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☆ Can Joe Biden and a fistful of cash win rural America for Democrats?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Trump widened his lead among rural voters to 65% in 2020 from 59% in 2016. That includes $20 billion for rural health systems, $20 billion for clean-energy agriculture projects, $11 billion for rural electrification and $13 billion towards rural clean energy projects, the White House calculates. "You get out into the rural areas, and the folks are older and don't have the educational level. USDA data shows 21% of working-age adults in rural areas have at least a bachelor's degree compared to 37% in urban areas. "Biden and [Democratic] Maine Governor Janet Mills: they're too much bleeding hearts.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Andrea Shalal, Rhiannon Hampson, she's, Hampson, We've, Donald Trump, Trump, Barack Obama, Mark Brewer, Suzanne Mettler, Trevor Brown, Brown, Ron Kaufman, Kaufman, Mitt Romney, George H, Bush, Biden, Tom Perez, I'm, John Piotti, James Gimpel, Gimpel, Orange, Dick Bouchard, Janet Mills, Jared Golden, overplaying, TRUMP, Paul Tewes, Matt Hildreth, Nathan Layne, Heather Timmons, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Department, Republicans, Democratic, Biden, Republican, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Trump, University of Maine, Cornell, Republican National Committee, Democratic National Committee, Political, Trust, Pew, Center for Information, Research, Civic, Tufts University . White, Family Foundation, Data, University of Maryland, Pew Research, DEMOCRATS Maine, Maine, Reuters, Democrats, Democratic Party, Thomson Locations: Waterville , Maine, U.S, Waterville, Presque Isle, America, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maine, Orono, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Utah, Maine's, Vietnam, Poland, Iowa, Ohio , Montana

☆ How soaring demand for Ozempic and Wegovy is altering Denmark’s economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Its maker, Novo Nordisk (NONOF), has raked in almost 49 billion Danish krone in profit ($7 billion) over the first six months of this year, up 32% from the same period in 2022. Novo Nordisk also produces Ozempic, a drug developed to treat type 2 diabetes but which contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy. Surging demandShares in Novo Nordisk have soared 34% since the start of 2023 to give the company a market capitalization of 2.2 trillion Danish krone ($322 billion). The stock shot up earlier this month after Novo Nordisk published the results of a five-year trial on the impact of Wegovy on cardiovascular disease. Novo Nordisk now expects its profits to grow by up to 37% this year, much higher growth than the maximum 19% rise it forecast in February.

Persons: Jens Naervig Pedersen, Pedersen, Jaap Arriens, ” Pedersen, “ We’ve, Andrew Kenningham, “, juggernauts Roche Organizations: London CNN, Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Danish, Danske Bank, European Central Bank, CNN, Capital Economics, AstraZeneca, Kaiser Family Foundation Locations: United States, Denmark, Danish, Europe

☆ New Covid vaccines are on the way as 'Eris' variant rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Some public health experts hope that Americans will welcome the new shot as they would a flu jab. In the fall of 2022, by which time most people had either had the COVID virus or the vaccine, fewer than 50 million people got the shots. Its biggest rival, Moderna, conceded demand could be as few as 50 million shots. POST PANDEMIC VACCINEThe COVID public health emergency ended in May and the government has handed much of the duty of vaccinating America to the private sector. As with the flu, Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE), Moderna (MRNA.O) and Novavax (NVAX.O), have created versions of the COVID vaccine to try to match the variant they believe will be circulating this fall.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ashley Kirzinger, Kirzinger, BioNTech, Jefferies, Michael Yee, " Yee, Mandy Cohen, William Schaffner, Schaffner, David Boulware, Michael Erman, Caroline Humer, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, CVS Health, Family, Reuters, Pfizer –, Moderna, Pfizer, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, EG, Vanderbilt University, University of Minnesota, Thomson Locations: U.S, America, United States, COVID, CDC's

☆ Rising costs, declining demand, massive consolidation and government scrutiny: the death industry is changing, maybe for good
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

More and more Americans are choosing to move away from the traditional burial process after they die. As the 2022 NFDA Cremation & Burial Report explained, "Typically, cremations cost 40% less than funerals with burials." As of 2022, the aquamation process, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, is legal in 24 states and legislation to legalize it is circulating in several other states. But while these two innovative funeral homes offer their price lists on their websites, they are not required to. The potential rule change is also being monitored by the Funeral Consumers Alliance, which has been pushing for the change for decades.

Persons: Jack Mitchell, cremation's, Mitchell, Sara Williams, Hunter Beattie, Beattie, aquamation, Spade, that's, We're, Williams Organizations: Service, Federal Trade Commission, Director's, Public Religion Research Institute, Kaiser Family Foundation, Census Bureau, Consumers Alliance, Directors, FTC Locations: Wall, Silicon, North Carolina, aquamation, Washington

☆ Junk fees, medical debt and artificial intelligence: CFPB chief lays out regulatory agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Medical debtChopra said that tens of millions of Americans are battling medical debt. The crisis is compounded by debt collectors that add medical debt to credit reports as a means of coercion. The agency's crackdown on junk fees has prompted some policy changes at big banks, he added. "Many of them are getting rid of their reliance on junk fees and making their fees much more reasonable," Chopra said. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., has said the CFPB has "no authority" on the issue because junk fees is not a legal term.

Persons: Rohit Chopra, Tom Williams, Andy Barr, Chopra, servicers, We're, Experian, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Luetkemeyer Organizations: Consumer Financial Protection, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Cq, Inc, Getty, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Federal Reserve, Governors, CNBC, Education Department, U.S, Kaiser Family Foundation, Bank of America, Biden, GOP, Rep, Financial Services Locations: Ky

Medical debt can affect your credit score, but its been deprioritized by the credit industry. While FICO has lessened the weight of medical debt on your credit score, VantageScore completely removed medical debt from its calculations. How to improve your credit after medical debtWhile unpaid medical debt doesn't have the same impact on your credit score as an unpaid credit card bill, it can impact your credit nonetheless. Once you transfer that debt to your credit card, those protections you and your credit score have against medical debt no longer apply. Medical debt frequently asked questionsIs medical debt being removed from credit reports?

Persons: FICO, VantageScore, —, doesn't, Experian, Tiffany Cross, Rick Eicheldinger, You'll, Cross Organizations: Service, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kaiser Family Foundation Locations: United States

CNN —The US Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide on Thursday whether to grant traditional approval to the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, the first medicine proven to slow the course of the memory-robbing disease. Leqembi, from drugmakers Eisai and Biogen, received accelerated approval in January based on evidence that it clears amyloid plaque buildups in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease. But because of an earlier coverage decision by CMS, which provides insurance coverage for many elderly patients with Alzheimer’s through Medicare, the drug hasn’t been widely used. People with more advanced forms of the disease may not benefit from the drug, he said, and may face increased safety risks. Broad Medicare coverage of Leqembi and similar types of medications to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease would probably have a big impact on the program’s spending.

Persons: drugmakers, hasn’t, “, ’ ”, Joe Montminy, Lawrence Honig, “ It’s, ”, Honig, it’s, Leqembi, ” Honig, Georges Naasan, Sue Rottura, ” Drugmaker Eisai, “ You’re, Ivan Cheung, Eisai, ” Montminy, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Food and Drug Administration, Medicare, Services, CMS, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Alzheimer’s, Behavioral, CNN Health, Kaiser Family Foundation Locations: Mount, Florida

☆ It’s Not Just You: Many Americans Face Insurance Obstacles Over Medical Care and Bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Reed Abelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The NewsA majority of Americans with health insurance said they had encountered obstacles to coverage, including denied medical care, higher bills and a dearth of doctors in their plans, according to a new survey from KFF, a nonprofit health research group. Those who were most likely to need medical care — people who described themselves as in fair or poor health — reported more trouble; three-fourths of those receiving mental health treatment experienced problems. The survey also underscored the persistent problem of affordability as people struggled to pay their share of health care costs. Among the nearly 60 percent who reported difficulty with their insurance coverage, 15 percent said their health had declined. Background: Insurance coverage is confusing to everyone.

Persons: ”, Drew Altman, Karen Pollitz, Amanda Parente Organizations: Kaiser Family Foundation Locations: KFF, Nashville

☆ One million people have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections expired
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

At least 1 million people have been kicked off Medicaid since coverage protections implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic expired in April, according to data published by the Kaiser Family Foundation on Monday. Many people are losing Medicaid even though they likely remain eligible. Becerra told the governors that he was particularly concerned children will lose insurance if their parents are kicked off Medicaid. "Even if parents think they are no longer eligible, states should ask parents to still fill out their renewal forms for their children," Becerra said. "We also urge you to include messaging about Medicaid renewals through schools, early childhood programs, and summer camps, to parents."

Persons: Xavier Becerra, Becerra, he's Organizations: Kaiser Family Foundation, Human Services, Children's Health Insurance Locations: New York, United States

☆ Measuring inflation can be tricky and quirky. Here are 3 examples
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

HousingRichard Newstead | Moment | Getty ImagesHousing is perhaps the most consequential category in the consumer price index, a key inflation barometer. But Covid-19 warped that dynamic: Housing costs shot up but have slowed and even started to fall in some areas, economists said. Overall inflation is expected to slow sharply during the second half of the year as the CPI incorporates the housing price cooldown, economists said. The government doesn't calculate health insurance inflation by measuring consumers' direct costs, such as monthly premiums. Health insurance inflation readings may flip positive in fall 2023 and persist into 2024 due to this dynamic, Zandi said.

Persons: Housing Richard Newstead, Zandi, Price, Mark Zandi, Andrew Hunter, Hunter, There's, Jordi Mora Igual Organizations: Housing, Capital Economics, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, CPI, Health, Images, Kaiser Family Foundation, Consumers

The Biden Administration’s signature drug pricing reform, part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), aims to save $25 billion through price negotiations by 2031 for Americans who pay more for medicines than any other country. The first ever Medicare drug price reduction process begins in September, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS) identifies its 10 most costly drugs. Reuters has seen responses to CMS from five of the world's top drugmakers raising legal concerns with the law and the agency's proposed roadmap. Former CMS head Andy Slavitt, who now works at a venture capital company focused on healthcare, said the Medicare agency would have consulted lawyers. One said the Medicare roadmap, which did not go through a formal process with proposed and final rules, could be challenged in court for being unlawful as well.

☆ Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +55 min

Dr. Fauci Looks Back: ‘Something Clearly Went Wrong’ In his most extensive interview yet, Anthony Fauci wrestles with the hard lessons of the pandemic — and the decisions that will define his legacy. But when people say, “Fauci shut down the economy” — it wasn’t Fauci. But somehow or other, the general public didn’t get that feeling that the vulnerable are really, really heavily weighted toward the elderly. We also had a public-health system that we thought was really, really good. But it was really, really antiquated.

☆ How to avoid getting dropped from Medicaid as states narrow coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As a pandemic-era policy winds down, millions of people on Medicaid may lose their coverage — even though they remain eligible, advocates say. For the last three years, due to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, states have been required to provide continuous Medicaid coverage to enrollees in order to get federal funding. That meant people on Medicaid couldn't be dropped from the program during that time. "From March 2020 to March 2023, people could only enter Medicaid, and no one was at risk of losing coverage," said Kosali Simon, professor of health economics at the O'Neill School at Indiana University. Here's how to avoid losing your Medicaid coverage if you believe you remain eligible.

☆ Torch Capital's founder has some advice for startup founders: Down rounds aren't such a bad thing right now. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jonathan Keidan founded VC firm Torch Capital, which backed Ro and recently raised $200 million. Good founders will opt for down rounds over deal terms that could come back to bite, he says. As venture capital funding plummets and investors tighten their purse strings, Jonathan Keidan has a word of advice to startup founders: It's OK to take a down round. Most of the founders Torch has backed, Keidan said, are still steering clear of the relatively sluggish market. "You can roll up your sleeves and really help them, which has been critical in this environment," Keidan told Insider.

☆ A huge win in Wisconsin shows Dems how fiercely defending abortion rights can kneecap the GOP in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Expect Democrats to make abortion rights a dominant theme in 2024. The Democratic party chair there says it's "vital" that party members convey their position. Expect Democrats to make sure of that, especially after a recent Wisconsin election further demonstrated the power of abortion rights at the ballot box. Abortion rights advocates protest outside the White House in July 2022. Dems shift to talking openly about abortionThe Democratic Party has rapidly changed its views on abortion.

☆ Abortion Pills, the Latest Battleground, Have Been Little Known to Americans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ruth Igielnik | Andrew Fischer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Abortion pills have dominated headlines in the past week, but until recently, relatively few Americans were familiar with the concept of medication abortions, even as the use of pills like mifepristone has surpassed surgical procedures as the most common method to terminate pregnancies and as national support for abortion rights has grown in recent years. Two conflicting rulings on mifepristone, the first pill in a two-drug regimen used to terminate pregnancy, have put the long-term availability of the medication in limbo. The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to step in and ensure the drug’s accessibility while it pursues an appeal. About one in three Americans said they had heard of mifepristone or a medication abortion in a January survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan research group that focuses on health issues. But that share is most likely growing, Ashley Kirzinger, the organization’s director of survey methodology, said.

☆ Health plans could soon reduce coverage for preventive care. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Around 100 million people with private insurance got preventive care required under the ACA in 2018, one estimate found, making it the provision with the widest reach. Insurers generally must not impose copays or deductibles on the recommended preventive care. "Many preventive care services are not covered by this decision," Simon said. Health plans will still be required to ensure no copays for many preventive services, including birth control and mammograms, Simon said. Some states have their own mandates, meanwhile, around free preventive care.

☆ Inside the Online Market for Overseas Abortion Pills
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Allison Mccann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

A selection of abortion pill kits available online from overseas sellers. A chart of the estimated number of abortion pills provided outside the U.S. health care system from July through December 2022. For most patients, the cost of the service remains the most important factor in deciding where to get pills online. A chart showing the minimum, average and maximum cost of abortion pills from overseas providers: Aid Access, Las Libres and for-profit online sellers. A chart showing the minimum, average and maximum delivery speeds of abortion pills from overseas providers: Aid Access, Las Libres and for-profit online sellers.

☆ Biden seeks expanded health insurance access for DACA participants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is seeking to allow immigrants illegally brought to the United States as children greater access to health insurance through federal programs, the White House said on Thursday. The proposal would allow participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to access to health insurance under Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges, it said. I've worked hard to get more Americans health insurance than ever before," President Joe Biden said on Twitter, adding the move would give "Dreamers the same opportunities." About 580,000 people were enrolled as of last year in the Obama-era 2012 DACA program, which grants protection from deportation and work permits. Eight U.S. states have already expanded state insurance access to health coverage regardless of immigration status, according to data from the healthcare policy organization Kaiser Family Foundation.

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - A federal judge's decision last week to suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of abortion pill mifepristone could severely weaken the agency if allowed to stand, health policy and legal experts said. The FDA approved mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen that accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions, over 20 years ago. Banning its sale calls into question the FDA's power to regulate all drugs nationwide, the experts said. The challenge was brought by a coalition of anti-abortion groups and doctors seeking withdrawal of the FDA's mifepristone approval before Kacsmaryk, who is himself a conservative former Christian activist. Plaintiffs are arguing that the FDA in its 2000 approval did not adequately consider the drug's safety when used by girls under age 18 to terminate a pregnancy.

☆ Healthcare, college education, and childcare started getting worse decades ago. Now we're all finally feeling it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Americans are accruing billions in debt to pay for things like education and healthcare. But that would require shifting the idea of childcare, education, and healthcare and thinking of them as public goods — not businesses. That ultimately meant millions in funding for public childcare. "If the US health system was a country, it would be about the fourth-largest country in the world," Cooper said. There's much less government involvement in the US healthcare system than in other countries, Cooper said.

Any impact on the FDA will depend on details of the judge's ruling in the case known as Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The challenge was brought by a coalition of anti-abortion groups and doctors seeking withdrawal of the FDA's mifepristone approval before U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, a conservative former Christian activist. The court could order mifepristone pulled from the market while it considers a final ruling. It would call into question the entire drug approval process, said Laurie Sobel, associate director for Women's Health Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. 'SO MUCH UNCERTAINTY'The possibility of its approvals being overruled would likely see the FDA become more cautious, Lee said.

☆ Millions will start losing Medicaid coverage as Covid safety net is dismantled
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Congress basically barred states from terminating Medicaid coverage during the pandemic through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Congress slipped a provision in federal spending legislation in December that allows states to start disenrolling people on April 1. Although some states will start terminating coverage in April, others are waiting until May, June, July and October before they do so. A list of when all 50 states will start ending coverage is below. Click here for a list of when states will have their first round Medicaid coverage terminations.

☆ Medical debt can be 'a bit of a surprise,' expert says — and 21% who have it owe $5,000 or more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Antonio_diaz | Istock | Getty ImagesThe largest bills are mostly owed to hospitalsThe Urban Institute study found that 73% of adults with medical debt owe hospitals at least some of it. Almost two-thirds, or 63%, of adults with past-due medical debt incurred it when they had insurance, the research found. An estimated 100 million adults have medical debtOverall, an estimated 41% of people — or about 100 million adults — face medical debt, ranging from under $500 to $10,000 or more, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. watch nowNo Surprises Act is reducing unexpected billsOne of the biggest causes of unexpected large medical bills historically was out-of-network providers being involved in your care — often at a hospital — without you realizing it. Some medical debt is dropping off credit reports

☆ Romance Scams Are Booming — Especially on Facebook and Instagram
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Eve Upton-Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Americans lost $1.3 billion to romance scams last year — an 164% increase from 2019 — and $3.3 billion in total since the start of the pandemic. According to the FTC report, the most popular way scammers reached out to their victims last year was through Instagram (29%) and Facebook (28%). And as these schemes get more widespread and more complex, the number of people falling for romance scams keeps growing. Confluence of crypto and romanceIf loneliness was the reason "why" for the soaring number of romance scams, then crypto is the "how." 1 payment method for romance scams last year was cryptocurrency.

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