Forgiving medical debt after it is sent to collections has fewer benefits – study

Experts partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a medical non-profit that buys and forgives debt, found it had little effect on people’s credit scores and mental health

Medical debt is the most common form of debt in collections in the US. But forgiving that debt once it has gone to collections may provide fewer health and financial benefits than once hoped.

A new study by researchers who partnered with RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit that buys and forgives medical debt, found “disappointing” results when people’s bills were purchased and forgiven, with little impact on people’s credit scores and willingness to go to the doctor.

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Lower-income US women more likely to miss key breast cancer test, study finds

Isolation and lack of health insurance also correlate to reduced mammogram rates for breast cancer

Women who are low-income, socially isolated and lack health insurance are far less likely to be up-to-date on mammograms, a breast cancer screening tool experts said is critical to reducing breast cancer deaths, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer to afflict American women, and kills an estimated 40,000 Americans each year. Cancer overall kills 605,000 Americans a year and is the second-leading cause of death, a toll the Biden administration aims to reduce through a Cancer Moonshot initiative.

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Doctors fighting US opioid epidemic say insurance barrier impedes treatment

Prior authorization requires permission to be sought before prescribing critical drugs, which could cost lives, doctors say

In the midst of the worst overdose epidemic in US history, addiction medicine specialists say a bureaucratic hurdle is adding to the difficulty of getting people in treatment: an insurance industry tactic called “prior authorization”.

Loathed by doctors of all stripes, prior authorization requires healthcare providers to seek permission from insurance companies before they prescribe a treatment. Doctors in addiction medicine said the requirement is both unnecessarily burdensome and could cost lives.

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South Korea should fund hair loss treatment, says election hopeful in bald bid for power

Proposal for hair regrowth on public healthcare insurance by Lee Jae-myung criticised as populist by opponents

South Korea’s ruling party presidential candidate has ignited a fierce debate after proposing that the country’s public healthcare insurance should cover hair loss treatment.

Lee Jae-myung’s proposal this week has triggered a flood of messages of support on online communities for people suffering hair loss – but also prompted accusations that it was a bald attempt to win votes.

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Intimate data: can a person who tracks their steps, sleep and food ever truly be free?

Big tech now encourages us to monitor everything from our heart rate to our glucose levels via smartphones and watches. How much privacy have we lost to the promise of self improvement - and is it time to stop?


First we counted our steps, then our heartbeats, blood pressure and respiratory rates. We monitored our sleep, workouts, periods and fertility windows. But there is plenty left to measure as we are sold the promise of self-optimisation by the vast and sometimes controversial frontier of health tracking – an increasingly medicalised market that has flourished since pedometers went digital and watches got smart.

The latest health metric available to consumers comes from a medical device originally designed for people with diabetes; it allows users to track their blood sugar levels. But, as always, the big questions are: will it make us healthier, and is it wise to sacrifice ever more intimate data?

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Booking a holiday outside the UK? Here’s what you need to know

British travellers face challenges this year not only from the Covid crisis, but also the effects of Brexit. Here’s the lowdown

Holidaymakers in England, Scotland and Wales have been given the green light for trips abroad. Travel is restricted to a small number of countries but the early signs are that they are proving popular with those desperate for a change of scene – this week Tui announced it would be putting on bigger planes to meet demand for trips to Portugal. Bookings for flights to the island of Madeira rose by 625% straight after the green list of countries was announced, according to the website Skyscanner, while demand for Gibraltar leapt by 335%.

For most people, this will be the first trip abroad since the UK’s post-Brexit transition period ended. Here’s our guide to booking a trip in the time of Covid and after the time of the EU.

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Obamacare ruling won’t affect coverage a ” yet

A federal judge's ruling that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional was a Friday-evening bombshell and a first-round victory for opponents of the law. But it will need to survive review by higher courts to have any effect on the program that's credited with expanding health insurance to about 19 million people in the U.S. A crimson banner appeared on the federally run healthcare.gov website over the weekend to reassure potential customers: "Court's decision does not affect 2019 enrollment or coverage."

GOP on defense to explain pre-existing condition protections

This combination of file photos shows Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, left, and his Democratic challenger Tony Evers in the 2018 November general election. Walker, who is seeking a third term, has been working for years to repeal Obama's health care law and signed off on the state attorney general joining the lawsuit against it.

Democratic candidates focus on health care as midterms near

Marylea Evans recounted how, decades ago, her husband had been unable to get health insurance after developing cancer, forcing the couple to sell some of their Texas ranch to pay for his treatment. Now she was worried about Democratic ads saying McSally, currently a congresswoman, supported legislation removing the requirement that insurers cover people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Premiums for popular ACA health insurance dip for the first time

The average price tag for the most popular level of insurance sold in the Affordable Care Act's federal marketplaces is dropping slightly, the first time the rates have stopped going up since the health plans were created a half-dozen years ago. In the 39 states that rely on HealthCare.gov, the monthly premium is dipping by 1.5 percent for 2019 in a tier of coverage that forms the basis for the ACA's federal insurance subsidies, according to federal figures released Tuesday.

‘I Know This Is Shocking,’ Says Sanders, But Trump ‘Lying About Medicare for All’

In reaction to President Donald Trump's op-ed on Wednesday-titled, " Democrats 'Medicare for All' plan will demolish promises to seniors "-Sen. Bernie Sanders responded in a sensible and honest way by calling the president a liar. "No, Mr. President.

Dem ad accuses Heller of ‘lying’ about record on pre-existing conditions

Jacklyn Sheryl Rosen Heller slams Dems for 'political games and smears' on Kavanaugh Planned Parenthood targets Dean Heller on Kavanaugh comments in ad The Hill's Morning Report - Kavanaugh ordeal thrusts FBI into new political jam MORE , who is seeking to unseat Heller in a close Senate race, features people with pre-existing conditions, one of whom says, "Dean Heller is lying about helping us." The ad shows a clip of Heller at a press conference last year promising he would not support legislation that would take away health insurance from "hundreds of thousands of Nevadans."

House votes to ban ‘gag clauses’ that prevent pharmacies from lowering customers’ drug costs

The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act and the Know the Lowest Price Act passed through voice vote Tuesday and are intended to help patients find out whether a prescription would cost less if they were to pay for it out of pocket rather than through their health plan. The first bill applies to private health insurance while the other applies to patients who are covered by Medicare, the government program for adults 65 and older and people with disabilities.

Ap Fact Check: Obama doesna t always tell the straight story

Former President Barack Obama's recent denunciation of President Donald Trump's treatment of the press overlooks the aggressive steps the Justice Department took to keep information from the public during his administration. Obama also made a problematic claim that Republican "sabotage" has cost 3 million people their health insurance.

Shireen Ghorbani cares about Utah problems; Chris Stewart is a corporate shill

Stewart invariably supports the greedy agenda of his campaign donors, the corporate and wealthy elite, at our expense. By contrast, Ghorbani supports the genuine needs of the majority of Utahns - families, working people, farmers, seniors and more.