April, 2021 - Shepro Insurance Services

Relatively Few Drugs Account for a Large Share of Medicare Prescription Drug Spending

MedicareBy terryshepro April 20, 2021

Relatively Few Drugs Account for a Large Share of Medicare Prescription Drug Spending Juliette Cubanski Follow @jcubanski on Twitter and Tricia Neuman Follow @tricia_neuman on Twitter Published: Apr 19, 2021 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Policymakers are once again focusing attention on proposals to lower prescription drug costs. During the previous session of Congress, the House passed legislation (H.R. 3) to allow the federal government…

Want to Delay Social Security? Buy an Annuity First

AnnuitiesBy terryshepro April 16, 2021

Annuity products could emerge as saviors in helping to rescue retirees from the “tsunami” of financial insecurity “washing upon our shores.” Indeed, in 2024 more Americans will turn 65 than at any other point in history, a milestone requiring urgent attention and collective action, Jason Fichtner, a senior lecturer and associate director of the Master of…

Lawmakers Proposes Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program

Long Term CareBy terryshepro April 15, 2021

A member of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee said Wednesday that he wants to help set up a federal catastrophic long-term care insurance (LTCI) program. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., talked about the catastrophic proposal Wednesday, during a session at the Insured Retirement Institute’s 20 in 21 conference. Brady’s Views IRI is presenting the conference in…

Airports Step Up Mental Health Assistance as Passenger Anxiety Soars

NewsBy terryshepro April 14, 2021

As more people return to air travel, tension is mounting in airports nationwide. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson is among those that have responded to the pandemic-related stress and fear among passengers and employees by offering services such as meditation, chaplains and other help in their terminals.

The FDA Seeks a New Way to Review Old Drugs Without Causing Prices to Soar

NewsBy terryshepro April 14, 2021

A misguided federal program called the Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which put the FDA’s stamp of approval on old drugs, led to higher prices. It’s scrapped. So now what?

California Counties a Hodgepodge of Highs and Lows in Vaccinating Vulnerable Seniors

NewsBy terryshepro April 6, 2021

Like many states, California is seeing huge regional variations in covid vaccination rates for people 65 and older. Remote rural counties are in some cases struggling to give away doses to vulnerable seniors, while metropolitan areas often have more demand than supply.

Events of 2020 Moved Medical Students to Political Activism

NewsBy terryshepro April 6, 2021

The emergence of an organization for med students motivated by progressive concerns highlights the changing attitudes of some physicians in training.

Doctor Survived Cambodia’s Killing Fields, but Not Covid

NewsBy terryshepro April 6, 2021

Dr. Linath Lim came to the U.S. as a refugee after slaving at work camps under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Even with little English or education when she arrived, Lim put herself through college and medical school. As an internal medicine doctor in California’s Central Valley, she treated farmworkers and other Cambodian refugees.

Lost on the Frontline: Explore the Database

NewsBy terryshepro April 6, 2021

As of Wednesday, the KHN-Guardian project counted 3,607 U.S. health worker deaths in the first year of the pandemic. Today we add 39 profiles, including a hospice chaplain, a nurse who spoke to intubated patients “like they were listening,” and a home health aide who couldn’t afford to stop working. This is the most comprehensive count in the nation as of April 2021, and our interactive database investigates the question: Did they have to die?

Monthly Archives: April 2021