Tag: medicare

Government vs. Private: Who’s Really Paying for Your Weight-Loss Meds?

Logan B.
Weight-Loss Meds

In recent years, weight-loss meds like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound have gained significant attention in the United States. These drugs belong to a class known as GLP-1 medications, primarily developed for diabetes management but increasingly used for weight loss. As demand for these treatments rises, understanding the landscape of insurance coverage for these drugs becomes crucial for consumers. Weight-Loss Meds Insurance Coverage Overview Insurance coverage for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is complex and varies significantly across different plans. While government-funded programs like Medicaid and those covering federal, state,…

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The High Cost of Health: Who Gets Weight Loss Prescriptions?

Angela Linders
The High Cost of Health

Disparities in Weight Loss Prescriptions The disparity in access to medications like Wegovy, Rybelsus, and Ozempic highlights a significant issue within the U.S. healthcare system. Despite the increasing medical applications of these drugs, which include managing diabetes and potentially preventing heart disease and stroke, many insurers remain reluctant to cover them for weight loss. Medicare, for example, is legally barred from covering weight-loss drugs unless the patient presents serious health risks. This limitation leaves over two-fifths of American adults who are obese but otherwise healthy without coverage options. Federal spending…

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Biden-Harris administration calls for reduced commercial insurance drug costs

Ben Jones
Commercial Insurance - Prescription Drug Costs

This would mean changes to the way the Inflation Reduction Act affects prescription medications. The Inflation Reduction Act prescription drug law developed by the Biden administration went into effect August 16, 2022, and now the president is seeking to use it to scale back prices for commercial insurance as well. The law provides relief for people with Medicare The Inflation Reduction Act lowers prescription drug costs for people with Medicare, while solidifying this program for its users moving ahead. The portion of the law reducing the cost of prescription drugs…

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Health insurance companies can’t use AI for Medicare

Logan B.
Health insurance - Medicare and AI

Newly released federal guidelines say that artificial intelligence can’t make all the choices. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have released new guidance for health insurance companies to protect Medicare Advantage (MA) against bias from artificial intelligence (AI). The CMS is the federal agency overseeing Medicaid, Medicare and other programs CMS oversees the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid. It recently issued a policy memo to insurers in which it banned them from using algorithmic systems or AI exclusively to decide on…

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Florida’s DeSantis wants to ‘supersede” ACA with new health care plan

H. Cutner
Health care - Florida New Plan alternative to ACA

The state governor seeking Republican nomination for president didn’t provide replacement plan details. In a recent interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described his intentions to unveil a health care proposal this week that would “supersede” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). No further details were given about the specifics about the plan or what would be done with the ACA. That said, DeSantis never specifically said that his intention was to repeal the Affordable Care Act. That said, the Republican nominee hopeful did explain that he…

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