Yesterday I wrote about how only 20% of therapists accept health insurance. The reasons are many but the primary reason is that therapists can earn much more by only accepting patients willing to pay cash out of pocket for their services. Health plans often reimburse a fraction of therapists regular fees and require much more patient information before approving treatments. Imagine my surprises today when I read that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) issued new guidance recommending Adults, ages 19 to 64 get routine screened for anxiety. This past April the Task force recommended screening children and teens, ages 8 to 18. The Task Force issued no guidance for older adults ages 65 or older.
Category: Health Economics & Costs
Is it a Problem that only 1-in-5 Therapists Accepts Insurance?
Margie Ryerson is a licensed marriage and family therapist. Last week she wrote an article in the online magazine Slate discussing why she does not accept insurance. Ryerson said she has turned away many potential patients telling them she had no appointment openings. Often the real reason was that her practice is closed to those not…
Monday Links
- CRISPR isn’t just for editing human genes. It can be used to increase corn and rice yields by 10%.
- Finally: the masks are coming off in Head Start.
- How would you like to be an inch or so taller? Doctors can oblige you.
- Learning loss was greatest in school districts that remained remote the longest.
- More on Rand Paul v. Anthony Fauci.
- Why its hard to know which drugs work best against Covid.
Drug Makers File Hundreds of Bogus Patents to Block Generic Competition
A report by the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK) released a report on patent abuse and so-called gaming of the patent system. I-MAK is a nonprofit organization that advocates drug patent reform.
Four pharmaceutical companies have filed hundreds of patents to keep their drugs out of the hands of generic competition and prolong their “unprecedented profits,” according to a report published Thursday.