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Dear Nadia, My mail order company that fulfills my insulin orders just informed me that I can no longer get my Novo Nordisk insulin? They said that Medicare will only cover Eli Lilly’s insulin. Should I choose to continue to buy Novo Nordisk’s insulin, my co- payment will be $200 for my prescription. My insulin preference is Novo Nordisk because I tend to experience more
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. (May 20, 2014) – National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA issued the following statement today in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final rule for 2015 Part D prescription drug plans:“NCPA is still reviewing the final CMS rule but we have some initial observations. “First, we commend CMS for requiring plan sponsors to both
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A study published by the American Diabetes Association says Medicare pays an average of $11,170 for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers while private insurance doles out $16,883 for the same procedure. Diabetic foot ulcers are common complications as a result of high glucose levels impeding the immune system from doing its job of reaching the site of foot infections. This national study concludes a diabetic
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There are only a few weeks before the Medicare annual open enrollment period begins Oct. 15. This year’s Medicare season crosses calendars with the rollout of the Health Insurance Marketplace, so it’s important Medicare-eligible beneficiaries understand the differences between the two government programs. During the Medicare annual enrollment period, Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, all Medicare beneficiaries have the option to change their Medicare plans
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This is a big month for people with diabetes who are enrolled in Medicare. The giant government healthcare program for seniors is changing its method for providing blood glucose testing supplies. While the changes are intended to save money for both the government and beneficiaries, serious questions have arisen. Will patients’ choice of supplies be reduced? Will the quality of the supplies change? Will seniors
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Doctors are getting behind such tech-savvy healthcare approaches as electronic prescriptions and medical records, and their efforts are helping them ultimately save their patients money, according to a new study. The use of both e-prescriptions and electronic medical records has surged over the past five years, thanks in part to government incentives, according to the report, which was conducted by the Burlington, Mass.-based research firm
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Provided by Kaiser Health News
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Letters to the Editor
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The Republican proposal to change Medicare that has been championed by GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan remains unpopular with Americans, although younger people are more receptive to it than older ones, according to a new poll. Only 37 percent say that the program should be changed to a “premium support” system in which the government provides beneficiaries with a fixed amount of money to
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Several recent articles should dispel any remaining notion that care provided under the so-called Affordable Care Act will in fact be affordable. Just the opposite is true. The Wall Street Journal reported that when physicians sell their practice to hospitals and become hospital employees, services they provide to patients become significantly more expensive. The reason for this, simply put, is that overhead is much higher, and third
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