Wenatchee, WA

Columbus, OH

A large part of patient care in the modern corporate setting is working within your restrictions. Most corporate health care settings will limit how wide your scope can be, and this often determines how you treat patients. As a family physician working within a huge corporate setting, this oftentimes leads to alternate outcomes, such as referring a patient to another office where a procedure can be done safely or having to be docile towards insurance requirements and administrators. In America, insurance plans dominate the treatment of the primary care patient, so the selection of medications and treatment will often be up to the insurance provider rather than the medical provider. The insurance the client picks will change their life trajectory.

How corporate health care is failing physicians and patients alike

UnitedHealthcare will launch a national program Oct. 1 for physicians to override traditional prior authorization requirements. The gold card program, which applies to commercial, individual exchange and Medicare Advantage plans, allows certain physician practices to not submit prior authorization requests for “certain medical, behavioral and mental health services,” according to a fact sheet released by the company.

UnitedHealth institutes gold card program to address prior authorization concerns

Virginia State

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Kentucky Vibes.net

Disclaimer: This article was written with the help of A.I. software. On July 28, 2024, a TikTok video posted by Erica W., known as @tasteofmelanin on the platform, garnered significant attention after she exposed disturbing racist decorations in an Airbnb rental. The incident occurred in a rental property that Erica had booked, although the exact location remains unspecified. The video has since gone viral, prompting widespread concern and leading to the removal of the listing from Airbnb's platform.

Airbnb Listing Taken Down After Black Woman Finds Hanging Monkeys and Cotton Used As Decor

Colorado State

Contributors represent independent, third-party users who have joined our contributor program and self-verified their accounts. They have also demonstrated their experience writing hard news for other outlets. Contributors are expected, like all users, to adhere to our Community Standards.

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David Heitz

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

Texas State

UPI News

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott has signed an executive order directing hospitals to collect the immigration status of patients and report healthcare costs incurred by undocumented immigrants to the state.

Texas Gov. Abbott directs hospitals to collect immigration status of patients

Washington State

The Independent

 Standing at a transit center near four new wireless bus charging stations in a small community west of Seattle, Gov. Jay Inslee told transit and city leaders where money to pay for them — more than $1 million — came from.“It’s possible only because of the Climate Commitment Act," Inslee said, citing a program that works to cut pollution while raising money for investments that address climate change. “That was the source. It’s the only way we’re able to do this.”Inslee made similar remarks as he visited a salmon habitat restoration project and then test-drove a car from an...

In Washington state, Inslee's final months aimed at staving off repeal of landmark climate law

Ohio State

The Lantern

On Tuesday, licensed Ohio dispensaries began legally selling non-medical marijuana to consumers; however, the drug’s possession, growth and/or usage are still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus. Credit: Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS [Original caption: Four citizen-led petitions with proposals to update Dallas’ charter hit the 20,000 valid signature threshold to make it on the Nov. 5 election ballot, including one that would ban police officers from arresting or citing people carrying less than four ounces of marijuana.] As of Tuesday, students 21 and older can now legally purchase marijuana in Ohio.

Dispensary sales of recreational marijuana began Tuesday; possession and usage still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus

“If my mother needs to move into a nursing home, what are the eligibility requirements to get Medicaid coverage?” –Caretaking Son. Dear Caretaking, the rules and requirements for Medicaid eligibility for nursing home care are complicated and will vary according to the state your mother lives in. With that said, here’s a general, simplified rundown of what it takes to qualify.

Paying for Nursing Home Care with Medicaid

Medicare Advantage insurers face mounting evidence that their in-home health risk assessment programs inaccurately judge patients’ health status, leading to greater cost burdens on plan members and Medicare itself. UnitedHealth Group, the largest MA insurer in the US, defended its HouseCalls health assessment program in a statement last week.

UnitedHealth Group refutes claims that HouseCalls program produces inflated risk scores

South Carolina State

Colleton County, SC

Explore Beaufort SC

Some beachgoers were in for a surprise this week when a bizarre looking prehistoric fish washed ashore in Colleton County along Edisto Beach at Edisto Beach State Park. It turned out to be an atlantic sturgeon.

Rare Atlantic sturgeon washes ashore on South Carolina beach

Great Falls, MT

Montana Free Press

The state’s largest nursing home plans to close its doors weeks after being terminated from the federal Medicare and Medicaid program after “a history of serious quality issues” and violations for deficient patient care. In a recent public notice, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid announced that...

State’s largest nursing home prepares to close following patient safety violations

Most individuals will encounter the education system at some point in their lives, either as students or as parents. In the current education system, teachers are responsible for the well-being of the students and for preparing them for the fast-paced world; hence, it is their responsibility to ensure their students learn in an inclusive, diverse environment where students feel respected and valued. In addition to these responsibilities, teachers must address parents’ concerns about their children’s education. This could be especially challenging when the parents become extremely overprotective and hold unrealistic expectations of their child’s academic or social performance, leading to many escalating conflicts resulting in protests. The short film “Alternative Math” explores the complex relationship between parents, administrators, and teachers, the three major stakeholders in the education system. Although the parents are a major part of a school’s foundation, the education system should prioritize the needs of the students before the wants of the parents by trusting teachers to do what’s best for their students. Rather than allowing the overly protective nature of the parents to hinder the growth of their children, the administrators should protect their teachers and allow them to foster meaningful learning experiences for these students.

The Education System

WashingtonExaminer

The Department of Veterans Affairs predicts it will have a $15 billion budget shortfall, which would put disability, medical, and benefit payments to over 7 million veterans and survivors at risk. The shortfall is attributed to an increase in filing prompted by the PACT Act. For this year, the DVA expects to be $2.9 billion […]

Millions of veteran benefits at risk as VA deals with predicted $15 billion budget shortfall

Northern Kentucky Tribune

Ready or not, back-to-school season is here, and kids will be bringing home more than homework. They’ll be carrying germs, too. These viruses and bacteria will be agents that cause the common cold, influenza, norovirus, COVID-19, strep throat and more. There’s a reason why boxes of tissues and sanitizing wipes show up on most school supply lists.

Infectious diseases spike when kids return to school — here’s what you can do about it

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville Today

A historic marker could be erected to honor the victims of the racist mass shooting at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville’s New Town neighborhood nearly a year ago. If approved by the Jacksonville City Council, a marker would be installed at Kings Road and Canal Street on Aug. 25, a day before the first anniversary of the shooting, when a white gunman took the lives of three Black people.

Memorial considered to honor Dollar General victims

This week, I had a personal experience with Medicare as my 92-year-old mother entered the final stage of hospice care. I feel it’s important to explain hospice so that those with a terminally ill loved one can understand its value. This information was provided by the hospice team caring for my mother.

What You Didn’t Know About Medicare and Hospice

Georgia State

Vancouver, WA

The US Sun

A RENTER claimed she was unfairly charged over $3,000 in extra fees by her property management company. ShaWayne Hodges, 40, complained about these supposedly hidden fees that have hit her on top of rising rent and utilities costs. The mother-of-five said she received multiple charges for issues on her Vancouver, Washington, property, according to Oregon […]

‘They’re trying to poke the bear,’ renter says as she’s hit with $3k in hidden fees – a city law ties her hands

Denver, CO

Migrants enrolled in the Denver Asylum Seekers Program won’t get cash benefits after all. The council amended a contract with Haven for Hope during the Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee meeting Wednesday. Instead of Haven of Hope providing migrants with cash assistance on debit cards, it will instead provide “culturally appropriate” food.

Denver revokes cash assistance for migrants

In addition to collecting more than 8,000 used needles in the past year from Denver drug users, the Harm Reduction Action Center passed out 10,000 meth pipes and “snort kits,” according to a newsletter sent to its supporters Thursday. They also connected about 1,700 people to medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Denver group hands out 10K meth pipes, ‘snort kits,’ connects 1,700 to treatment annually

The Current GA

Since 2020, the condition known as long COVID-19 has become a widespread disability affecting the health and quality of life of millions of people across the globe and costing economies billions of dollars in reduced productivity of employees and an overall drop in the work force .

Expert: Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – picture is unsettling

East Wenatchee, WA

Monitor, WA

Malaga, WA

Rock Island, WA

Cashmere, WA

Dryden, WA

Peshastin, WA

Palisades, WA

Entiat, WA

Orondo, WA

Waterville, WA

Ardenvoir, WA

Leavenworth, WA

Quincy, WA

Thorp, WA

Chelan Falls, WA

Ellensburg, WA

Kittitas, WA

NewsBreak

Confluence Health implements Primary Care Redesign initiative

WENATCHEE — Confluence Health has implemented changes to increase patient access and care as part of a new Primary Care Redesign initiative. “We pride ourselves on...

Confluence Health implements Primary Care Redesign initiative

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