Trending News Today: Insurance Coverage of Preexisting Conditions in Jeopardy

If the Affordable Care Act is dismantled once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, approximately 52 million adults could have issues buying individual health plans, according to Kaiser Health News. An analysis conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 52 million non-elderly adults may be denied coverage due to preexisting conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, and pregnancy. Furthermore, insurers could cut certain medications, such as antipsychotics and anti-cancer drugs. Southern states carry the highest percentage of adults who are at risk of being shut out by insurers, Kaiser reported.

Quest Diagnostics, based in Madison, NJ, is investigating a recent hack that exposed personal health information of approximately 34,000 individuals, according to The New York Times. An “unauthorized third-party” gained access to names, dates of birth, lab results, and, in some cases, telephone numbers, through a mobile health app that gives patients access to lab results and other information. Quest said it has taken immediate steps to address the vulnerability in its app, MyQuest by Care360, and the intrusion has been reported to law enforcement. The company reported that the stolen data did not include Social Security or credit card numbers, nor any other insurance or financial information.

The use of e-cigarettes among American teenagers —–both experimentally and on a regular basis––declined in 2016 after reaching an all-time high in 2015, The Los Angeles Times reported. The annual survey examined thousands of middle and high school students across the nation. The results revealed that 26.6% of students had tried the devices at least once in their lives, and 9.9% had used them within 30 days of being surveyed, which is a drop from last year’s figures of 29.9% and 12.8%, respectively. Vaping was less prevalent among students in all 3 grades surveyed. The current use of e-cigarettes dropped from 8% to 6.2% among eighth graders, 14.2% to 11% among high school sophomores, and 16.3% to 12.5% among high school seniors, the LA Times reported. It is unclear why fewer students used e-cigarettes in 2016 than in 2015, the report concluded.