Health Headlines for Thursday, October 20
Bullish on Obamacare
Albany Times Union
Health insurance premiums may be going up by double digits in some places and major insurers may be abandoning some markets, but Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell insists the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — is here to stay.
NY tells health insurers to cover addiction treatment drugs
Albany Times Union/AP
New York state is requiring more health insurers to cover the cost of medications used to help those struggling with opioid addiction.
Albany insurer, physician group team up to change the way doctors provide care
Albany Business Review
The Albany, New York, region’s largest health insurer is partnering with the CapitalCare Medical Group physician practice to start a new business that will work with doctors to improve care and change the way they are paid.
Albany Med CEO calls on city’s large nonprofits to provide financial assistance
Albany Times Union
Days after a Times Union report on Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan’s ramped up attempts to garner more financial contributions from the city’s large nonprofits amid tax-exempt institutions’ growth, Albany Medical Center Chief Officer James Barba renewed his effort to encourage other large entities to help.
7K Medicare Advantage Plan policyholders in limbo
Democrat and Chronicle
Joanna and Gary Tinch of Chili have some checking to do and important decisions to make because of significant changes in their Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan, which might not give them the coverage they want and will cost them more.
New rules in NY to promote breastfeeding
Pressconnects
New York will install regulations next year to encourage new mothers to breastfeed.
Tramadol: The Opioid Crisis for the Rest of the World
Wall Street Journal
An addictive synthetic painkiller that some studies say is as powerful as morphine remains unregulated on the recommendation of the World Health Organization, helping spread abuse and addiction in the developing world
Sexually Transmitted Disease Cases Hit New High in U.S.
NBC News
More cases of sexually transmitted diseases were reported last year than ever before, federal officials said Wednesday — just as state and local health departments that could help fight them lose funding.
Politisphere Ignores Symptoms of Health Care System Ills
Huffington Post
Deep in my immigrant’s heart there resides a lingering idealism about American presidential campaigns: They should feature edifying debate about the critical issues we face as a nation.