Tag: Affordable Care Act

All About block grants for Children with Special Health Care Needs

The Children/Youth With Special Health Care Needs (shortened as CSHCN or CYSHCN) is a program in each state that provides medical care and other related services for special needs children. These programs are funded by grants from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), commonly referred to as Title V, Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grants. Similar to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (or CHIP), the programs are federally funded but operate independently at the state level. It was originally enacted in 1935 as part of the Social Security Act, and converted to a Block Grant Program in […]

Helpful Online Resources

For today’s blog post we would like to share with our readers some fantastic online healthcare resources. There are many websites out there dedicated to healthcare, some great and some not-so-great. Here are four resources that the staff at NeedyMeds think you will find helpful.   Together Rx Access – Together Rx Access provides a number of different resources for patients and healthcare professionals alike. They have partnered with a number of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies to offer a free drug discount card program for those without prescription drug coverage. Furthermore, their website has extensive articles on the Affordable […]

Health Insurance at 26 : What Are My Options?

The passing of the Affordable Care Act has implemented a number of changes to American healthcare. Many of these changes directly affect families, the elderly, and people with pre-existing conditions, leaving many of 20-somethings wondering “What does this mean for me?” One major impact of the new law is that young adults can stay on their parents’ healthcare plan until age 26. Before the passing of the Affordable Care Act children could only stay on their parents’ insurance up to age 19, with exceptions for full-time students. Since the law has been enacted, over 3 million young adults have gained […]

What on Earth is the Donut Hole? A Brief Explanation of Medicare Part D and the “Donut Hole”

Today, we are hoping to provide answers to some of your questions about the Donut Hole! Tell us about your experiences. We would love to hear from you.  1.    What is the donut hole? To answer that question, we first need to understand Medicare and Part D. According to Jonathan Blum, Deputy Administrator and Director for the Center of Medicare at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people 65 or older, people under 65 with certain disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure).  People with Medicare have the […]

Your Good Health: Medication Adherence

Last month, many of us made New Year’s resolutions and we were being deluged with advice about how to eat sensibly, how to exercise our way to fitness, and how to develop and keep healthy habits. But let’s get down to basics: how well do you follow your doctor’s advice? Doctors will be increasingly held accountable for your overall health and wellness, and your progress towards sustained good health, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA aims to increase the quality of care given and reduce the costs, thereby ensuring that the right care is given in the right […]

About Us

Welcome to the NeedyMeds Voice! We look forward to presenting you with timely, provocative pieces on healthcare reform, patient advocacy, medication and healthcare access, and other health-related news. Our goals are to educate, enlighten, and elucidate; together, we will try to make sense of the myriad and ongoing healthcare-related changes in the U.S. today.