Medicaid

Studies Link Cancer Patients' Survival Time To Insurance Status

1:17pm September 16, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Research on patients with testicular cancer and on others fighting a brain malignancy finds that people who are privately insured are more likely to be diagnosed earlier and survive longer.

When used in conjunction with counseling, Suboxone strips placed under the tongue can help ease opioid cravings and other withdrawal symptoms in people trying to quit a heroin or painkiller habit, doctors say.

Insurance Rules Can Hamper Recovery From Opioid Addiction

4:13pm August 05, 2016

by Jake Harper

Medicaid and other health insurers require doctors to file time-consuming paperwork before allowing them to prescribe drugs that help people quit opioids. That delay fosters relapse, specialists say.

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Josephine Rudolph, 99, says she couldn't afford to live at the Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Medical Center Skilled Nursing Facility in Reseda, Calif., without Medi-Cal assistance.

Medicaid Safety Net Stretched To Pay For Seniors' Long-Term Care

9:01am August 03, 2016

Medicaid was never intended to cover long-term care for everyone. Now it pays for nearly 40 percent of the nation's long-term care expenses, and the share is growing.

$1 Billion Health Care Fraud Took Advantage Of Medicare In Florida, Agents Say

3:18pm July 22, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Investigators say Philip Esformes, 47, used his access to thousands of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to perpetrate a massive and profitable fraud.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence took questions from the media as he and his wife, Karen, left their New York hotel to meet with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 15. Pence has drawn criticism from the left and the right for various health car

As Indiana Governor, Mike Pence's Health Policy Has Been Contentious

4:17pm July 21, 2016

by Jake Harper

Pence signed into law some of the tightest abortion rules in the U.S., and was slow to respond to Indiana's heroin and HIV crises, critics say. But he compromised with Obama to expand Medicaid.

A demonstration dose of Suboxone film, which is placed under the tongue. It is used to treat opioid addiction.

Maryland Switches Opioid Treatments, And Some Patients Cry Foul

6:18pm July 19, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

The state switched funding Suboxone strips for treatment of opioid abuse because they were being trafficked in jails. But some patients say the pill that was substituted isn't working for them.

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Toddlers need consistent care from a pediatrician to make sure, among other things, that they are hitting developmental milestones and their vaccinations are up-to-date.

Red Tape Leaves Some Low-Income Toddlers Without Health Insurance

6:16pm July 12, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Despite government policies designed to encourage health coverage for these children, many families are thwarted by confusing rules and regulations, advocacy groups say.

Her income as a New Orleans singer fluctuates with the tourist season, says Lisa Lynn Kotnik, and that's made health insurance too expensive in the past. Now that she has a Medicaid card, getting the health care and medicine she needs should be easier.

Louisiana Medicaid Expansion Brings Insurance To Many New Orleans Musicians

4:38pm July 01, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

The state this week became the 31st in the nation to expand Medicaid to the working poor. It's also the first state in the Deep South to embrace the Obamacare program.

Glenn Baker, 44, stands in his South Side apartment that is paid for by a program of the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago.

A Hospital Offers Frequent ER Patients An Out — Free Housing

6:22pm June 29, 2016

by Miles Bryan

Glenn Baker is what hospitals call a superutilizer, coming into the ER again and again with multiple health issues made worse by homelessness. So a Chicago hospital decided to offer him a home.

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The Text4Baby app sends free, periodic text messages in Spanish or English to pregnant women and new moms about prenatal care, labor and delivery, breastfeeding, developmental milestones and immunizations.

The Challenge Of Taking Health Apps Beyond The Well-Heeled

9:03am June 23, 2016

by Barbara Feder Ostrov

A nutrition app may not be the top priority for someone who struggles to pay for groceries. But cellphones have the potential to improve the health of people with low incomes, if they can get them.