Consumer Driven Health Care

Pfizer's CEO was the first major pharmaceutical company leader to add his name to the open letter, written after a Texas federal judge banned the use of the FDA-approved abortion pill mifepristone.

Minutes after a Texas federal judge blocked the decades-old approval of mifepristone on Friday, a federal judge in Washington reached the opposite conclusion: The abortion pill should remain available.

Many insurers are offering smaller networks of doctors and hospitals, and problems arise when patients cannot find local in-network providers and must pay more for out-of-network care or travel farther for in-network care.

About half of all patients are getting hit with facility fees, which are billed for doctor visits at hospital-owned clinics, as three in four physicians are now employed by hospitals, health systems or other corporate entities.

The limits stem from an opioid settlement with AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson that flag and sometimes block controlled substances – and patients with anxiety and sleep disorder are caught in the crosshairs.

"Clear employment law trends for 2023 have emerged. Some of the more significant trends reflect the country's social and political atmosphere," the authors of the study wrote.