By Joyce Frieden; MedPage Today ~ Mar 06, 2018
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration launched a program Tuesday aimed at giving patients more control over their own healthcare records.
The initiative, called MyHealthEData, “will help to break down the barriers that prevent patients from having electronic access and true control of their own health records from the device or application of their choice,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said in a press release.
From HealthDay News; United Press International ~ Mar 06, 2018
TUESDAY, March 6, 2018 — Few older Americans believe ordering more tests and drugs is the way to better health care, a new survey finds.
Of the more than 2,000 respondents aged 50 to 80, just 14 percent thought that “more is better,” according to the National Poll on Healthy Aging.
In fact, 54 percent said they believe that health care providers often recommend tests, medications or procedures that patients don’t really need. For instance:
By Kelsey Kusterer Ziser; Light Reading ~ Mar 05, 2018
BARCELONA — MWC 2018 — AT&T’s Igal Elbaz spoke with Light Reading this week about the operator’s plans to deploy standards-based mobile 5G to a dozen cities this year, and what 5G will mean for AT&T’s new edge computing test zone.
AT&T announced plans last week to deliver commercial, mobile 5G to Atlanta, Dallas and Waco, Texas later this year as part of a rollout to 12 cities. Elbaz, senior vice president of Wireless Network Architecture and Design for AT&T Inc.
By Jessie Hellmann; The Hill ~ Mar 05, 2018
President Trump’s new health secretary issued a warning Monday to a room of hospital executives about soaring health care costs: change is coming, whether you like it or not.
Speaking at the Federation of American Hospitals convention in D.C., Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar laid out a series of actions the administration will take that are aimed at lowering health care costs, and warned that it wouldn’t be deterred by powerful special interests.
By Karen Bennett; CheatSheet ~ Mar 03, 2018
As the years tick by steadily toward retirement, we all feel a little more comfortable knowing Social Security will be there for us. Or will it? People often speculate about Social Security running out one day.
Will those of us without pensions be able to survive solely on the money we have saved
By Mari Silbey; Light Reading ~ Mar 02, 2018
BARCELONA — MWC 2018 — As much as AT&T wants to promote its own network services, it’s also loath to miss out on IoT opportunities outside its connectivity footprint. After all, why limit itself to revenue from AT&T network users when there’s a chance to make money off competitors’ customers as well?
“AT&T is not interested in creating fast lanes and slow lanes,” ISP claims.
By Jon Brodkin; Ars Technica ~ Feb 27, 2018
AT&T is talking up the benefits of paid prioritization schemes in preparation for the death of net neutrality rules while claiming that charging certain content providers for priority access won’t create “fast lanes and slow lanes.”
“[T]he issue of paid prioritization has always been hazy and theoretical,” AT&T Senior VP Bob Quinn wrote in a blog post today. But that’s about to change, because “business models for services that would require end-to-end management” have begun to come into focus, he wrote.
By The Editors, Bloomberg – Feb 27, 2018
President Donald Trump has complained that U.S. drug companies are “getting away with murder.” For once the hyperbole is forgivable: It suggests he takes the problem of drug costs seriously and might be willing to do something about it. Unfortunately, his administration’s efforts up to now suggest the opposite.
From News Wire Feed; Light Reading ~ Feb 26, 2018
BARCELONA – MWC – AT&T is rolling out a new cloud-based platform for businesses to manage Internet of Things (IoT) devices across multiple cellular and satellite networks, operators and regions.
Multi-Network Connect lets you manage devices over multiple access technologies like 2G1, 3G, 4G LTE, Low-Power Wide Area (LPWA) and satellite. Businesses can configure the platform to work across various operator networks.
By Meaghan Kilroy; Pensions & Investments ~ Feb 21, 2018
AT&T Inc., Dallas, expects to contribute $560 million to its pension plans in 2018, said the company’s 10-K filed Tuesday.
The contribution will be funded by cash distributions from its wireless business. The company also contributed $560 million to its defined benefit plans in 2017.
As of Dec. 31, the company had $45.46 billion in DB assets and $59.29 billion in projected benefit obligations for a funding ratio of 76.7%, up from 75.9% last year.
