As healthcare reform expands coverage, nonphysician providers are seeking to expand their portfolio of licensed services and are facing intense opposition from doctors to their efforts.
In California, three bills before the Legislature propose to expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, optometrists and pharmacists, with one bill advancing and two bills being stalled.
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Most Massachusetts residents are satisfied with their healthcare under the state's Obamacare-like system, and despite occasional long waits to see a physician, cost appears to be their main concern, according to a survey conducted by the Massachusetts Medical Society.
Seven years into the Massachusetts's so-called Romneycare reform model—the inspiration for the federal healthcare law—Massachusetts is often seen as a harbinger of things to come for the national reform experience.
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Simply extending office hours may not be enough for pediatricians to persuade patients to come to them rather than to retail clinics, according to a new study posted on the JAMA Pediatrics website. It found that almost half of children's visits to in-store healthcare facilities occur when pediatric offices are likely to be open.
The survey conducted by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine found that when parents took their children to a retail clinic, 47% of the reported visits occurred between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays or between 8 a.m. and noon on Saturdays.
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“The Bishops Must Kill the CHA.”
That's what a writer for the National Catholic Register is calling for, a week after officials from the Catholic Health Association said they were now satisfied with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's contraception provision.
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Providers may have good reason to worry about a 2014 surge in patients covered by health plans with high deductibles and copays.
One of the first examinations of deductibles and copays in states where health insurance exchange plan rates have been filed found both types of cost-sharing amounts will jump from current levels. The review of exchange filings by HealthPocket in seven states—California, Connecticut, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington—found that average copays in the individual market will jump 46% from a national average of $28 to $41 in the exchanges' lowest-cost bronze plans.
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The NEJM study out today analyzing Oregon's Medicaid program is drawing heated commentary across the web. The study suggested people added to the Medicaid rolls spend more on healthcare than other poor people, but don't necessarily wind up with better health with two major exceptions: they had less depression and they were financially more secure.
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