APMA News Brief

Reflecting slower than anticipated enrollment growth in health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has lowered its estimate of how many people will get coverage through the law in 2016.

Visit http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obamacare-estimate-20150125-story.html to view the full article online.

With concerns over healthcare costs and access top of mind for most, consumers should be aware of changes to the Affordable Care Act going into effect this year.

Visit http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2016/01/25/mixed-views-on-aca-ahead-consumer-deadline.html to view the full article online.

Are male or female physicians more likely to be hospital-employed? A new report from AMA insurance compares employment status for young physicians between men and women.

Visit http://www.beckersasc.com/asc-turnarounds-ideas-to-improve-performance/male-vs-female-physician-employment-6-key-statistics.html to view the full article online.

A drop in the number of newly-diagnosed diabetes cases is good public health news. But for the Type 1 diabetes community it's a source of frustration, because the numbers hide their story.

Visit http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/01/25/463733310/whats-your-type-with-diabetes-it-can-be-far-from-clear to view the full article online.

Men who have low resistance to psychological stress at age 18 may face considerably higher risk for type 2 diabetes in adulthood compared to those better able to handle stress, according to new research.

Visit http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diabetes-stress-idUSKCN0UY2MJ to view the full article online.

Losing weight and being healthier are at the top of everyone’s New Year’s resolutions. But, despite the best intentions, work, kids, and social events often push lifestyle changes to the bottom of the list.

Visit http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/p0121-prediabetes.html to view the full article online.

A study published online this month in the Arthritis Care and Research journal is shedding light on why gout, a painful and common form of arthritis, is not well managed in many patients.

Visit http://www.unmc.edu/news.cfm?match=18117 to view the full article online.

"I think I have the gouch!" Mr. Salamon winced as he eased his foot out of his bedroom slipper. "I remember that when my dad would get it, he couldn’t even stand having a bed sheet over his feet."

Visit http://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2016/01/20/gout-painful-treatable/78897630/ to view the full article online.

Consumers have willingly traded some of their personal details for access to social sites like Google or Facebook, and suffer an occasional ad as a result.

Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-22/tech-execs-see-consumers-drawing-the-line-on-privacy-with-health to view the full article online.

Last fall, Shalonda Brown decided she’d had it with paying nearly $1,000 a month for a family health, dental and vision plan through her job at an independent lab in Dallas. Casting about for an alternative, she checked out individual family plans on healthcare.gov. No dice: Their income was too high to qualify for subsidies and comparable coverage wouldn’t be any cheaper.

Visit http://khn.org/news/consumers-cut-costs-by-combining-limited-coverage-health-plans-despite-penalty-risks/ to view the full article online.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH), released a new Guide to Preventing Readmissions among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Medicare Beneficiaries.

Visit https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Press-releases/2016-Press-releases-items/2016-01-26.html to view the full article online.

Libbi Stovall couldn’t believe it last month when she looked at the fine print in her company’s 2016 health plan, which supposedly meets the strictest standard for employer obligations under federal rules.

Visit http://khn.org/news/check-the-fine-print-some-work-based-health-plans-exclude-outpatient-surgeries/ to view the full article online.

Some consumers who buy coverage on the health insurance marketplaces in 2017 could see their out-of-pocket costs drop significantly under a federal proposal to create standardized plans, a recent analysis found.

Visit http://khn.org/news/new-federal-standards-for-marketplace-plans-may-reduce-out-of-pocket-spending/ to view the full article online.