Trending News Today: ACA Marketplace Premiums to Stabilize in 2019

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is recommending children be vaccinated with injectable flu vaccine this season, rather than the nasal spray vaccine FluMist, STAT reported. According to the article, the AAP said children should be given an injectable vaccine unless a child will only be vaccinated if he or she can forgo a needle, or if the physician runs out of flu shots. The advice differs from the CDC’s recommendations, which state that any of the flu vaccines available for children could be used for the upcoming flu season, the article reported.

Analysts predict Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace premiums will stabilize in 2019, NPR reported. According to the article, an analysis of preliminary filings from insurers in all 50 states by ACAsignups.net found that the price of a 2019 policy sold in the ACA exchanges will increase less than 4% in most states. Overall, premiums are rising at about the same rates as medical inflation, in contrast with previous years when prices rose in the double digits, the article reported.

A new study has found that the number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has reached more than 10%, which is a significant increase during the past 20 years, Kaiser Health News reported. According to the article, the rise was most pronounced in minority groups, indicating that access to health insurance and mental health treatment through the Affordable Care Act may have played a role. The rate of diagnosis during that time period double in girls, but was still much lower than in boys, the article reported.