The new Health Care law (Obamacare) is scheduled to take effect in 2014 with the first open enrollment period beginning on October 1, 2013. That is only 2 months away! We all have hear the constant din about the new law, but most of us don't have the slightest understanding of how it will work. [...]
The treatment of advanced prostate cancer, and in particular castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), has changed greatly over the last 4 years. Treatment options have expanded and now offer multiple treatment possibilities that did not exist 4 years ago. With the addition of all these new options, so comes the addition of significant economic costs, [...]
There is some good news; the New York State Legislature has passed the Oral Chemotherapy Equity Bill. However, before this bill can become law we have to have Governor Cuomo sign it, we need all of our New York Residents to contact the governor and ask that he signs it. […]
Yesterday Dendreon, the producers of Provenge, received word from the FDA that their plant in California had been approved to manufacture Provenge. This afternoon they received a positive response from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that a final National Coverage Decision (NCD) for Provenge has been issued requiring Medicare contractors to cover [...]
The Naval Fleet Reserve Association recently provided the following information regarding updates of the Veterans Administration list of vessels exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam conflict. This will include many more veterans eligible for VA care for the many diseases attributed to this product. […]
Clinical trials are the lifeblood of new drug and treatment development. Trials allow us to learn what developing drugs and treatment are both safe and effective. Many drug developers complain about their inability to attract enough volunteers to reach a sample size that will allow them to draw statistically valid conclusions. Everyday there are trials [...]
Andrew Cuomo, the Attorney General in New York State, just completed an agreement with a major medical insurer, which will create a fairer method to set reimbursement rates for medical treatment that has been obtained out of network. UnitedHealth Group, which is the nation’s second largest health insurer, has agreed to modify their system of [...]
The Bush administration has begun the traditional post election changes of regulations and executive orders that often accompany a change in administrations. On Friday, the president narrowed the scope of services for poor people who rely on Medicaid's outpatient benefits. The administration claimed the purpose of the order was to clarified the definition of outpatient [...]
A federal court blocked a recent move of the Bush administration to allow Medicare to only pay for the least expensive treatment available without regard to the medical issues. The administration saw instituting this limitation as a way to cut costs to the financially strapped Medicare Program. The court decided that congress sets the Medicare [...]
The American Cancer Society has undertaken a unique effort to help cancer patients who have lost or are in danger of losing their health care coverage – the Health Insurance Assistance Service (HIAS). Along with the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, The Society is sponsoring a free resource that connects cancer patients with health insurance [...]
