Category: Social Services

April 1, 2021

Retired, vaccinated and ready to hit the road? Don’t forget to check whether your Medicare plan will travel with you. While coverage when you’re away from home depends partly on where you’re headed, it also hinges on the specifics of […]

March 24, 2021

When Democrats pushed through a two-year expansion of the Affordable Care Act in the covid-relief bill this month, many people celebrated the part that will make health insurance more affordable for more Americans. But health care researchers consider this move […]

March 23, 2021

A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for patients. For years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]

March 17, 2021

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that coronavirus vaccination rollouts using the AstraZeneca-Oxford University shot should continue while it carries out a safety review. The latest guidance from the global public health body comes after a raft of European countries […]

March 16, 2021

President Joe Biden’s goal of providing health care for more Americans advanced this week with his signing of an economic stimulus package that includes subsidies for health insurance premiums and new incentives for states to expand Medicaid, as well as […]

March 9, 2021

Last week, as covid vaccine appointment slots were snapped up within an hour at CVS stores in 20 states, slots remained open all day at CVS pharmacies in Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana. The dozens of open appointment slots in […]

March 9, 2021

As President Joe Biden’s pandemic relief package steams through Congress, Democrats have hitched a ride for a top health care priority: strengthening the Affordable Care Act with some of the most significant changes to insurance affordability in more than a […]

March 4, 2021

With more than 20 million acres of corn and soybeans, Illinois is among the top U.S. producers of those crops. To make it all happen, the state relies on thousands of farmworkers — some of whom travel to the state […]

February 26, 2021

Frontline workers and companies have had to endure a series of challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to be at the forefront of industry safety efforts. Waste leaders discussed the lessons they learned while working to keep workers safe […]

February 25, 2021

Montana is considering becoming the latest state to intensify its hunt for welfare overpayments and fraud, a move expected to remove more than 1,500 enrollees from low-income health coverage at a time when the pandemic has left more people needing […]

February 24, 2021

In his 17 years as an emergency medical provider, Anthony Almojera thought he had seen it all. “Shootings, stabbings, people on fire, you name it,” he said. Then came covid-19. Before the pandemic, Almojera said it was normal to respond […]

February 22, 2021

Opening another front in the nation’s response to the pandemic, medical centers and other health organizations have begun sending doctors and nurses to apartment buildings and private homes to vaccinate homebound seniors. Boston Medical Center, which runs the oldest in-home […]

February 18, 2021

Urgent care centers are on the rise. Back in 2013, there were only 6,100, but this number increased to 9,616 by late 2019 a 7.9% average annual increase. The rise of urgent care could have positive or negative impacts on […]

February 17, 2021

President Joe Biden has an unexpected opening to cut deals with red states to expand Medicaid, raising the prospect that the new administration could extend health protections to millions of uninsured Americans and reach a goal that has eluded Democrats […]

February 17, 2021

San Francisco restaurant owners, already simmering over covid-19 restrictions, are ready to boil over because of a city ban on natural gas stoves in new buildings that takes effect in June. The ban, which also affects other gas appliances, is […]

February 16, 2021

In eastern Tennessee, doctors have seen firsthand how a hard-line immigration policy can affect the health and well-being of a community. In 2018, federal agents raided a meatpacking plant in Morristown, a manufacturing hub in the Tennessee Valley, and detained […]

February 12, 2021

Fed up with a lack of federal action to lower prescription drug costs, state legislators around the country are pushing bills to penalize drugmakers for unjustified price hikes and to cap payment at much-lower Canadian levels. These bills, sponsored by […]

February 5, 2021

As employers continue to navigate increased workplace safety measures following the rapid spread of COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Labor has released additional guidance to aid in 2021 efforts. OSHA’s recommendations, which were published on Friday, Jan. 29, aim to […]

February 3, 2021

April 30 will mark the end of the first 100 days of President Joe Biden’s tenure. That’s a benchmark presidents often set for making good on high-priority campaign promises. In early December, Biden announced that one promise would be to […]

February 2, 2021

This past week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released updated guidance on safety in the workplace related to COVID-19. This comes on the heels of President Joe Biden’s executive order on workplace safety. The Biden administration has hit […]