Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »
Walmart: moto “save money, live better” just don’t ask us to fill your controlled meds with us
CVS Caremark Silver Script: charge of $2,373.56 copay.. Walmart $447.84 CASH PRICE
Letter: Prescription plan’s charge higher than Walmart’s
https://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20190302/letter-prescription-plans-charge-higher-than-walmarts
I am a retiree with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. I am a diabetic who needs to take injectable insulin. I am covered by CVS Caremark Silver Script for my prescriptions through OPERS. I ordered 18 vials of Novolin N insulin and was “assessed” a charge of $2,373.56 because that is what the plan stated it paid. However, I found that I could buy the same quantity from Walmart for $447.84!
I request that Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Insurance and OPERS investigate how this could happen.
I will not be buying insulin anymore from CVS Caremark until this despicable disparity is resolved and neither should readers. To me, this is unconscionable and wrong if one can buy it from Walmart, a retailer, at five times cheaper.
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
Legal Foundation of Washington
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
The practice of medicine has been stolen
The practice of medicine has been stolen.
https://www.physiciansrise.com/
It’s time for physicians to reclaim responsibility for the patient-physician relationship.
Third-party payors, government, hospitals, and non-physician staff disrupt the patient-physician relationship, once considered sacred. Productivity demands, shorter appointments, and one-size-fits-all algorithms rob patients of physician time.
Political funding schemes limit expansion of graduate medical education. Graduating physicians are left jobless while inadequately trained mid-levels are being used to fill the void. Soaring debt fuels physician exploitation by administrators resulting in abusive leverage over physicians in both employed and private practice settings.
The results are devastating:
- 51% of physicians are burned-out/abused
- 84% of healthcare costs are unrelated to patient care
- Less than ½ of physicians own their own practice
- 25% of physicians would choose a different career path
- 1 in 3 medical residents are depressed
- 400 physicians commit suicide each year leaving 920,000 Americans without their doctor
- $190,000 is the average medical school debt
- 24 states allow nurse practitioners to practice unsupervised without a medical license
We demand,
- The right to practice medicine without third-party intrusion
- Complete removal of any law disrupting access between patients and physicians
- Restoration of physicians as the head of the medical team
- Adopting fiscal policy that defines and respects the patient-physician relationship
- Physician autonomy as a professional right
Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »
Fentanyl-laced cocaine, not heroin, is now the biggest overdose threat in Massachusetts
Fentanyl-laced cocaine, not heroin, is now the biggest overdose threat in Massachusetts
Overdoses in the state from fentanyl-laced heroin may be on the decline, but the state is increasingly facing a new problem: fentanyl-laced cocaine.
According to a report issued in August by the Department of Public Health, the first three months of 2018 was the second quarter in a row that cocaine surpassed heroin in the toxicology for opioid-related deaths. Meanwhile, the rate of overdoses related to heroin has decreased from 2014 to 2018.
Alongside both of those trends has been an alarming increase in the rate of overdoses that have tested positive for fentanyl, with a staggering 90 percent of all overdose deaths in 2018 through March testing positive for the drug.
The state said the figures illustrate “the changing nature of the epidemic,” with providers concerned that overdose deaths are occurring because of fentanyl-laced cocaine.
“This quarterly report provides a new level of data revealing an unsettling correlation between high levels of synthetic fentanyl present in toxicology reports and overdose death rates,” said Governor Baker in a statement that went out with the report. “It is critically important that the commonwealth understand and study this information so we can better respond to this disease.”
The state re-issued a June clinical advisory to physicians as a result, informing providers that those needing treatment for substance use disorder may have a problem with any number of drugs, and asked providers “to educate clients and staff regarding the presence of fentanyl in cocaine, as well as other illicit substances.”
Massachusetts is following national trends in fentanyl-laced cocaine deaths over taking those of fentanyl-laced heroin. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there was a sharp increase in the estimated number of overdose deaths involving cocaine nationally from 2016 to 2017, from approximately 10,000 deaths in 2016 to 14,556 in 2017.
In Connecticut, WBUR reported that the number of deaths involving cocaine and fentanyl together had increased 420 percent in the last three years, though heroin laced with fentanyl still killed more people in that time period.
According to Vox, the reasons could be numerous, but drug users have mixed heroin and cocaine purposefully in the past in what is known as a “speedball.” Dealers may also be purposefully mixing fentanyl with cocaine without the buyer’s knowledge, because it’s a cheap way to give a product more kick.
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
Workers comp doctor provides false information about injured employee
LAKELAND, Fla.(WFLA) – Documents obtained by 8 On Your Side show that a doctor hired by workers comp carrier Travelers Indemnity provided false information on an injured worker’s condition.
Neil Eckelberger suffered serious burns as well as neurological psychological and orthopedic injuries when a reactor at Natural Advantage Food Flavorings in Lakeland exploded in Sept. 2017.
Neil spent 10 days in Tampa General Hospital’s burn unit undergoing painful debridement and graft surgery.
Seventeen months after the explosion, he still suffers from concussion-like symptoms.
“Everyday I have headaches,” Neil said.
Travelers sent Neil to workers comp neurologist Dr. Thomas Newman in Tampa.
Reports written up by Newman state Neil denied having multiple symptoms, including insomnia, fatigue, depression, anxiety, light sensitivity and nausea.
“Neil is lying on the table in there, he’s complaining about the lights and his headaches and he’s not sleeping and he’s depressed and he’s angry,” Neil’s wife Robin stated.
Dr. Newman also wrote that Neil denied blurred vision, hearing loss and tinnitus.
“The ringing never stops,” Neil explained. “I lost hearing in my left ear which was later solved with the help of live performance ear plugs. Sometimes my vision will be blurry.” But according to Dr. Newman’s reports to Travelers, Neil had none of that.
“In terms of the neurologist, almost all of his revenues and patients come from workers compensation,” Neil’s attorney Michael Winer said.
Winer claims the doctor did not accurately chart complaints and provided false and misleading information to Travelers which allowed the company to deny Neil benefits.
Dr. Newman did not respond to our request for a comment regarding this report.
According to the Eckelbergers, Dr. Newman prescribed Zofran for Neil’s nausea.
Dr. Newman also prescribed Tramadol every 12 hours for pain, Lidocaine patches for lower back pain and Cyclobenzaprine for muscle spasms.
Dr. Newman recommended to Travelers in July 2018 that Neil be treated by pain management. Then he changed his mind.
He continued prescribing pain medication and in November, Dr, Newman again recommended pain management for Neil.
Travelers has yet to approve that benefit.
Other notes clearly show that Dr. Newman was aware Neil was seeing a psychiatrist for depression and anxiety.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Robin said.
“If you’re a neurologist and someone is not really complaining, why are you filling three prescription bottles every visit and continuing to see them every six weeks?”
“It’s one of two things,” Neil explained.
“Either they’re lying about me, saying I didn’t have those symptoms, or they’re fraudulently prescribing drugs to somebody that doesn’t need them.”
Travelers contends it has gone to great lengths to ensure Neil gets the proper treatment. The insurance company claims the Eckelbergers’ attorney won’t grant permission to discuss specifics of the case.
In a text, Winer said Travelers can discuss legal defenses and strategies and reasons for doing things but cannot discuss Neil’s private health information.
He added, “This is being used as a ruse to try to show that they are being muzzled when they really are not.”
If you know of something that you think should be investigated, call our 8 On Your Side Helpline at 1-800-338-0808. Contact Steve Andrews at sandrews@wfla.com.
Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »
fentanyl — a synthetic opioid — is now killing more Americans than any other drug.
DEADLY MYSTERY DRUG THAT SICKENED HUNDREDS HAS BEEN DISCOVERED
www.wcluradio.com/deadly-mystery-drug-that-sickened-hundreds-has-been-discovered/
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A deadly mystery drug sickened hundreds of people in the summer of 2016, ripping a destructive path down Interstate 71 from Cincinnati to Louisville.
Many collapsed, struggling to breathe. Doctors sprinted outside emergency rooms to cars, yanking out those left motionless and blue. They had mere minutes to prevent brain damage or death.
The culprit would soon have a name — carfentanil, an elephant tranquilizer — thanks to a team of pioneering scientists at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s secret lab in Northern Virginia. Here, chemists at the Special Testing and Research Laboratory recently granted rare access to the Courier Journal and USA TODAY Network for a behind-the-scenes look at their critical work.
They also revealed how they helped solve the mystery of carfentanil and tracked the spread of the drug, the most lethal variation of America’s No. 1 killer — fentanyl.
Carfentanil, 100 times more potent than fentanyl, was never meant for humans, so labs in Ohio didn’t have a known sample to use for comparison.
Nearly a year earlier, a lab on the Pacific Coast tested a sample from a drug seizure that didn’t match any known drug. Officials there also heard it might be carfentanil, so the DEA’s research lab wanted to get a sample that had been confirmed as the animal tranquilizer to use for comparisons. But they hit a snag.
At the time, the only lab with the drug was owned by a private company that supplied zoos.
Since carfentanil is used to tranquilize large animals and is heavily regulated, it was difficult for lab officials to get it for research purposes.
Carfentanil remains a threat nationwide.In February, more than two years since the big wave of overdoses, the elephant tranquilizer caused small rashes of overdoses in Cleveland and Columbus. This time, Ohio officials quickly identified the cause, thanks to the DEA lab’s standard.
The lab has shared samples of carfentanil and other drugs with labs across the country, which has helped communities identify emerging drug threats.
While carfentanil has been linked to overdose outbreaks,fentanyl — a synthetic opioid — is now killing more Americans than any other drug.
At the DEA lab, a team of scientists also are studying today’s crystal meth, a drug that has continued to spread across the country in the shadows of heroin and fentanyl.
“Everything we’re seeing is high purity, 96 percent or greater,” said Jaclyn Brown, a senior forensic chemist. “The majority of what we’re seeing comes from Mexico.”
Chemists from law enforcement agencies in Mexico have come to the DEA’s Northern Virginia lab to learn the best ways to test drugs and spot drug trends.
Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »
A Visitor from the Past
Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »
Health Insurance Is Not Assurance Of Healthcare
Health Insurance Is Not Assurance Of Healthcare
https://www.news-line.com/PH_news28a250_enews
Because of high out-of-pocket expenses, Ohioans who purchase subsidized health-exchange insurance often can’t afford the care they need when they need it. That is a central finding of a new study from researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Examining a total of nearly 43,000 Ohio adults, the researchers found that low- to middle- income individuals who received subsidies to purchase insurance through health-insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act were significantly more likely to experience problems with access and affordability, such as skipping doctor’s visits and not filling prescriptions, than those insured through Medicaid expansion generated by passage of the ACA.
“High out-of-pocket costs associated with exchange health plans often mean that those who don’t qualify for Medicaid face significant barriers to accessing affordable care,” said the study’s senior author, Siran Koroukian, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences. “As a result, they delay or omit needed care; and the likely scenario is that they become sicker before they eventually qualify for Medicaid. This creates a paradox: they formally have insurance, but because they can’t afford the high deductibles and co-pays, they may be worse off medically than those without insurance or who receive Medicaid, which has nominal co-expenses.”
In the study, newly published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the researchers compared measures of access and affordability between Medicaid recipients in Ohio (an expansion state) and low/middle-income Ohioans whose incomes were high enough to disqualify them for Medicaid but low enough to qualify them for health insurance exchange subsidies. They found that, compared to Medicaid recipients, exchange patients were:
•5 times more likely to have difficulty paying medical bills
•2 times more likely to have foregone needed medical exams or supplies
•2 times more likely to have skipped filling a prescription because of high cost
•2 times more likely to have had a harder time getting medical care than in the past
•75 times more likely to avoid needed medical care
“We know that ACA has insured more people, which was its intent, but there is work to be done in making that insurance more effective in getting care for low- and middle-income people,” said the study’s lead author, Uriel Kim, an MD/PhD student in the School of Medicine. “Typically we think of Medicaid recipients as more vulnerable than those with private insurance. But in reality, Medicaid expansion has gone well because it is meeting its goal of increasing access to affordable care for its users. At the same time, relatively high out-of-pocket expenses mean that some recipients who use exchanges are choosing to go without care, which in the long run makes them sicker – even having to turn to Medicaid to get the care they need.”
Individuals in states that expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act are eligible for Medicaid if their income is less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level. Above this threshold, those with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level can receive sliding-scale subsidies to offset premium costs for insurance purchased on health exchanges. These subsidies vary by the insurance metal level and, for silver plans only, by the consumer’s income. Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum plans have actuarial values (the percentage of health care costs the plans are designed to pay) of 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% respectively. Silver Plans additionally offer subsidies to offset patients’ out-of-pocket costs at the time of care for those with incomes up to 250% of the federal poverty level.
In Ohio, only 70% of eligible individuals take advantage of cost-sharing reductions available for silver plans; 28% enroll in bronze. By forgoing silver plans in favor of outwardly less expensive bronze plans, enrollees in this income group often unexpectedly are confronted with high out-of-pocket costs, the researchers found.
“There are two notions of affordability when it comes to purchasing health care: the cost of insurance and the out-of-pocket costs someone pays when they seek care,” said the study’s third author, Johnie Rose, MD, PhD, assistant professor of family medicine. “Policymakers should carefully evaluate whether current income-based, cost-sharing reductions for silver plans adequately remove barriers to receiving care and whether enrollees sufficiently understand cost-sharing differences across the exchange plans.”
One implication of the study’s findings is that increasing Affordable Care Act cost-sharing subsides or raising the income threshold for Medicaid eligibility would expand accessibility. “Either way, this would ultimately save taxpayers money by keeping people healthier and not forcing them into financial toxicity,” said Koroukian. “This is especially true in expensive cases such as cancer. Higher out-of-pocket expenses can result in delays in getting cancer tests, resulting in later-stage diagnoses, sicker patients, greater expenditures, and often poorer patient outcomes.”
Source:Case Western Reserve University
Photo Credit:Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Pictured:Statistics showing low-to-middle-income Ohioans insured through HIE vs. those insured through Medicaid expansion.
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
Watch John Oliver Reveal Scams of America’s $35 Billion Rehab Industry
Watch John Oliver Reveal Scams of America’s $35 Billion Rehab Industry
Rehab centers are cripplingly expensive, are often unscientific – most frightening – are “dangerously unregulated,” John Oliver said on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight. The comedian exposed a frequently obscured dark side of the $35 billion industry, which encompasses over 14,500 drug treatment facilities across the United States.
While many rehab centers boast impressive success rates hovering around 80 percent, Oliver argued that these statistics are based on self-reporting from former clients who often lie about their progress out of shame. Rehab, the host said, “should never be seen as a quick fix – it’s often just the first step in a lifetime of recovery.”
Some facilities utilize controversial treatments like equine therapy, for which there is “no empirical evidence” of its efficacy. And, in general, there are surprisingly few regulatory barriers to opening facilities in several states. “In California, as long as you take private pay clients, anyone can start an outpatient rehab center,” Oliver said. “And in Florida, if you want to open a sober home, a group home where people stay often while they receive outpatient treatment, there is nothing in state law to stop you.”
The host highlighted a system of recurring relapse called the “Florida Shuffle,” wherein centers milk the patient’s insurance until the patient dies. The cornerstone of the industry, Oliver noted, is conducting urine tests, which The New York Times dubbed “liquid gold” in a 2017 report.
For those seeking help with addiction, choosing the right rehab facility is an important step. Last Week Tonight consulted with several experts who recommend starting with a board-certified doctor in addiction medicine, or exploring positive options such as Transcend Recovery Community and Sober Living. This facility offers a compassionate approach to recovery, combining expert care with a supportive community that empowers individuals to achieve lasting sobriety and personal growth. “It’s only recently become an official specialty, so there just aren’t many of them around,” Oliver noted, but those physicians are available to search online. Also, consider visiting a drug rehab new jersey for proper treatment that will help you recover from addiction. For anyone in need of luxury rehab in LA, Carrara Treatment provides an unmatched experience. Their comprehensive programs are delivered in a setting of unparalleled comfort.
“This system clearly badly needs more expertise and oversight,” the host concluded. “And until then, it may be really important for all of us to understand that, at present, the word ‘rehab’ is so broadly defined as to be close to meaningless. It is honestly barely better defined than the word ‘building.’ And if someone were to tell you, ‘I have a drug problem, but don’t worry – I’m going to ‘building’ in Florida,’ you would naturally say, ‘Hold on, what’s ‘building’? Where did you find this building? What’s happening inside it? Is it a hospital or a Hooter’s? Or both – is it a Hootspital? What’s the proof that it works, and what’s the doctor-to-horse ratio like in there?’ Does Health Insurance Cover Rehab?
“And sadly, right now, it can be way too difficult to get answers to those questions, which is crazy because so much about battling addiction is really hard,” he continued. “Getting clean is hard; staying clean is hard. But getting good, evidence-based, trustworthy help should be the easy part. And right now, it is way too easy to literally wind up pissing money up a wall.”
Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »