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Physicians reject House ACA replacement bill
March 8, 2017 Andrew W. Gurman, MD President American Medical Association The American Health Care Act (AHCA), released by Congress this week, is intended to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But as introduced, it does not align with the health reform objectives that the AMA set forth in January to protect... read more
American Psychiatric Association Expresses Concerns Over Parts of New Health Care Bill
Two committees of the House of Representatives today began consideration of the American Health Care Act, the Republican mechanism to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The process will not in fact eliminate the ACA. The current action takes place under complex rules in the House and Senate limited to spending and revenue. This... read more
Health Groups Denounce G.O.P Bills as Backers Scramble
Abby Goodnaugh, Robert Pear and Thomas Kaplan New York Times March 8, 2017 WASHINGTON — Influential groups representing hospitals and nurses came out on Wednesday against a Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, joining doctors and the retirees’ lobby to warn that it would lead to a rise in the... read more
Is a Teen Depressed, or Just Moody?
The Checkup By PERRI KLASS, M.D. New York Times FEB. 13, 2017 The hardest questions pediatricians must routinely ask teenagers at checkups are those about depression and suicide. But they aren’t optional; we have to ask them, every time. From 2005 to 2014, the prevalence of depression — that is, the chance of having a... read more
LSD to Cure Depression? Not So Fast
Richard A. Friedman New York Times FEB. 13, 2017 Psychedelics, the fabled enlightenment drugs of the ’60s, are making a comeback — this time as medical treatment. A recent study claimed that psilocybin, a mushroom-derived hallucinogenic, relieves anxiety and depression in people with life-threatening cancer. Anecdotal reports have said similar things about so-called microdoses... read more
Addiction Treatment Grew Under Health Law. Now What?
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE and ABBY GOODNOUGH New York Times Feb. 10, 2017 MANCHESTER, N.H. — Chad Diaz began using heroin when he was 12. Now 36 and newly covered by Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, he is on Suboxone, a substitute opioid that eases withdrawal symptoms and cravings, and he is slowly... read more
Pregnant Women Turn to Marijuana, Perhaps Harming Infants
By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS New York Times FEB. 2, 2017 During her pregnancy, she never drank alcohol or had a cigarette. But nearly every day, Stacey, then 24, smoked marijuana. With her fiancé’s blessing, she began taking a few puffs in her first trimester to quell morning sickness before going to work at a... read more
How to fight back when an insurer denies your healthcare claim
Experts say you shouldn't take no for an answer. Many denied insurance claims are reversed on appeal. (Getty Images) David Lazarus January 17, 2017 Los Angeles Times Insurance companies are playing the odds, patient advocates say. They’re counting on people not having the stamina to challenge every denied claim, even when there’s a valid... read more
David Lazarus January 13, 2017 Los Angeles Times One focus of the planned repeal of Obamacare is maintaining coverage for people with preexisting conditions. Republican lawmakers say the current law’s safeguards won’t change, but they have yet to explain how they’ll accomplish this without also keeping the mandate that everyone buy insurance. What isn’t... read more
Experts have only a hazy idea of marijuana's myriad health effects, and federal laws are to blame
Melissa Healy Jan. 12, 2017 Los Angeles Times More than 22 million Americans use some form of marijuana each month, and it’s now approved for medicinal or recreational use in 28 states plus the District of Columbia. Nationwide, legal sales of the drug reached an estimated $7.1 billion last year. Yet for all its ubiquity, a comprehensive... read more