Health Care Reform:

News and Features Related to Health Care Reform

91. Study: Medicare Web Site Hard to Use
    

    Aug. 19, 2008 -- Medicare's web site isn't easy for many computer-savvy adults to use, a new study shows. The study is summed up in a brief letter published in tomorrow's edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association. The bottom line: Most of the study's participants had trouble using M

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92. States Can't Stop Health Insurance Abuses
    

    June 13, 2008 -- People who buy individual health coverage in most states are vulnerable to insurance company tactics that can deny them care, a health care advocacy group warns. A survey of insurance commissioners across the country shows that all but five states allow insurance companies to deny c

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93. FDA to Get Access to Medicare Part D Data
    

    May 22, 2008 -- The FDA will soon start monitoring massive amounts of Medicare’s medical records in an effort to more closely monitor drug safety under new rules set by the Bush administration, federal officials said Thursday. The new rules will give FDA researchers access to data from Medicare’s Pa

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94. Need a Good Hospital? Gov’t Can Help
    

    May 21, 2008 -- Newspapers across the country are carrying ads today promoting a government-run web site comparing the quality of U.S. hospitals. The ads, which cost taxpayers $1.9 million, are meant to steer readers toward the "Hospital Compare" site run by the Department of Health and Human Servic

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95. 51% of Insured Americans on Medications
    

    May 14, 2008 -- A new report shows that for the first time, more than half of Americans with health insurance are taking medications for chronic conditions. The report comes from Medco Health Solutions Inc., a pharmacy benefits management company. Medco analyzed data on more than 2.7 million insured

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96. Shop Around if You Pay for Pills
    

    May 5, 2008 -- If you shell out cash for prescription drugs, you may want to shop around for the best price. That's according to a new survey from Consumer Reports. Researchers from the magazine made more than 500 telephone calls to 163 pharmacies in the U.S. to compare prices on four popular prescr

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97. Cancer Price Tag in Billions for Elders
    

    April 29, 2008 -- Medicare costs for cancer are expected to reach $21 billion dollars for five years of care. That's according to the latest data from the National Cancer Institute. Researchers found that when it comes to paying for cancer care, the price tag may depend on the cancer type, the phase

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98. Medicare Patients Cut Back on Prescriptions
    

    April 22, 2008 -- Nearly one-fifth of ill Medicare patients cut back on their medications to save money, despite being covered by the program's Part D drug plan, a study shows. The report shows that in 2006, 20% of Medicare Part D beneficiaries -- in fair or poor health -- skipped medications, cut p

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99. Crisis Ahead for Elderly Health Care?
    

    April 14, 2008 -- Experts warned Monday that the United States faces a massive health care shortage that threatens to leave millions of seniors without proper health care within the next three decades. A report issued by the Institute of Medicine says that medical and nursing schools are training fa

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100. Gov't Launches Hospital Comparisons Site
     

     March 28, 2008 -- Federal health officials released the latest version of a web site Friday that lets the public compare about 2,500 hospitals on some measures of quality. The site pulls together some information that Medicare has made available to the public since 2005. Officials say the effort wou

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