Health News E-Clips

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Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association

 

 

 

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

 

Utah Healthcare Headlines

It Begins (Editorial, Salt Lake Tribune, January 25, 2010) Beginning today, the 104 members of the Utah Legislature will spend their annual general session trying to strain a new state budget out of a river running high with red ink. Along with encouragement to our lawmakers, we offer condolences. Sisyphus had an easier task.

  • Utah budget is '800-pound gorilla' (Deseret News, January 25, 2010) Every legislative session is important, but the 2010 Legislature could be ground-breaking on a number of fronts.
  • Whom to watch in the 2010 Utah Legislature (Deseret News, January 25, 2010) President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville While all members of GOP leadership are influential through their positions, the Senate president has extra powers, including overseeing the flow of the bills on the Senate floor, especially in the session's final days.
  • Ethics, budget should dominate this session (Editorial, Deseret News, January 25, 2010) We can think of several reasons why the citizens initiative process is bad. It bypasses the tempering process of representative government, where bills are debated and amended to address weaknesses and problems.
  • State Legislature to focus on budget (The Spectrum, January 24, 2010) A year ago state lawmakers faced the largest budget shortfalls in Utah's history heading into their regular annual session. This year could be even harder.
  • Leaders promise balanced budget, ethics reform (Salt Lake Tribune, January 25, 2010) The Utah Legislature convened for its 2010 session this morning with a forecast of difficult work ahead but a reminder that the state is better shape than most.
  • Guv, Legislature in step (Salt Lake Tribune, January 26, 2010) Gov. Gary Herbert goes into his first lawmaking session enjoying perhaps the best relationship with the Legislature of any governor since Norm Bangerter.

 

Bill would curb junk food in Utah schools (Salt Lake Tribune, January 25, 2010) Lunch at Bountiful Junior High looks like lunch at most schools except for one thing: the vending machines.

 

Utah families sign children up for CHIP (Deseret News, January 25, 2010) Daniel Aguilar, father of three, gave an audible sigh of relief Saturday after filling out the application to get his children something they've never had — medical insurance.

 

Most say opt out of health reform (Salt Lake Tribune, January 26, 2010) If a federal health reform bill passes, a majority of Utahns say the state should have the choice to opt out, no matter what the consequences, a new Salt Lake Tribune poll shows.

 

Newhall: Now, let's talk a real health care reform (Op Ed, Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2010) It has long been apparent that there was no consensus among progressives on the best way to achieve universal health care. From the very beginning, MoveOn and the labor movement gave lip service (sometimes) to single-payer ideas, but put their money behind whatever the president proposed.

 

National Healthcare Headlines

Hatch calls for restart on health care reform (Salt Lake Tribune, January 25, 2010) Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Sunday that Congress needs to hit the reset button on health care reform and that Republicans will work with their counterparts on new legislation -- if Democrats allow it.

  • Too Big to Reform (Op Ed, New York Times, January 24, 2010) We’ve been here before. Not with this much melodrama, maybe. (Registration required)
  • Health-care experts say Obama can get some reform himself (Op Ed, Washington Post, January 24, 2010) It's the truism of the week: To surmount his political troubles, President Obama needs to show leadership -- especially on his signature issue of health-care reform. (Registration required)
  • No thanks, ObamaCare, Mass. is set (Op Ed, Boston Globe, January 23, 2010) One of the smartest analyses of this week’s Senate election came from Stephen Colbert, the faux talk show host on Comedy Central. He summed up the race by saying Massachusetts, a state with near-universal healthcare, had a message for the rest of the country: “I got mine, Jack. You can’’ - well, you can imagine, but it isn’t nice. (Registration required)
  • In Ohio, Obama says he won't 'walk away' from health-care fight (Washington Post, January 23, 2010) Offering both a passionate defense of his policies and a populist pitch, President Obama told audience members in this economically struggling region Friday that he will continue fighting for them even in the face of stiffening political opposition. (Registration required)
  • Differing strategies on health care considered (Boston Globe, January 23, 2010) US Representative Barney Frank declared the health care bill dead after Massachusetts voters on Tuesday deprived Democrats of the 60th Senate vote they needed to pass it. Later, he issued a statement saying he might have overreacted. (Registration required)
  • Mass. Health Model, Not Obama's, Pleases Voters (New York Times, January 23, 2010) When Mary Foote cast her ballot in this week's special Senate election, she was thinking about how the national health care bill strayed too far from the Massachusetts model and would force her to shoulder the financial burden of expanding health care in the other 49 states. (Registration required)
  • Poll: Americans Support Aspects of Health Care Legislation (New York Times, January 23, 2010) In the latest poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans are evenly divided over the “health reform proposals being discussed in Congress,” a finding echoed in other recent national polls. (Registration required)
  • Obama Vows to Keep Fighting for Health Care Overhaul (New York Times, January 23, 2010) During a town hall meeting in Ohio on Friday, President Obama made an impassioned pitch for a broad overhaul of the American health care system. (Registration required)
  • Health care the hot topic in abortion debate (USA Today, January 25, 2010) Players in the abortion debate gathering in Washington, D.C., and around the country Friday are focused on the prospect of a health care overhaul. (Registration required)
  • Democrats Focus on Key Elements of Health Bill (Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2010) The White House, with its health-care initiative in doubt, on Sunday zeroed in on several elements it hoped would survive, including measures to extend the life of Medicare, lower prescription drug costs for seniors and cap consumers' out-of-pocket medical expenses.
  • Obama hunkers down as health care falters (Salt Lake Tribune, January 24, 2010) Cool and confident, President Barack Obama basked in applause as he promised jittery Democratic lawmakers a coast-to-coast health care victory tour to sell the bill's benefits upon its passage.
  • Doomsayers take note: Voters still deserve reform (Editorial, Boston Globe, January 26, 2010) Here’s one lesson President Obama and congressional leaders need to remember after Scott Brown’s Senate victory last week: One state’s vote, by a 52-47 majority, doesn’t erase a 29-state presidential victory and a 59-vote Senate margin. (Registration required)
  • Don’t Give Up Now (Editorial, New York Times, January 26, 2010) It would be a terrible mistake for Democrats to abandon comprehensive health care reform just because voters in the Massachusetts Senate race last week decided that they liked the Republican, Scott Brown, more than the Democrat, Martha Coakley. (Registration required)
  • Decision Looms on Advancing Health Care Bill (New York Times, January 26, 2010) Seeking to avert the collapse of major health care legislation, the White House and Democratic leaders in Congress face a crucial decision about whether to use a procedural maneuver that would allow them to advance the bill despite the loss of their 60-vote majority in the Senate. (Registration required)

 

Insurer Steps Up Fight to Control Health Care Cost (New York Times, January 25, 2010) A front in the national health care battle has opened in New York City, where a major hospital chain and one of the nation’s largest insurance companies are locked in a struggle over control of treatment and costs that could have broad ramifications for millions of people with private health insurance. (Registration required)

 

Health Insurance: $38 Million on Lobbying; Hospital Fight (Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2010) A bit of health-insurance news to kick off the week: The industry spent roughly $38 million on lobbying last year, up from $31 million in ‘08, the Hill reports.

 

Help With Medical Bills (Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2010) A diagnosis of cancer or other serious disease can be devastating to one's financial as well as physical health -- even for people with insurance. But there are a handful of programs that can help ease the monetary burden. (Registration required) 

 

Doctor quits Brigham to speak for pay (Boston Globe, January 23, 2010) Boston physician Lawrence M. DuBuske was given a choice: Either stop moonlighting as a paid speaker for pharmaceutical companies or quit his job at a top Harvard teaching hospital. (Registration required)

 

Genetic tests give consumers hints about disease risk; critics have misgivings (Washington Post, January 26, 2010) Last fall, Sgt. Timothy Gall, an Army medic stationed at Fort Belvoir, sought clues to the multiple sclerosis and heart disease that ran in his family by looking into his DNA. All it took was some spit and about a thousand bucks. (Registration required)

 

Blood pressure problems linked with dementia (Salt Lake Tribune, January 26, 2010) If the cardiologist's warnings don't scare you, consider this: Controlling blood pressure just might be the best protection yet known against dementia.

 

Evidence is thin that multivitamins are beneficial, but they seem benign (Washington Post, January 26, 2010) Earlier this month, I found myself standing in front of a massive display of multivitamins at a local grocery store, confounded by the options. (Registration required)

 

Your Health: Pharmacists adjust to changing roles (USA Today, January 25, 2010) Should you be spending more time with your neighborhood pharmacist? Or less?

 

In Haiti, Many Amputees Have No Place to Go (New York Times, January 25, 2010) In a tent serving as an acute-care ward on the grounds of this city’s biggest hospital, Jocelin François was sitting up in bed when a nurse went by, barking at him in French. Mr. François, whose left leg was amputated nearly to his knee after the earthquake on Jan. 12, threw out his arms and fell back on the mattress. (Registration required)

 

Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm (New York Times, January 23, 2010) As Scott Jerome-Parks lay dying, he clung to this wish: that his fatal radiation overdose — which left him deaf, struggling to see, unable to swallow, burned, with his teeth falling out, with ulcers in his mouth and throat, nauseated, in severe pain and finally unable to breathe — be studied and talked about publicly so that others might not have to live his nightmare. (Registration required)

 

Officials fear toxic ingredient in Botox could become terrorist tool (Washington Post, January 25, 2010) In early 2006, a mysterious cosmetics trader named Rakhman began showing up at salons in St. Petersburg, Russia, hawking a popular anti-aging drug at suspiciously low prices. (Registration required)

 

American Heart Association lists 7 keys to heart health (USA Today, January 25, 2010) Here are the seven secrets to a long life: Stay away from cigarettes. Keep a slender physique. Get some exercise. Eat a healthy diet and keep your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar in check.

 

Obama nominates Hagen as food safety undersecretary (USA Today, January 26, 2010) The White House announced Monday a nominee for undersecretary for Food Safety at the Department of Agriculture. The position has been vacant for almost a year.

Salami recalled over salmonella concerns (USA Today, January 25, 2010) Pepper, one of the most commonly used spices, could be the cause of a 1.24 million-pound salami recall, some food safety experts say.

 

Play, Then Eat: Shift May Bring Gains at School (New York Times, January 26, 2010) Can something as simple as the timing of recess make a difference in a child’s health and behavior? (Registration required)

 

Teen pregnancy, abortion rates rise (USA Today, January 26, 2010) The teen pregnancy rate in the USA rose 3% in 2006, the first increase in more than a decade, according to data out today. The data also show higher rates of births and abortions among girls 15-19.

 

In Labor, a Snack or a Sip? (New York Times, January 26, 2010) Maternity wards have long forbidden women in labor to eat or drink. Even when labor goes on and on, the bill of fare is usually limited to ice chips. (Registration required)

 

An Ill Father, a Life-or-Death Decision (New York Times, January 26, 2010) I am utterly spent by the time my father lands in the emergency room, shortly after 1 a.m. on a cold January night. (Registration required)

 

A Legal Puzzle: Can a Baby Have Three Biological Parents? (New York Times, January 26, 2010) Scientists have created baby monkeys with a father and two mothers. Their goal was to eliminate birth defects, but increasing the number of biological parents beyond two could add a futuristic twist to an area where the law already is a mess: the question of who, in this age of artificial insemination and surrogacy, should be considered the legal parents of a baby. (Registration required)

 

Is Your Kid Truly Allergic? Tests Add to Food Confusion (Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2010) Grayson Grebe started getting eczema on his cheeks when he was just 4-weeks-old. At 6 months, he was diagnosed with allergies to wheat, dairy, eggs, nuts, oats, rice, barley, chicken, pork, corn and beans; his mother, who was breast-feeding him, had to stop eating them all.

 

Quest Diagnostics Net Rises on Increased Demand (Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2010) Quest Diagnostics Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings jumped 6.9%, beating analysts' estimates, as the company said margins rose and it saw increased demand for some of its clinical tests.

 

Charges Hit J&J Profit, but Sales Climb  (Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2010) Health-care giant Johnson & Johnson reported a 19% decline in fourth-quarter earnings largely because of restructuring charges, but posted a 9% sales gain that reversed a slump in previous quarters.

 

Medtronic Valve Wins FDA Approval (Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2010) The Food and Drug Administration Monday approved a Medtronic Inc. heart valve that can be implanted without open-heart surgery.