanding the Graduate Medical Education program and growing teaching health ...

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In California, Democrats Propose $25 Minimum Wage for Health Workers

Union-aligned Democrats were set to introduce legislation Wednesday mandating a statewide $25 minimum wage for health workers and support staffers, likely setting up a pitched battle with hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis clinics. State Sen. María Elena Durazo’s bill would require health facilities and home health agencies to give raises to many support employees, including ...

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Reported HIPAA Complaints And Breaches Shot Up From 2017 To 2021: HHS

A report released on Friday found that HIPAA complaints and breaches spiked between 2017 and 2021, with the agency in charge of handling the notices saying it lacks sufficient resources to properly respond. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit an ...

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Mark Cuban Has Been Taking On the Drug Industry. But Which One?

When billionaire Mark Cuban announced his attack on the pharmaceutical industry and its high-priced drugs in January 2021, it was met with cheers. His new company — the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co., known as Cost Plus Drugs — has the “lowest prices on meds anywhere,” he said. The serial entrepreneur and owner of the NBA’s ...

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Immunity Acquired From A COVID Infection Is As Protective As Vaccination Against Severe Illness And Death, Study Finds

Immunity acquired from a Covid infection provides strong, lasting protection against the most severe outcomes of the illness, according to research published Thursday in The Lancet — protection, experts say, that’s on par with what’s provided through two doses of an mRNA vaccine. Infection-acquired immunity cut the risk of hospitalization and death from a Covid reinfection by 88% for at ...

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More Than Half Of Physicians Admit To Changing Perceptions Of A Drug Due To Social Media

Social media can have as powerful an influence on physicians as they do on the public, according to a new survey conducted by Sermo and LiveWorld. Of the 50-plus pharma marketers and 200-plus U.S. physicians surveyed, more than half (57%) of doctors said they frequently or occasionally change their initial perception of a medication due ...

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After Staying Away During Pandemic, Doctors Return to Lobby Congress

Dr. Timothy McAvoy, an internist from Waukesha, Wisconsin, held his infant granddaughter Tuesday while standing in the Longworth House Office Building, waiting to talk to a congressional aide about increasing Medicare pay for doctors. Facing a highly partisan Congress where Republicans have vowed to cut federal spending, McAvoy hoped his Midwestern charm, along with a ...

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