Author: Scott Welch
Gavin Newsom put California’s health care industry on notice when he was a candidate for governor, vowing in 2018 to go after the insurance companies, doctors and hospitals that leave many Californians struggling with enormous medical bills and rising insurance premiums.
San Francisco will loosen its mask mandate for certain indoor spaces on Oct. 15, but in the city and much of the rest of the Bay Area, people will still be required to wear face coverings in most public places for the next couple of months and possibly into 2022, according to new rules announced Thursday.
Nine out of 10 Medicare Advantage members are enrolled in plans that earned the government's highest quality marks for 2022, according to new federal data.
Due largely to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and its continued effects on American healthcare, employers are expecting their health costs to rise more than 5% in 2022, according to a new Willis Towers Watson survey.
Teladoc Health is taking its primary care pilot nationwide, expanding it to commercial health plans, employers and other payers. The telehealth giant piloted its virtual primary care program, called Primary360, in 2019 with the aim of early detection of chronic disease. The service now offers 70 distinct diagnoses such as hypertension and diabetes, Teladoc CEO Jason ...
For a brief moment this summer, it seemed like small businesses might be getting a break from the relentless onslaught of the pandemic. More Americans, many of them vaccinated, flocked to restaurants and stores without needing to mask up or socially distance. But then came a surge in cases due to the delta variant, a ...
Health insurers must cover the cost of coronavirus tests under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that ensures Californians do not have to pay out-of-pocket fees or contend with prior authorization requirements, which have left some consumers with surprise medical bills and bureaucratic headaches. Federal and state laws were passed during the pandemic ...
Private insurers sometimes negotiate rates on hospital services that are higher than the cash price, a recent New York Times investigation found, and the same basic service can cost widely varying amounts even at the same hospital. The Times surveyed 60 major hospitals that are complying with this year’s new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rule ...
Donna Weiner looks at Medicare’s prescription drug program from two different points of view. As a participant, she wants to pay less for her medicines, which cost her about $6,000 a year. As a retired accountant who spent 50 years handling the books for companies, she sees a way to get there. “You know from working in ...
As Congress debates cutting prescription drug costs, a poll released Tuesday found the vast majority of adults — regardless of their political party or age — support letting the federal government negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries and those in private health insurance plans. The argument that pharmaceutical companies need to charge high prices to ...