Fla. Authorities Shut Down ‘Deceptive’ Health Plan
The health insurer allegedly used aggressive tactics to sell sham plans -- one of which was named TrumpCare -- that skirt the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, leaving people around the country with skimpier coverage than they expected and liable for unpaid medical bills. Also, more national news on Medicare Part B premiums and FDA's approval of a new opioid.
The New York Times:
Sales Of ‘Ruinous’ Health Insurance Plans
Federal authorities have shut down a network of Florida companies that they say used aggressive, deceptive tactics to sell skimpy health insurance products that skirt requirements of the Affordable Care Act and left tens of thousands of people around the country with unpaid medical bills. “There is good cause to believe” that the Florida companies have sold shoddy coverage by falsely claiming that such policies were comprehensive health insurance or qualified health plans under the Affordable Care Act, Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Federal District Court in Miami said in a temporary restraining order issued last week at the request of the Federal Trade Commission. (Pear, 11/5)
CNBC:
Your Social Security Benefits, Medicare Part B Premiums In 2019
Your Social Security check could look different in 2019.That's because recipients will get a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment in 2019. Meanwhile, Medicare Part B premiums will see a slight bump to $135.50 in 2019, up from $134 in 2018. Those premiums are typically deducted from your Social Security check, provided you are receiving both Social Security benefits and are covered by Medicare. (Konish, 11/5)
Rolling Stone:
Could New Drug Approved By FDA Make The Opioid Epidemic Worse?
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a controversial new form of the powerful synthetic opiate sufentanil for managing acute pain in adults, just weeks after the chairman of the advisory committee warned that doing so would lead to “diversion, abuse and death.” Sufentanil has been used intravenously since the 1980s, but pharmaceutical company AcelRx has developed a sublingual tablet form of the drug called Dsuvia, which is delivered through a “pre-filled, single-dose applicator.” Ten times stronger than fentanyl and 500 to 1,000 times stronger than morphine, Dsuvia will be restricted to limited use only in health care settings, such as hospitals, surgery centers and emergency rooms, and will not be available in pharmacies or for home-use; nevertheless, critics fear the drug will contribute to an already devastating opioid crisis, including more than 40,000 overdose deaths last year. (McDonnell-Parry, 11/5)