Maybe you’re reading this on your iPhone while sitting in your doctor’s waiting room. If so, look around you. Because one out of the five of you in the room will have your claim processed incorrectly by your insurance company. [More]
health care
Study Links Popular Blood Pressure Meds To Increased Cancer Risk
By 6.14.10
Because heaven forbid a medicine can do something good without some sort of nasty side-effect, a newly released study claims that a popular class of medications used to regulate blood pressure may also slightly increase the takers’ risk of getting cancer. [More]
Report: Growing Number Of Doctors Adding A La Carte Fees
By 6.7.10
Lest you think nickle-and-dime fees for services that were once free is the sole purview of the airline industry, a new report in USA Today claims that the more and more physicians in the U.S. are going the route of charging money for services they say aren’t covered by health insurance. [More]
Use Doctor Finder To Prescreen Your Doctor
By 5.11.10
If you’re like most people, you pick a new doctor by going through an approved list provided by your insurer and selecting someone nearby. Doctor Finder from insiderpages.com hopes to make the process less random by providing reviews for doctors and dentists. You can search by zip code, then narrow down results by your insurer, distance, gender, specialty, language, and experience. [More]
Watch Out For Balance Billing With Your Medical Expenses
By 5.4.10
If you receive a medical bill dunning you for whatever your insurer didn’t pay, take a closer look before writing your check. The New York Times writes that although balance billing is a common practice, it’s not always legal, and you may be able to ignore it. [More]
What Do Doctors Really Do All Day?
By 4.29.10
Ever wondered what your primary care physician is doing when they’re not seeing patients. Quite a lot, says a new study that breaks down the daily tasks faced by doctors at a small family practice. [More]
Study: Depressed People Eat 50% More Chocolate
By 4.27.10
Having a bit of chocolate when you’re down is something just about everyone has done at some point in their life. But a new study shows that those people who demonstrate signs of depression tend to eat 50% more chocolate than those who don’t. [More]
Report: WellPoint Targeted Then Dropped Breast Cancer Patients
By 4.22.10
Is it too late for WellPoint to get into the Worst Company In America competition? A new report says the insurance giant and its subsidiaries have been deliberately targeting policyholders recently diagnosed with breast cancer and going to great lengths to have their policies nullified. [More]
Pay Your Doctor In Chickens
By 4.21.10
Sue Lowden, a senate candidate in Nevada, says if you want to combat health care costs you should consider bartering with your doctor. In an appearance on a local political talk show yesterday, she clarified her proposal: [More]
Obama Says Hospitals Must Allow Visitation Rights
By 4.16.10
President Obama issued a memo last night instructing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to write rules that will allow patients to designate visitors at facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid. This move would benefit same-sex couples, unmarried heterosexual couples, widowed adults, members of religious orders and others who want to have someone other than an immediate family member as a visitor or decision maker for medical care, notes the WSJ Health Blog. [More]
Obamacare Provides A Room To Pump Breast Milk In
By 4.11.10
Whether you are a proponent of breastfeeding or not, the reality is that working mothers who do nurse their children need a place to pump during the workday, and the bathroom just might not do. Luckily for them, the new health care bill signed by President Obama includes provisions for nursing women in the workplace. [More]
Study: More Breastfeeding Could Save Billions Every Year
By 4.5.10
While breastfeeding in public continues to be a topic of much debate, a new study may convince some opponents to think twice about their opionion. Researchers now say that over 900 lives and $13 billion could be saved each year if all moms in the U.S. were to ditch the formula for their child’s first six months. [More]
Insurance Covers Meds If Your Kid Is Clumsy, But If He's Autistic, He Owes $24,000
By 3.24.10
Nine-year old Nico owes $24,000. If he was just clumsy, he wouldn’t, but because he’s autistic, he’s got to cough it up, according to the insurance company—and the collections agency that keeps calling him every day. [More]
House Passes Senate Health Care Bill
By 3.22.10
In a narrow vote, the US House of Representatives signed off on the Senate’s national health care plan. The bill will now move onto the White House to, presumably, be signed by President Obama. [More]
Poll: Would You Donate A Kidney For Cash?
By 3.16.10
Donating a kidney or part of a liver is a risky proposition, even when you’re giving the donation to a loved one or family member. But a new study asks whether or not people would be more willing to part with an organ if tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars were offered. [More]
"Four Breast" Plastic Surgery Patient Wins Almost $1 Million Per Boob
By 3.11.10
A few weeks back, we wrote about a woman in Staten Island who filed a lawsuit against her plastic surgeon, claiming her breast enhancement surgery was so botched that she effectively ended up with “four breasts.” Well, her case must have been convincing, because a court has awarded her $3.5 million. [More]
Woman Goes In For Boob Job, Comes Out With "Four Breasts"
By 3.2.10
No, this isn’t the story of a Martian lady of the night. A 47-year-old woman from Staten Island, NY, is suing her plastic surgeon for a cool $5 million over a breast augmentation procedure she says went so poorly she “came out of that operation with essentially four breasts.” [More]
Obama Mulls Over Republican Tweaks To Health Care Plan
By 3.2.10
A week after unveiling the White House version of the proposed National Health Care Plan, President Obama says he’s opened his ears up to a handful of suggestions from the Republicans. [More]
