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Patients squeezed in fight over who gets to bill for pricey infusion drugs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

Samantha Liss | (TNS) KFF Health NewsHealth insurers and medical providers are battling over who should supply high-cost infusion drugs for patients, with the tussle over profits now spilling into statehouses across the country.The issue is that some insurers are bypassing hospital pharmacies and physician offices and instead sending more complex drugs through third-party pharmacies. Those pharmacies then send the medications directly to the medical provider or facility for outpatient infusing, which is called “white bagging,” or, more rarely, to patients, in what is called “brown bagging.” That shifts who gets to buy and bill for these complex medications, including pricey chemotherapy drugs.Insurers say the policies are needed because hospital markups are too high. But hospitals argue that adding an intermediary results in unnecessary risks and delays, and they say some insurers have their own or affiliated pharmacy companies, creating financial motives for controlling the source ...

Everything you need to know about filing a home insurance claim

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

Mandy Sleight | Bankrate (TNS)If you’re dealing with loss or damage to your home, whether it’s due to a weather event, home burglary or other unexpected event, you’re likely to feel overwhelmed. When it comes time to file a claim with your home insurance, you don’t want to encounter more stress in the process.Navigating the claims process can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Bankrate’s insurance experts have outlined everything you need to know about filing a home insurance claim in the article below, from the types of claimable events to the steps for filing a claim.How to file a home insurance claimAs soon as property loss occurs, you should consider contacting your home insurance company for help in filing your claim. Each insurance company has its own claim process that policyholders need to follow. Usually the sooner you can initiate a claim, the earlier you may be able to resolve the issue.—Help prevent further damage. Take measures to ensure your home’s structure will...

5 tips to keep social media from spurring you to overspend

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

By Erin El Issa | NerdWalletScrolling social media may provide entertainment, catharsis or just a way to pass the time. It might also cause you to spend more than you can afford.A new NerdWallet survey finds that 65% of Americans believe that social media has increased overspending. Here are five tips to keep social media scrolling from hurting your real-life finances.1. Wish list and waitAccording to the survey, 18% of Americans have made a purchase because of something they saw on social media that they regret making. Impulse buying is easy on social media, particularly when you purchase from within the app. One way to combat this and possibly avoid regret? Wish list and wait.Create a list of anything and everything you come across on social media that you want to buy. And then wait to purchase. How long you wait is up to you — maybe it’s a month or just 24 hours. You might still choose to purchase the item ultimately, but when you put time between wanting and buying something, yo...

Sonic the Hedgehog-themed pop-up restaurant opening in East Village

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A new pop-up restaurant will be serving up Sega-filled nostalgia with everyone's favorite blue hedgehog.The Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe be open from July 13 through August 20 and will be located at 910 J Street Space 2 in downtown San Diego's East Village.On the menu you will be tasty Sonic-inspired eats like the "Sonic's Classic Chili Dog" or the "Knuckles Sandwich," a crispy fried chicken sandwich based off the red echidna. Exclusive San Diego Comic-Con chocolate bar flavors revealed On the side you can grab some "Golden Ring" onion rings or an order of "Fast Fries." Cold refreshments based off the iconic video game characters will also be served like the "Blue Blur" blueberry slushie, the "Flying Fox" mango orange slushie or the "Team Dark" mocha milkshake.Photos courtesy of Noah RedThe pop-up café will be decked from head to toe with blue décor and Sonic-themed artwork and characters.Each order will come in custom-designed Sonic packaging and exclusive merchandis...

4 places to get funky fries in San Diego

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Whether it's crinkle cut, waffle or classic strings, finding funky French fries in San Diego is a venture worth biting into. Golden-brown potato slices can be zested and topped with endless ingredients, making for a delicious pastime that can be enjoyed solo or with a fry-eating sidekick. In honor of National French Fry Day, which is recognized annually on July 14, FOX 5 has compiled a list of places offering a funky fusion of spuds and toppings galore. 7 San Diego brewers win medals at US Open Beer Championship Here are four San Diego area eateries filling plates with funky fries on this national holiday and beyond:Funky Fries And BurgersWith a name like that, it's no surprise that this National City treasure has a long list of funky options for fry lovers. You might want to grab the special of the month for July: Birria Fries. This concoction is made with melted mozzarella, birria, cilantro, onion, green salsa, and consumé on the side with lime slices. Another opti...

House Republicans interrogate FTC’s Khan over regulation of Big Tech

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chair of the Federal Trade Commission defended her aggressive legal strategy toward the country’s biggest technology companies Thursday as House Republicans charged that the agency has become overzealous and politicized under President Joe Biden. Republicans charged that Lina Khan is “harassing” Twitter since its acquisition by Elon Musk, arbitrarily suing large tech companies and declining to recuse herself from certain cases. In April, the committee subpoenaed Khan after an investigation by the panel that concluded the agency went after Musk for political reasons. Khan pushed back on the criticism, arguing that more regulation is necessary as the companies have grown and that tech conglomeration could hurt the economy and consumers. “Our competition mission is driven by the tenet that vigorous antitrust enforcement is critical to the growth and dynamism of our economy, as well as to our shared prosperity and liberty,” Khan said. “Recent decades, however...

Virginia’s Youngkin surpasses previous governors’ annual fundraising records in a single quarter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s main fundraising apparatus will soon report raising $5.75 million in this year’s second quarter, a sum that surpasses what any previous governor of the state has raised over an entire year, according to the group’s accounting.The haul will bring to $8.5 million the total Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia political action committee has raised in the first six months of 2023, according to details provided to The Associated Press ahead of a Monday reporting deadline. And it will leave Spirit of Virginia with $6 million in cash on hand just over two months before the start of early voting in this year’s legislative elections that will decide political control of the currently divided General Assembly. “The Governor has built and scaled an unprecedented campaign to hold the House and flip the Senate,” Dave Rexrode, the PAC’s chairman and a senior adviser to Youngkin, said in a statement to the AP. “H...

Vermont braces for more rain in wake of historic flooding

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

Vermont prepared for the next round of storms — and possibly a tornado — as people took advantage of calm weather Thursday to clean up from historic flooding that damaged thousands of homes, businesses and roads, and left some residents stranded. As floodwaters receded, the good news was that there were no new rescue missions, dams were holding up and more roads reopened. The bad news was that strong thunderstorms were expected to move into parts of the state by Thursday night, which could cause more flash flooding, Gov. Phil Scott said at a news conference. Conditions could spawn a tornado, he said. And the state could get more heavy rain over the weekend. “The period we are more concerned about is Sunday because that could be more widespread and heavier, but not nearly on the scale of what we saw earlier in the week,” National Weather Service meteorologist Seth Kutikoff said.Scott said it’s important for Vermonters to be vigilant, and that includes not going into the water. ...

Lawyer asks for court to adjourn hearing on injunction to end landfill blockade

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

WINNIPEG — A lawyer representing some of those demonstrating at a Winnipeg landfill has asked for an adjournment during a court hearing on an injunction to end the blockade.Dozens of protesters have blocked the main road to the Brady Road landfill demanding a search of a different landfill north of the city, called Prairie Green, where it’s believed the remains of two slain Indigenous women were dumped last year. The City of Winnipeg filed an application Tuesday to the Court of King’s Bench seeking the removal of protesters.Lawyer Sacha Paul told court there is no urgency for a decision because an alternate road to the landfill has been opened, but the city says it is not meant to handle a large volume of heavy trucks. The blockade began last week after Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson said the province would not support a search of the other landfill, pointing to a study that said it could cost $184 million, pose safety risks and not have guaranteed success. Federal C...

Ons Jabeur is in a second consecutive Wimbledon final. She plays Marketa Vondrousova for the title

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — There was a time when Ons Jabeur might not have recovered from the deficit she found herself in during the Wimbledon semifinals. Down a set. Down a break. So close to being just a game from defeat.She credits her sports psychologist with helping her understand how to deal with those on-court situations, with managing to keep her focus, keep her strokes on-target. Thanks in part to that, and a steadiness down the stretch at Centre Court on Thursday, Jabeur is on her way to a second consecutive final at the All England Club and her third title match in the past five Grand Slam tournaments.Now she wants to win a trophy. The sixth-seeded Jabeur earned the right to play for one again by beating big-hitting Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3.“I’m very proud of myself, because maybe old me would have lost the match today and went back home already. But I’m glad that I kept digging very deep and finding the strength,” said Jabeur, a 28-year-old from Tunisia wh...