Doctors and Patients Try to Shame Insurers Online to Reverse Prior Authorization Denials
By Lauren Sausser
Prior authorization is a common tool used by health insurers for many tests, procedures, and prescriptions. Frustrated by the process, patients and doctors have turned to social media to publicly shame insurance companies and elevate their denials for further review.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Hospital evacuation, water safety, suicide stigma, covid hospitalizations, vaccines, West Nile, and more are in the news.
Mentioning Suicide in Obits Was Once Taboo. Changing That Can Help Loved Ones Grieve.
By Debby Waldman
Mental health is being talked about more openly than ever, but the word “suicide” has remained largely taboo when describing how someone died. See why that’s slowly changing, what it means for people who grieve those deaths, and how candor can help prevent additional suicides.
Few Firm Beliefs and Low Trust: Americans Not Sure What’s True in Age of Health Misinformation
By Darius Tahir
A new poll from KFF shows many Americans aren’t willing to embrace misinformation — but aren’t willing to reject it either. And they don’t know whom to trust.
Life in a Rural ‘Ambulance Desert’ Means Sometimes Help Isn’t on the Way
By Taylor Sisk
No local hospital and anemic ambulance services mean residents in rural Pickens County, Alabama, are thrown into perilous situations when they have medical emergencies. It’s a kind of medical care roulette that has become a fact of life for rural Americans who live in ambulance deserts.
Daily Edition for Monday, August 21, 2023
Health threats from tropical storm, Chagas disease, nurse strike, covid surge, drug overdoses, corporal punishment, and more are in the news.
Médicos abogan por nuevos esfuerzos para combatir al Chagas, un asesino silencioso
By Paula Andalo
La enfermedad de Chagas, causada por un parásito, afecta principalmente a personas en las zonas rurales de Latinoamérica. Pero se estima que 300,000 personas en Estados Unidos viven con la enfermedad, que puede causar problemas cardíacos graves. Defensores de pacientes piden esfuerzos mucho más agresivos para combatirla.
Doctors Advocate Fresh Efforts to Combat Chagas Disease, a Silent Killer
By Paula Andalo
Chagas disease, caused by a parasite, affects people primarily in rural Latin America. But an estimated 300,000 residents of the U.S. have the disease, which can cause serious heart problems. Patient advocates call for much more aggressive efforts to fight it.
The CDC Works to Overhaul Lab Operations After Covid Test Flop
By Sam Whitehead
In early 2020, U.S. public health labs received covid-19 tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that were flawed, as a result of poor design and contamination. Now the CDC is overhauling its lab operations, but efforts to be better prepared for future threats won’t be easy, observers say.
Tribal Health Workers Aren’t Paid Like Their Peers. See Why Nevada Changed That.
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
Community health workers, who often help patients get to their appointments and pick up prescriptions for them, have increasingly been recognized as an integral part of treating chronic illnesses. But state-run Medicaid programs don’t always reimburse them equally, usually excluding those who work on tribal lands.
