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Position: Rural Health News Service
Anyone facing a hospital stay should look at new data the government released right before Christmas showing that it penalized 769 of the nation’s hospitals for having high rates of patient...
DATE: Jan. 11, 2017 | CATEGORY: Living
Even though the election is over and Republicans are in a position to repeal and replace Obamacare, that doesn’t mean you should avoid signing up for 2017 insurance coverage. If you’re eligible and...
DATE: Nov. 24, 2016 | CATEGORY: Living
Get ready to make some decisions. Medicare open enrollment begins Oct. 15 and runs through early December. It’s the time when seniors and disabled people can switch plans to cover gaps in...
DATE: Oct. 25, 2016 | CATEGORY: Living
Nearly two-thirds of adults over age 70 have hearing loss that doctors consider “clinically meaningful.” In plain English that means as people age, they are likely to become hard of hearing. Many...
DATE: July 27, 2016 | CATEGORY: Living
Who protects patients when things go wrong on healthcare’s financial side? What happens when you receive a bill you didn’t expect and can’t afford to pay? What happens when insurers send...
DATE: May 25, 2016 | COLUMN: Guest Columns
Those of us who grew up in small rural communities in the 1950s and ’60s, expected to have longer life spans than our parents. The trends were in our favor. White women born in 1900 could expect to...
DATE: April 19, 2016 | COLUMN: Guest Columns
A few months ago came some alarming health news. “Diabetes nation? Half of Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes,” a Los Angeles Times headline said. WebMD weighed in with “Diabetes a Concern...
DATE: March 9, 2016 | CATEGORY: Living
Early in December, David, a reader who lives in the foothills west of Denver, sent me an email. “It’s scary when you go into any health-care facility and don’t know whether to bring your check...
DATE: Jan. 19, 2016 | COLUMN: Guest Columns
What a difference six years makes! In 2009 at the height of the debate on the Affordable Care Act, New York’s former lieutenant government Betsy McCaughey appeared on television and made this...
DATE: Dec. 2, 2015 | COLUMN: Guest Columns
Is health insurance really affordable? That’s the question thousands of Americans who signed up for policies under the Affordable Care Act are beginning to ask as third year open enrollment gets...
DATE: Nov. 26, 2015 | CATEGORY: Living
Just five years ago, Congress passed a big, widely hailed law that promised to make Americas’ food supply safer. But because of inadequate funding for new regulations and inspectors, the promise...
DATE: July 30, 2015 | CATEGORY: Living
