Healthcare

Anthem Halts Rule Requiring Some To Buy Drugs By Mail

February 20, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Anthem Blue Cross is backing off a decision to require some policyholders to buy their prescription drugs from a single mail-order pharmacy -- a requirement that the California attorney general's office said may be illegal.<br /> <br /> Anthem, California's largest for-profit health insurer, said in November that it was imposing the new rule for so-called specialty medications used to treat major illnesses, such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. The company said the limitation would help keep costs down for patients and businesses.<br /> <br />

California Insurer Suspends Mandatory Mail-Order Prescription Plan

February 19, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Health insurer Anthem Blue Cross said on Tuesday that it had suspended a deadline requiring clients to enroll in a mail-order prescription program for specialty medicines by March 1, according to a spokesman.</p> <p>The announcement followed a class action filed by the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog and the law firm Whatley Kallas arguing that the mail-order program would have a discriminatory impact on people living with HIV/AIDS.</p>

Blue Cross Suspends Mandatory HIV/AIDS Drug Mail Order Program

February 19, 2013  ·  Jerry Flanagan

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-1976" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/pillbills.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 140px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="300" height="168" />Santa Monica, CA -- In response to consumer complaints and a class action lawsuit on behalf of HIV/AIDS patients in California, Anthem Blue Cross has agreed to suspend a program that would have barred patients from purchasing certain specialty medications at local pharmacies.  Under the program, patients would have been required to obtain their medications by mail order, threatening their health and privacy according to the lawsuit

AHF: Anthem Backs Off Mail Order Pharmacy Mandate for California AIDS Patients

February 19, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><strong>California insurance powerhouse Anthem Blue Cross angered patients and prompted legal action with recent policy forcing Anthem HIV/AIDS patients to get their medications through one mail order pharmacy</strong></p>

Walmart Health Screening Stations Touted As Part Of ‘Self-Service Revolution’

February 19, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>STERLING, VA – Perched by a computer monitor wedged between shelves of cough drops and the pharmacy in a bustling Walmart,  Mohamed Khader taps out answers to questions such as how often he eats vegetables, whether anyone in his family has diabetes and his age.</p>

Blue Cross Suspends Mail Order Program for HIV/AIDS Patients

February 19, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>The program, which was slated to take effect in March, would have required patients using certain drugs to buy them from a mail order pharmacy chosen by Blue Cross</b></p> <p id="paragraph1">Weeks after a<a href="http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Suit-Claims-Blue-Cross-Discriminates-in-HIV-Cases-187062841.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> lawsuit was filed in San Diego over a program</a> barring HIV/AIDS patients from using local pharmacies, Blue Cross of California will suspend the program.</p>

Anthem Delays Mail-Order Rx Rule In Face Of Bias Suit

February 19, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>In response to a proposed class action alleging discrimination and privacy violations, California health insurer Anthem Blue Cross has backed away from a requirement that patients with certain chronic diseases obtain drugs through a mail-order pharmacy, a consumer rights group said Tuesday.<br /> <br /> Consumer Watchdog, which filed an anti-discrimination lawsuit last month on behalf of an unidentified HIV-positive man, released a letter Anthem sent Friday to policyholders announcing it won’t transition March 1 to a mail-order program for certain specialty medicines.<br />

The Price for a Hip Replacement? Many Hospitals Are Stumped, Research Shows

February 12, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="entry-content"> <p>Jaime Rosenthal, a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, called more than 100 hospitals in every state last summer, seeking prices for a hip replacement for a 62-year-old grandmother who was uninsured but had the means to pay herself.</p>

Make Doctors Pee in a Cup?

February 8, 2013  ·  Jamie Court

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2592" alt="" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/images_nate_name.png" style="width: 147px; height: 277px; float: right;" width="147" height="277" />It’s outrageous.  A methamphetamine user convicted of a federal felony for drug dealing just won the right to treat patients again in one year.<br /> <br />

Consumer Watchdog: Drug Test Doctors

February 8, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Should California's doctors be drug tested? "Yes," say Consumer Watchdog."</p> <p>The non-profit group is calling for mandatory drug testing for physicians in California.</p> <p>The push comes in response to news reports about doctors who over-prescribe painkillers like Vicodin.</p> <p>A recent series in the LA Times identified a number of doctors whose patients died from overdoses of prescription painkillers.</p> <p>Consumer Watchdog says California should randomly drug test all doctors who prescribe narcotics.</p>

Consumer Group Calls For Laws To Boost Monitoring Of Doctors

February 7, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Consumer Watchdog says reforms are needed to reduce the rising number of prescription drug overdoses and to rein in incompetent and corrupt physicians.</b></p> <p>A consumer advocacy group Wednesday called for new laws to improve the state's monitoring of doctors who prescribe dangerous narcotics.</p>

HIV, AIDS Patients Upset Over Blue Cross’ New Drug Policy

January 23, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=8965849">Click here to watch the video segment of this news broadcast</a>.</p> <p><span class="storyDateline">SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- </span> Anthem Blue Cross has informed some of its members that their medications will now only be available by mail order, and that has some in the HIV/AIDS community really upset.</p>