By Sy Mukherjee; Fortune ~ Aug 29, 2016
According to a new study.
Americans are not shy about their frustrations with the U.S. health care system—but in two new analyses, it’s the sickest patients who pay the price.
Researchers from the Commonwealth Fund, a non-profit health care firm, found patients with the most medical bills are also paying some of the highest out-of-pocket medical costs.
By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal – Aug 26, 2016
To whom it may concern:
As the CEO of Mylan, maker of the world-famous EpiPen, it gives me great pleasure to address you, via email from an undisclosed location, concerning the pricing of our product.
As you may know, my father is a U.S. senator from West Virginia, where the state motto is “Montani semper liberi.” It means “mountaineers are always free.” Indeed, they are. But pharmaceuticals aren’t—especially EpiPen.
By Danny Vinik; Politico ~ Aug 22, 2016
When a crisis ends, not everyone recovers equally. And in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, though the stock market has long recovered, there is an important group that was hit badly – and hasn’t bounced back.
This is Americans nearing retirement.
By Brette Sember; Business 2 Community ~ Aug 22, 2016
Think about how often you’re asked to provide your Social Security number. Healthcare providers, potential employers, creditors, banks, insurance companies, and, of course, the IRS –businesses and agencies from all over routinely want this information. They do so because those nine digits are yours alone and thus provide a powerful form of identification.
By Sean Williams; The Motley Fool ~ Aug 20, 2016
Without Social Security income, many of today’s retirees would likely struggle to make ends meet. According to a national poll conducted by Gallup in 2015, 59% of retired seniors count on Social Security benefits to be a major source of monthly income, while another 31% rely on their Social Security benefits as a minor source.
They haven’t said much, but here’s what we do know….
By Richard Eisenberg; Next Avenue ~ Aug 19, 2016
Part of the Election 2016 Special Report
(This is the third in a series of Next Avenue blog posts on where presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton stand on key issues of interest to Americans over 50. The first article was about where Trump and Clinton stand on Social Security. The second article was about where they stand on health care and Medicare.)
From “FidelityVoice”; Forbes ~ Aug 18, 2016
Fifty years ago, most Americans shared a common view of retirement. You left the 9-to-5 job and transitioned into your “golden years,” a period of roughly 10 to 15 years, give or take, to live off your pension plan and enjoy life. Now it’s hard to say what retirement is. For many it can stretch 30 years or more and involve a series of new and different chapters that form various mosaics of leisure, work, and giving back to society.
By Mark Miller; Reuters ~ Aug 18, 2016
(The writer is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
CHICAGO – Now is the summer of our discontent with Social Security’s customer service – and fall and winter could be worse.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) stumbled this month when it added a mandatory extra layer of website log-on security requiring customers to receive a code via text message. But the agency’s customer service problems go much further than just text messages.
By Jane Kelly; Medical Xpress ~ Aug 18, 2016
New study finds homebound, elderly patients missing out on in-home care
Aaron Yao, an assistant professor of public health sciences, found that too few clinicians make house calls to homebound elderly. Credit: University of Virginia
Researchers examined drugs to prevent blood clots and to treat diabetes and found certain ones were prescribed more often by doctors who had received gifts from those companies.
By Kimberly Leonard; US News & World Report ~ Aug 18, 2016
Drug companies have long courted doctors with gifts, from speaking and consulting fees to educational materials to food and drink. But while most doctors do not believe these gifts influence their decisions about which drugs to prescribe, a new study found the gifts actually can make a difference – something patient advocates have voiced concern about in the past.
