清水河县肛肠医院专家刘滨(新城区专科肠道医院) (今日更新中)

When he was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases, Joel Hechler knew he’d be in for a battle. He didn’t realize maybe his toughest one would be with his insurance company.“I think they put the dollars ahead of a patient’s health,” Hechler said. “I don’t think they fully understand the impact the medicine will have on my long-term health and well-being."Hechler suffers from Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, diseases that attack the lining of his digestive tract. Autoimmune conditions like his can’t be cured but, with the right medication, the symptoms can be controlled.  Finding the right medicine can be hard for those suffering from autoimmune diseases. Even if there are scores of drugs on the market, some patients might only respond to one. In Joel’s case, his doctor thought he’d have a better chance trying a drug called Remicade.“I received a letter from my insurance company that denied the Remicade on the basis that I have to try a different drug before I can get to Remicade," Hechler said.Hechler's insurance company, Premera Blue Cross, wouldn’t approve the drug his doctor prescribed because they wanted him to try a cheaper one first.It’s part of a program that health insurers nationwide use called step therapy, requiring that patients try less-costly drugs before “stepping up” to more expensive ones — even if doctors believes the cheaper drug won’t work.Dr. Larry Adler is president of Huron Gastro in Ypsilanti, Michigan and says he spends virtually every day battling insurance companies over step therapy drugs.“They have to fail this medicine first before they get the new drug,” Adler said. “That doesn’t make any sense.”Adler says it's common for patients to get sicker while waiting for step therapy to run its course.In Hechler's case, it took six weeks of fighting with his insurer to convince them that the cheaper drug wouldn’t be effective. As he was waiting, he was getting worse.“It got to the point where I had to be admitted to the hospital,” Hechler said. "I was very, very sick.”Step therapies are used by insurers to try to control skyrocketing prescription medicine costs, says Glen Perry, Director of Pharmacy Contracting and Sales for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.“These drugs can cost up to 0,000 per year. These are not cheap medications,” Perry said.“It seems like you’re telling patients that, in many cases, your insurer knows what’s best for you, rather than your doctor,” Jones said.“We are trying to provide the most cost effective and safe medication use,” Perry said, adding that when a doctor and insurer disagree over a drug, they can usually resolve the case within a few days without putting a patient at serious risk.“A delay of one or two days I don’t think is really going to make that much of a difference for the medical outcome of the patient," he said.But for many patients, like Phyllis Toole, the delay is longer than a few days.Phyllis suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, a condition where her body attacks her joints. When her doctor wanted to put her on Orencia, her insurance company HAP said she needed to first try a less expensive drug, Humira.But Phyllis’ doctor was worried about possible side effects and thought Humira could be risky.After battling for months, Phyllis says the whole thing made her feel more like a number than a patient. With her doctor and insurer in a standoff, she was forced to rely on samples of the drug she got from her doctor. HAP never approved her prescription.“They’re playing doctor, is what it feels like,” Toole said. “They’re saying this is what you can have for the symptoms you have. It may make you sicker, but this is what you can have.”HAP issued the following statement to Scripps station WXYZ in Detroit: 3800

Who would be willing to pay upward of 0 for Payless shoes?Hoodwinked social media influencers, that's who.Payless, a brand known for budget-friendly shoes, opened a fake pop-up store called "Palessi" in a Los Angeles mall and invited influencers to the grand opening. The store was stocked with Payless shoes in disguise."I would pay 0 or 0," a woman says in a TV ad, holding a pair of .99 sneakers. Another shopper calls the Payless shoes "elegant and sophisticated." 488

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is confirming that he’s been tested at least once for the COVID-19 virus and promises he will be tested regularly during his campaign against President Donald Trump. Biden told reporters Friday of his testing protocol during a wide-ranging news conference he used to blast Trump for downplaying the virus and thus ensuring that it will continue to kill Americans and ravage the economy. For much of the summer, Biden’s advisers deflected questions about whether the former vice president was being tested himself as he anchored his campaign almost exclusively from his Delaware home, traveling sparingly as a precaution.Biden plans on resuming a relatively normal travel schedule after Labor Day. Since March, Biden has mostly held virtual events due to the coronavirus. 847

WILMINGTON, Del. – Joe Biden is calling for a nationwide mask mandate.“Every governor should mandate mandatory mask wearing,” said the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, citing estimates from experts who say a mandate could save 40,000 lives over the next three months.Biden’s remarks came after meeting with public health experts with newly announced running mate Kamala Harris on Thursday.He said they spoke about schools reopening, the distribution of possible vaccines, the existence of racial disparities, and the lack of testing capacity. But he zeroed in on mask wearing.“It doesn’t have anything to do with Democrats, Republicans or Independents, it has to do with a simple proposition,” said Biden. “Every single American should be wearing a mask when they are outside for the next three months at a minimum.”Harris then spoke after Biden finished and reiterated the need for wearing a mask. She mentioned the more than 166,000 people who have died from COVID-19 so far in the U.S.“We know those individuals represent families, loved ones, grandparents, parents, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, of people that are mourning their loss every day,” she said. “So what real leadership looks like is Joe Biden, to speak up, sometimes telling us stuff that we don’t necessarily want to hear, but we need to know.”Watch their remarks below:The event came a day after the pair’s first appearance as running mates during an event at a high school in Wilmington, Delaware.During her speech, Harris took aim at President Donald Trump’s response to the pandemic.“At the president's mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the great depression, and we are experiencing a moral reckoning with racism and systemic injustice that has brought a new coalition of conscience to the streets of our country demanding change,” Harris said. “America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve, but here is the good news. We do not have to accept the failed government of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.”Trump responded Wednesday evening, saying "I was surprised he picked her because of the horrible way she spoke about him, and frankly because she dropped like a rock."Biden and Harris will likely be holding these types of events often as the 2020 election season ramps up. The Democratic party will kick off its campaign next week with its virtual convention, which will feature several prominent party leaders, including the nominees.In the 24 hours following Biden’s VP announcement, his campaign says he raised million, which more than doubled the campaign’s previous record. 2788

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- File it under pizza toppings only offered in Florida.State inspectors say they found an 80-pound iguana stashed in the freezer at a local pizza joint. Pizza Mambo in West Palm Beach was forced to close for a day last week following the inspection by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.A restaurant employee told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the reptile was gifted to the owner and stored in a separate freezer away from the restaurant's food.It was immediately trashed after they were informed it was a violation.Non-native iguanas are multiplying so rapidly that state wildlife officials encourage people to kill them. 687

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