Helping people find assistance with health care and prescription costs

Category: Health

Awareness, Health, Healthcare Reform
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World AIDS Day

Yesterday, December 1, has been known as World AIDS Day since 1988.  In the past 27 years, access to care has grown so that 15 million people are able to get life-saving HIV treatment. New HIV infections have been reduced by 35% since 2000; AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 42% since the peak in 2004.  This year’s theme for World AIDS Day is “On the Fast-Track to end AIDS,” and aims to increase investment in the next five years with the goal of reducing HIV infection by 89% by 2030. AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is the advanced stage […]

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Awareness, Health, Healthcare Reform, Specialty Drugs
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Transgender Awareness Week

The week leading up to November 20 is observed as Transgender Awareness Week. While new healthcare laws may have expanded access for more Americans, there are still populations that continue to have little to no access to appropriate health care. In the United States, over 27% of transgender/gender non-conforming people have been denied health care. As transgender/gender non-conforming have become more mainstream terms in recent years, one should be aware of the concept of gender identity: “Gender identity” shall mean a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that […]

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Affordable Care Act, Health, Healthcare Reform, Medicaid
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ACA Insures Over 10 Million People

Having health insurance is vital to one’s health and financial well-being in the United States.  Out-of-pocket medical expenses are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.  Even with new laws such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—aka “Obamacare”—11.7% of Americans remain uninsured.   Analysts have only recently been able to examine the data of uninsured rates prior to ACA’s implementation to now.  WalletHub released the stats for all 50 states and Washington DC and ranked each by their current uninsured rate; Massachusetts is ranked highest with only 3.28% uninsured, and Texas is ranked last with 19.06%. In numbers, even the last-ranked […]

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Health
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Why Drug Prices Skyrocket

Drug prices continue to be a major concern for Americans.  According to a Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll published today, 77% of those surveyed said medication costs were their number one health concern, reflecting recent headline-making increases.  Furthermore, 63% support government action to lower prescription drug costs as a top priority. Compared to a study by the same organization from August, the results are largely the same with notably increased support of government intervention.   The United States is the only developed nation that allows drug makers to set their own prices. Throughout Europe, Canada, and Australia, governments negotiate […]

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Awareness, Health
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Health Literacy and Continuing Your Health Education

Since 1999, October is Health Literacy Month.  This week is also National Health Education Week.  Health literacy is defined as the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Being able to disseminate health information allows people to navigate the healthcare system, keep track of their medical history, competently engage in self-care, and understand probability of health risks.   Health literacy is the main form of defense against misinformation prevalent in our society. Knowledge of the facts is key to combat the influence of […]

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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.