Consumer Driven Health Care

The pharmaceutical giant has launched a telehealth-connected website to allow patients to directly order the weight loss drug, as well as insulin products and a migraine drug, direct from the company.

Michigan's top insurance regulator told health plans on Monday that they cannot deny coverage for clinically proven cancer treatments, after a deceased patient's insurer refused to pay for life-saving gene therapy treatment.

Federal regulations require health insurers to promptly hand over records to patients facing claim denials within 30 days, however, Anthem, Aetna and UnitedHealth blew past the 30-day deadline in a recent ProPublica investigation.

A federal mask mandate is unlikely, but health officials and hospitals in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York have again told staff and patients to don masks. And if you feel ill, stay home, recommends a health official.

Prior authorization was conceived to rein in health care costs by eliminating duplicative treatment, however, critics worry it has now become a way for insurance companies to save money, often at the expense of patients' lives.

Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner, who both have championed to lower the cost of prescription drugs, applauded Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly – the three major insulin manufacturers – for slashing prices, effective Jan. 1, 2024.