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☆ Around 5.5 mln people have signed up for 2023 Obamacare plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

People who want to choose a healthcare plan for 2023 under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, can enroll between Nov. 1 and Jan. 15. However, if they want to be covered as of Jan. 1 they generally need to choose a plan by Dec. 15. Around 1.2 million of the people who have signed up for the plans are new consumers, HHS said. In late November HHS said that nearly 3.4 million people had signed up for health plans. Companies that provide these plans include UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N), CVS Health (CVS.N), Centene Corp (CNC.N), and Elevance (ELV.N).

☆ 4 financial moves if you have — or are worried about — long Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"We're far from being done with this," McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida, said of long Covid. Waiting until after developing long Covid might mean you pay higher premiums for life insurance or private disability insurance — or that insurers will deny coverage, McClanahan said. Long Covid has been linked to hundreds of potential symptoms, some of which are debilitating and serious, like damage to vital organs. For instance, there's not yet a test to determine if someone has long Covid, meaning some doctors are hesitant to diagnose or treat patients. For individuals worried they might have long Covid, McClanahan recommends creating a medical diary with detailed logs of each symptom and doctor visit.

☆ Millions suffer from long Covid — and it costs them $9,000 a year in health-care expenses, on average
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

There is no cure or approved treatment for ME/CFS; as with long Covid, patient symptoms are merely treated or managed. 'People are trying all sorts of treatments'Getting an official long Covid diagnosis can be challenging, which can compound early expenses. Like many who suffer from long Covid, Pohl seeks relief from crippling symptoms wherever it's available. "There are so many of us now that it's taking months to see professionals," she said of long Covid patients. watch nowTime alone generally doesn't cure long Covid symptoms; it often requires some form of rehabilitation.

☆ 'It's a work in progress.' How Covid has changed the life insurance marketplace
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Kate Dore | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But for the life insurance industry, experts say the long-term effects aren't yet known. Faced with a staggering loss of life, insurance firms saw payouts soar during the pandemic. The demand for life insurance policies also jumped as consumers rushed to protect loved ones. Individual U.S life insurance application activity increased by 3.4% in 2021, following a record-breaking year-over-year growth of 3.9% in 2020, according to the MIB Life Index's 2021 annual report. However, the life insurance industry is still wrestling with mortality changes and how these shifts may affect the underwriting process.

☆ Despite ongoing Covid risks, more employees consider cutting back on health-care benefits
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Almost 159 million Americans rely on employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. Health insurance plansFor starters, consider what your health coverage costs you. But "don't just look at the monthly cost of your health insurance," Cosgray advised. To be able to use an HSA, you need to be enrolled in a high-deductible health plan, or HDHP. Other voluntary benefits offered through an employer can provide additional protection, including hospital indemnity insurance, critical illness coverage and accident insurance.

watch nowMichael Bryand, 35, first got Covid in September 2020. And currently, as many as 23 million Americans have what's considered long Covid, according to recent estimates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Long Covid is 'something invisible'Michael Bryand, here with his family, first got Covid in September 2020. Ramey was a nurse in San Antonio for 30 years before she got Covid in 2020. Verduzco-Gutierrez works primarily with Covid patients, including Ramey and Bryand, through the long Covid clinic she established in 2020.

☆ Long Covid may be 'the next public health disaster' — with a $3.7 trillion economic impact rivaling the Great Recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Norpel is one of millions of Americans with long Covid, also known as long-haul Covid, post-Covid or post-acute Covid syndrome. Key symptoms: Long Covid has been linked to more than 200 symptoms, according to The Rockefeller Foundation. Duration: There's no consistent definition of how long symptoms must persist for someone to be considered a long Covid patient. What experts do know is that for some, long Covid symptoms can last months or even years. "I don't know if it's for the rest of my life or not," Hurst said of feeling long Covid symptoms.

The justices rebuffed Glenhaven Healthcare's appeal of a lower court's ruling allowing the family of deceased resident Ricardo Saldana to proceed with the lawsuit in a California state court. Under then-President Donald Trump in January 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, prodded by nursing homes, declared that cases filed in state court involving interpretation of the PREP Act should be moved to federal court. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the Saldana case that some state law claims can remain in state court. Glenhaven has argued that personal injury lawsuits against entities that provide COVID-19 countermeasures belong in federal court. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Hospital Association and the American Health Care Association, a nursing home industry group, weighed in to support its petition to the Supreme Court.

Nov 11 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas ruled on Friday that President Joe Biden's administration had wrongly interpreted an Obamacare provision as barring health care providers from discriminating against gay and transgender people. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo ruled that a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2020 holding that a law barring workplace discrimination protects gay and transgender employees did not apply to the healthcare law. "Title IX's ordinary public meaning remains intact until changed by Congress, or perhaps the Supreme Court," Kacsmaryk wrote. The Obama administration introduced rules in 2016 that made clear that LGBT people would be protected under the healthcare discrimination provision. In June, the Biden administration proposed a rule to once again enshrine such protections.

The public health emergency was initially declared in January 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began, and has been renewed each quarter since. "That is not the moment you want to pull down the public health emergency." The officials said a lot of work remained to be done for the transition out of the public health emergency. The government has been paying for COVID vaccines, some tests, and certain treatments, as well as other care under the public health emergency declaration. When the emergency expires, the government will begin to transfer COVID healthcare to private insurance and government health plans.

☆ U.S. flu hospitalizations highest in 10 years, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The rising flu cases come alongside pressure on hospitals from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID cases, officials said, urging people to get vaccinated and offering to assist states that may need additional support. There have been 5 million fewer doses of influenza vaccine administered to U.S. adults so far this year compared to this time last year, officials said. Flu vaccine uptake is about the same for children this year but overall is down 6% compared to before the COVID pandemic began in 2020. About 5% fewer pregnant people have received flu shots so far this season, which officials say is especially worrisome because the vaccine protects both the expecting mother and her baby, officials added. U.S. flu shots are made by Sanofi SA (SASY.PA), GSK (GSK.L) and Seqirus, a unit of CSL Ltd (CSL.AX)Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen and Susan Heavey; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check-Falsehoods about how monkeypox is transmitted resurface online
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Popular Instagram posts in mid-October have recirculated false claims that monkeypox can only be transmitted by sexual relations among men. It is transmitted through droplets and close contact with an infected person, as well as through contaminated objects. The peak of new U.S. monkeypox cases so far was registered during July and August of this year, according to the CDC. Monkeypox is not exclusively transmitted in sexual relations between men. The virus can be transmitted through close contact with an infected person, droplets, and contaminated objects.

☆ Fact Check-CDC can advise childhood vaccine schedules, but vaccine mandates for school attendance are decided at state level
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As of October 20, the CDC also provides an interim COVID-19 vaccination schedule (here), but has not yet added COVID-19 vaccination to its table of recommended childhood vaccines (here). Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and Ohio do not mandate influenza or HPV vaccines, which are on the CDC’s immunization schedule (here), (here), (here), (here). During the advisory meeting, health officials emphasized that they were not voting on adding COVID-19 shots to the CDC vaccination schedule (here). Most states do not follow the entire CDC’s childhood and adolescent immunization schedule. For example, only five states or territories mandate the HPV vaccine, which is included in the CDC’s childhood immunization schedule, for school attendance.

☆ Cybersecurity Tops the CIO Agenda as Threats Continue to Escalate
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Cyber and information security has been at the top of their agenda since 2020. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. Gartner forecasts that worldwide information security and risk-management spending by end-users will reach $188.336 billion in 2023, up 11.3% from the current year. It’s what boards are talking about,” said Truist Financial Corp. Chief Information Security Officer Howard Whyte. He and Truist CIO Scott Case work closely to understand the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank’s changing attack surface and cybersecurity risk.

☆ Trump administration blocked CDC transit mask mandate, report shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But the report stated that CDC had heard from the transit industry that it wanted the federal government to issue a mandate. Cetron, who heads the CDC's division of global migration and quarantine, said the agency was told by Trump administration officials that a mask requirement on mass transportation "would not happen," according to the report. Days after President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the CDC issued a sweeping order requiring face masks on nearly all forms of public transportation. Reuters reported in July 2020 that the Trump administration had held extensive talks about whether the CDC should issue an order requiring transportation masking. Many U.S. conservatives opposed government mandates requiring masks during the pandemic.

The trip includes stops in California on Friday and Oregon on Saturday as Biden positions his party as a champion of consumers and lower healthcare costs at a time that inflation ranks among voters' top concerns. Most forecasts show Democrats with a slight advantage in the Senate and Republicans with a larger advantage in the House. Biden alleged that Republicans will repeal the prescription drug price caps and take away Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices if they take control. Biden was introduced by Representative Katie Porter, who has grilled bank and drug company executives on their profits in widely viewed Congressional hearings. Healthcare costs were partly to blame in the most recent month, along with food and rent.

☆ Biden to sign order seeking new prescription drug cost savings - official
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Friday pushing federal officials to drive prescription drug costs down during a pre-election trip designed to promote Democrats' health policies, an official said. Healthcare costs were partly to blame in the most recent month, along with food and rent. "Health care costs in particular are driving inflation." In August, Biden signed a $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, authorizing the federal government to negotiate prices on some prescription drugs and cap costs for the government's Medicare health program. read moreSome 65 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare programs, which have repeatedly come under fire for its cost to taxpayers.

Walmart Healthcare Research Institute, the largest U.S. retailer's new healthcare research service, will find participants for clinical trials, and Walmart also host MyHealthJourney, a patient portal that helps people find upcoming research trials and track their care. Walmart's expansion into clinical trial recruitment could bring it new streams of revenue from drug companies. Walmart is currently working with Laina Enterprises, a virtual clinical trial management platform, the retailer said in a press release. Rival Walgreens said in June it had launched clinical trial services to increase diversity in test subjects. Walmart opened Walmart Health locations in Dallas, Georgia in 2019 and now has 24 locations including in Arkansas, Florida and Illinois.

Amid concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent nuclear threats came a bit of startling news: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that it spent $290 million on a drug to treat radiation sickness. Nplate, manufactured by U.S. drugmaker Amgen, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2021 to treat injuries caused by acute radiation syndrome, also known as radiation sickness. Amgen will maintain the supply of the drug, an approach the HHS says lowers costs for taxpayers and allows the drug to be used in the commercial market before it expires. Chris Meekins, former deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, said that he sees no cause for alarm over the purchase. Greg Burel, the former director of the Strategic National Stockpile, agreed, saying that he doesn't think the HHS' purchase of the drug is related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

A Cataldo Ambulance medic holds used doses of naloxone after medics revived a man in his 40's who was found unresponsive from an opioid overdose in the Boston suburb of Salem, Massachusetts, U.S., August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Brian SnyderWASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Friday nearly $1.5 billion to fund access to medications for opioid overdoses, sanctions against traffickers, and increased funding for law enforcement, the White House said. The Biden administration is keen to show it is taking action on a worsening nationwide opioid crisis, which according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data fueled more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021, a nearly 15% increase from the previous year. Biden will announce nearly $1.5 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to states, tribal lands and territories, said Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, assistant secretary for mental health and substance use. The funds will go toward treating substance-use disorders and removing barriers to key tools like naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, Delphin-Rittmon said.

☆ U.S. cutting global donations of Pfizer COVID shots as demand slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Rodrigo GarridoNEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The United States is significantly cutting back the number of Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech (22UAy.DE) COVID-19 vaccine doses it will buy for donation to poorer nations this year, Pfizer said on Thursday, citing diminished demand for the shots in those countries. The United States will have an option to buy up to an additional 400 million shots for the program after this year. Pfizer said it had already delivered 400 million vaccine doses in 79 countries under the U.S. government contract. The vaccine doses were donated through the COVAX program, run by the World Health Organization and GAVI global vaccine alliance, which was intended to deliver COVID-19 shots to the world's poorer countries. COVAX has been negotiating since june with vaccine manufacturers to cut or slow deliveries of 400 million to 600 million vaccine doses from its own contracts.

☆ U.S. probing alleged fraud in Mississippi as ex-official pleads guilty
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington, U.S., December 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The FBI along with two federal agencies are investigating alleged fraud in Mississippi, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday as the former head of the state's Department of Human Services pled guilty for conspiring to misuse federal funds. John Davis of Jackson, Mississippi, pleaded guilty on Thursday and will be sentenced in February, the Justice Department said, adding that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture are part of the federal investigation. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hurricane Fiona strengthens to a Category 4 as it moves away from Turks and Caicos
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving north at 8 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center of the storm is expected to continue to approach Bermuda late Thursday, according to the Hurricane Center. Long lines were reported at several gas stations across Puerto Rico, and some pulled off a main highway to collect water from a stream. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency traveled to Puerto Rico on Tuesday as the agency announced it was sending hundreds of additional personnel to boost local response efforts. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, officials reported minimal damage and no deaths despite the storm’s eye passing close to Grand Turk, the small British territory’s capital island, on Tuesday morning.

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstWASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - What is the status of COVID-19 now that President Joe Biden has told the CBS 60 Minutes news program the pandemic is over in the United States? The United States is still operating under the public health emergency, first declared in January 2020. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expected to renew that designation in October but then let the public health emergency expire in January 2023. read moreWorld Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that the "end is in sight" for the pandemic, but still urged nations to maintain their vigilance. The United States has just begun a new COVID vaccination campaign with boosters tailored to the Omicron variant that leading infectious disease doctor Anthony Fauci compared to the annual flu vaccination efforts.

☆ 1 in 3 workers fear they'll catch Covid by returning to the office—here's how to keep yourself healthy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A recent Gallup poll found that one in three U.S. workers are "very" or "moderately" concerned about Covid exposure at work. Stay up-to-date on your Covid vaccinesStaying up-to-date on your vaccines is the best way to protect yourself from Covid. That means completing your primary series and receiving the booster shots you're eligible for. You'll need to be at least two months out from your last dose of any Covid shot, the CDC says. Have completed your primary series, but are immunocompromisedHave completed your primary series and are in an area with a substantial or high level spread of Covid.

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