Preventive Care Task Force Should Be Decoupled From Insurance, Experts Say
Under the Affordable Care Act, any preventive service that receives one of the USPSTF's top two ratings must be covered by insurance, but three doctors have spoken out against the rule, saying it breeds the possibility of manipulation within the system.
NPR:
EpiPen Triggers Change In Thinking About Obamacare Requirement
Three doctors who have led a task force that evaluates preventive medical services say the group's recommendations shouldn't be tied by law to insurance coverage. The former chairmen of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force say the link between medical recommendations and insurance coverage leads to financial incentives that can corrupt the process and distort people's health care decisions. (Kodjak, 10/10)
In other national health care news —
The Associated Press:
On Opioid Epidemic, Clinton Offers More Specifics Than Trump
Hillary Clinton calls the scourge of heroin and opioid addiction a "quiet epidemic." Donald Trump marvels that overdoses are a problem in picturesque American communities. "How does heroin work with these beautiful lakes and trees?" he said recently in New Hampshire. "It doesn't." Both presidential candidates agree drug addiction is a major problem in America, but only Clinton has offered a detailed plan to tackle it as part of her campaign. (Ronayne, 10/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Providers Say CMS Needs To Push Plans Harder To Prevent 'Surprise Bills'
Providers say the CMS isn't doing enough to protect consumers from receiving surprise bills and ensuring low-income exchange enrollees have access to care. Surprise medical bills come when consumers get care at an in-network facility by an out-of-network specialist. Many times this happens because their insurer hasn't properly informed its customers. In a proposed rule that outlines coverages policies for plans in 2018, the CMS suggested that plans should count enrollee cost sharing for care provided by an out-of-network provider at an in-network facility toward the enrollee's annual deductible . The agency proposed the policy for plans both and off the exchange. CMS received 664 comments on the proposed rule by its Oct. 6 deadline. (Dickson, 10/10)
The New York Times:
Cancer In Retreat On One Front: Fewer Children Are Dying
Children are dying less often from cancer, with substantial declines in all races and age groups, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics. From 1999 to 2014, the overall deaths from childhood cancer fell by 20 percent. The rate among 1- to 19-year-olds went down to 2.28 per 100,000 population, from 2.85. Adolescents 15 to 19 were the most likely to die, but their rate fell by 22 percent.(Bakalar, 10/10)