Page 13 - Improving Value News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

During the first year of the global pandemic, medical consumers in Colorado received more than one million low-value healthcare services - diagnostic tests, screenings and treatments where the risk of harm outweighs any likely benefit to the patient. Cari Frank, vice president for communications with the Center for Improving Value in HealthCare - the group behind a new report, said consumers and insurers paid $134 million for these services in 2020. "Even in spite of COVID, when people weren't accessing health-care services the same way," said Frank, "we still saw...

Individuals who live with chronic diseases refer to "step therapy" as a major roadblock to getting the often life-saving drugs they need, while health insurance companies view the approach as

Despite the pandemic, North Carolina has seen a record number of new businesses created in the past year. A report from the Secretary of State's office says new business filings for 2021 grew 40% over 2020, for a total of more than 178,000 new businesses in the state. The previous record had been set in 2020, and new business growth overall has more than doubled since 2017. ...

Mobile carriers are starting to decommission their 3G cellular networks this year, some as soon as next month. Pennsylvania officials are reminding people with older-model cell phones to prepare for how this might affect service. Decommissioning older networks helps free up infrastructure to support more advanced services, like 5G, but it may result in some phones being unable to make calls or send text messages. ...

The recent deaths of a family of seven have renewed bipartisan attempts to keep homes safe from carbon monoxide. One North Dakota fire chief welcomes federal efforts from both sides of the aisle in creating awareness. In December, the victims were found in a home near the North Dakota/Minnesota border, with carbon-monoxide poisoning suspected. ...