Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: Availability expands in New York, and a new flood of seekers enters the fray

Jeanne Pinder February 14, 2021

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: Availability expands in New York, and a new flood of seekers enters the fray

People with underlying conditions are eligible for the coronavirus vaccine in New York state tomorrow, Feb. 15. Today, Feb. 14, is the day that the online portals opened to such people for scheduling. And it was insane. Sites crashed. Tempers frayed. The people who had been having trouble booking before are still having trouble booking. […]

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How much does Truvada cost? Or, when your PEO insurance goes sideways

Jeanne Pinder February 8, 2021

How much does Truvada cost? Or, when your PEO insurance goes sideways

The man on the phone said his insurance company quintupled his premiums for next year, from $333 to $1,700, and he was really upset. He was even more upset that the only thing that had changed in his health care situation was that he had started taking Truvada, the anti-HIV drug. Truvada, also known as […]

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How much does olmesartan-HCTZ (Benicar) cost, $771.99 or $6?

Jeanne Pinder February 5, 2021

How much does olmesartan-HCTZ (Benicar) cost, $771.99 or $6?

A friend writes: So, I have three prescription drugs: two to lower my blood pressure, the other a potassium supplement needed because the two blood pressure medications leach potassium from my body — is this a great country, or what?! My pharmacy is my nearest grocery store. I changed my prescription drug plan effective 2021. […]

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How much does Linzess cost? $468 or $600? Or maybe $3?

Jeanne Pinder February 1, 2021

How much does Linzess cost? $468 or $600? Or maybe $3?

A woman we know had a problem: Her doctor prescribed Linzess for constipation. But her insurance, the New York State version of Medicaid, wouldn’t cover it. So she would need to have $600 to get the medication, paying cash, or skip it. She had tried several other over-the-counter and lower-cost medications to resolve this problem. […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: I got a shot of the Moderna vaccine today. Here’s what happened.

Jeanne Pinder January 16, 2021

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: I got a shot of the Moderna vaccine today. Here’s what happened.

I got a shot of the Moderna Coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine today (Jan. 16) at Jacobi Medical Center, a New York City Health & Hospitals site in the Bronx. Here’s how it happened. Because I’m 66, I qualify in the New York State classification for Stage 1B. But it was crazy hard to find a place […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: How getting ‘leftovers’ from retirement or nursing homes is reducing waste

Jeanne Pinder January 11, 2021

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: How getting ‘leftovers’ from retirement or nursing homes is reducing waste

There has been a lot of conversation about extra doses in the Pfizer vaccine vials — meaning that the official regimen could include up to 5 doses per vial, but the vial actually has 6 or 7 doses, or maybe more. So there’s a “leftovers” issue that is causing havoc some places. (See our other […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: Long waits, confusing signup procedures and a lot of friends texting

Jeanne Pinder January 10, 2021

The vaccine delivery rollout in New York State, and nationwide, hasn’t exactly been smooth. Long waits in line, people getting turned away, confusing web signup procedures, groups of coworkers texting frantically are all part of the story. And yet there have been others who have swiftly gotten a vaccine they didn’t expect to get. In […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: Who will pay? And how much will the vaccine cost?

Jeanne Pinder December 28, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the vaccine: Who will pay? And how much will the vaccine cost?

As the coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine rolls out nationwide, it’s a common question: Who will pay? As with many other health care cost questions, it might be complicated. Or, it might be really simple. It seems obvious that the initial round — front-line doctors and nurses, and long-term care facility residents — will be free to […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills, part II: falsely billed and overcharged

Virginia Jeffries December 1, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and the bills, part II: falsely billed and overcharged

A Rochester-area woman we introduced you to over the summer has continued to receive hospital bills for a Covid test that never happened. Back in July, Rebecca Oliver and her partner Dan Loncoa went to Rochester Regional Hospital’s emergency room seeking a Covid test, only to be sent home without one and then billed $540 […]

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Coronavirus (Covid-19) and test avoidance: Why are some people not getting tested?

Phoebe Pinder November 16, 2020

Coronavirus (Covid-19) and test avoidance: Why are some people not getting tested?

Earlier this fall, the predominantly Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel, N.Y., managed to drop its positive Covid test rate from 34.2% in the last week of September, to a shocking 4.2% just one month later, the Jewish-American news organization The Forward reported. According to The Forward, town leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York […]

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Category: Health plans