Email steve@steveariens.com 502-938-2414
Pay Attention
What has changed in the short time since the Ruan case faced the Supreme Court is that the opioid epidemic has gotten even worse. This puts pill mills and the doctors who fuel them firmly in the crosshairs of the media and the law. Whether, if a physician’s good faith is a complete defense to […]
Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »
Medicare Advantage Prgms. (Medicare Part C) is provided by FOR PROFIT INSURANCE COMPANIES – who get so many $$/pt/month IF they spend less per pt per year they make money… if they spend more $$ per pt per year… they lose money… the more expensive the cost to provide treatment to a pt’s particular health […]
Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »
TRICARE changes force 15,000 pharmacies out of network https://www.legion.org/veteransbenefits/257335/tricare-changes-force-15000-pharmacies-out-network Nearly 15,000 independent pharmacies are no longer in the TRICARE retail pharmacy network, as of Oct. 24. This is due to a change in the contract with Express Scripts, the Department of Defense TRICARE pharmacy contractor. TRICARE says that over 90% of beneficiaries will still have […]
Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »
While this study involved using Ketamine as a IV infusion with pts that state they are suicidial. I know at least one pt that is using Ketamine that is being prescribed by a Psycharitist and a compounding pharmacy is making Ketamine Troche. A Troche is like a cough drop and is designed to be put […]
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
Medical breaches accounted for 342 million leaked records from 2009 to 2022 Medical breaches accounted for 422.7 million leaked records from 5,478 data breaches Since 2009, medical organizations in the US have suffered nearly 5,000 data breaches, affecting over 342 million medical records. Our team of researchers analyzed data from 2009 to June 2022 to […]
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
Long-term Antidepressant Use Tied to an Increase in CVD, Mortality Risk https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981951 Long-term antidepressant use is tied to an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), cerebrovascular disease (CV), coronary heart disease (CHD), and all-cause mortality, new research suggests. Investigators drew on 10-year data from the UK Biobank on over 220,000 adults and […]
Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »
DOJ sues Cigna for exaggerating patient illnesses https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/doj-sues-cigna-healthcare-fraud-patient-diagnoses/634340/ The Department of Justice is suing Cigna over allegations it defrauded the Medicare program out of tens of millions of dollars by exaggerating patient illnesses to obtain increased monthly payments. The exaggerated diagnoses were based on in-home assessment forms — not the testing or imaging required to […]
Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »
CMS Puts the Kibosh on Misleading Medicare Advantage Sales Pitches https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/101348 “Secret shoppers” found that 80% of agent calls with clients were inaccurate or insufficient After reviewing thousands of complaints about “confusing, misleading, and/or inaccurate” Medicare Advantage ads, and using “secret shoppers” to document deceptive telephone sales pitches, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »
5 myths about using Suboxone to treat opiate addiction https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-myths-about-using-suboxone-to-treat-opiate-addiction-2018032014496 What is Suboxone and how does it work? Suboxone, a combination medication containing buprenorphine and naloxone, is one of the main medications used to treat opioid addiction. Using ‘medications for opioid use disorder’ is known as MOUD. Use of MOUD has been shown to lower […]
Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »
Tricare is health insurance for active/retired members of our armed services and many US government employees. Tricare changed their PBM’s to Express Scripts and they sent out contracts that provided reimbursements to – at least – independent pharmacies that was BELOW THE COST OF WHAT PHARMACIES HAD TO PAY TO PURCHASE THE MEDICATION FROM THEIR […]
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
