The Netherlands: World's most expensive drug may not be covered by Dutch insurance

A drug to treat a rare muscle disease which affects some 20 children in the Netherlands a year should not be included in the basic insurance package unless the price is halved, government advisory group Zorginstituut Nederland has said in new recommendations.

In addition, pharmaceutical company Novartis should also agree to payment on the basis of the actual results, the institute said. Zolgensma, known as the most expensive drug in the world, is used to treat spinal muscular dystrophy (SMA) and costs €1.9m per treatment. The institute estimates that if the cost were halved, the drug would add some €11m to the Dutch healthcare budget a year.

Read more at: World's most expensive drug may not be covered by Dutch insurance - DutchNews.nl

Health Insurance Industry: 2015 was the first year 90 percent of Americans had health insurance. Thanks, Obama - by Sarah Kliff

On Tuesday, May 17,  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its annual look at health insurance coverage in the United States. It shows that coverage rates have gone up this decade, particularly after Obamacare's health insurance expansion took effect.

In 2015, 9.1 percent of people lacked health insurance — a 2.4 percentage point decrease from 2014. That works out to 7.4 million fewer people lacking coverage.

You can see that health coverage was on the rise in the early 2010s, before Obamacare's health insurance expansion kicked in. But the really big drop in the uninsured rate happened in 2014 and has continued into 2015, as millions of Americans have gained coverage through Medicaid and the Obamacare marketplaces.

Read more: 2015 was the first year 90 percent of Americans had health insurance. Thanks, Obama. - Vox

Press exposure based on ratings: Terror attack in Lahore draws less media coverage

Geographical location tends to be an indicator of whether a deadly attack will get wide media coverage or not - we take a look at criticism of the perceived lack of media interest in the Lahore attack compared to other recent incidents of terror in Europe.

See the video report from  France24

Buying health insurance online could be dangerous for your wallet

Insurance agencies report an increasing proportion of sales online and insurers like it because it saves back-office time. For customers, there’s the attraction of instant and easy cover. Insurance kicks in right away. Job done.

However, you might have to be more careful. Buying insurance of any type is trickier than buying, say, a washing machine. And international medical insurance is more complex than domestic insurance. You can fall into the trap of buying cover from a respectable company only to find, as you arrive at immigration in Abu Dhabi, that your plan is not recognized. You could have to be on the next flight home.

As countries across the globe find their health budgets rocketing, so compulsory insurance for expats becomes a legal necessity.

Governments also tend to demand insurance from a local provider, or at least an international insurer with local connections – effectively a brokerage with a local businessman on the board.

Germany, for instance, is particularly reluctant to recognise some top-rated insurance plans from UK providers who are dominant in the international market. Some claim that the German position breaks EU competition rules. But it’s not quite that simple, because under German law insurers have to provide all-embracing cover, such as aspects of elderly and long-term care cover and that is beyond the scope of most international companies.

EU-Digest