Health News E-Clips

An electronic healthcare news link service provided by UHA,

Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association

 

Friday, May 2, 2008  

 

Utah Healthcare Headlines

Health plan would aid small business (Salt Lake Tribune, April 30, 2008) The Salt Lake Chamber, which has singled out health care reform as its top public policy priority, is rolling out its first health plan for small-business members who are skipping insurance for their employees because they can't afford it. http://www.sltrib.com/health/ci_9101550

  • Salt Lake Chamber and Humana Partner to Provide Health Solution to Small Businesses
    (Utah Business Magazine, May 2, 2008) Recognizing the need for affordable coverage for small businesses, the Salt Lake Chamber and Humana of Utah announced that they will offer a consumer-oriented Chamber Health Plan to small employers (those with 2-99 employees) that are members of the Salt Lake Chamber. http://www.utahbusiness.com/parser.php?nav=email_article&article_id=7057
  • Number of Utah companies offering health insurance dropping (KSL.com, April 29th, 2008) The number of Utah companies offering health insurance to employees is dropping faster than the national average. http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=3193466

 

Salt Lake County Council members counter Wilson's health plan for domestic partners (Salt Lake Tribune, April 30, 2008) Domestic partners could have health insurance in Salt Lake County government - if they pay for it themselves. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_9096005

  • Health-plan premium high for Salt Lake County employee designees (Salt Lake Tribune, April 30, 2008) Domestic partners and other "adult designees" of Salt Lake County employees will receive health care, but it will cost a pretty penny. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695274970,00.html

 

More security added for UBMC newborns (Uintah Basin Standard, April 30, 2008) The chime that rang out in the obstetrics wing of Uintah Basin Medical Center on Thursday had a pleasant tone, but its ring indicated every new parent's greatest fear: having their newborn abducted from the hospital. http://www.ubstandard.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=73&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=2536&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1585&hn=ubstandard&he=.com

 

Nursing home costs creep up (Salt Lake Tribune, April 30, 2008) The average cost of a year's worth of nursing-home care in Utah rose 13 percent over the past five years to $57,332, a new report shows. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_9101554

 

TV and soda: Health department finds kids sit, guzzle too much (Editorial, Salt Lake Tribune, April 30, 2008) Utah kids are doing too much sitting, watching and guzzling instead of running, bouncing a ball or jumping rope. http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_9098091

 

Students in awe of real-time childbirth (Deseret Morning News, May 1, 2008) More than 300 high school seniors from all over the state spent a few hours Wednesday watching the "miracle of life" — something that has been known to make many queasy. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695275388,00.html

 

CHIP Enrollment Opens Permanently Next Week (KCPW, May 1, 2008) n the past, funding shortages have meant placing a cap on the amount of children allowed to enroll in the state's health insurance program for children - or CHIP. However, starting Monday that will no longer be an issue. http://www.kcpw.org/article/5882

 

Utah has nation's youngest population (Deseret Morning News, May 1, 2008) It's taken just four years of operation for Oakcrest Elementary School to nearly burst at the seams. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695275324,00.html

  • Census findings: Utah's ethnic makeup increasingly diverse (Salt Lake Tribune, May 1, 2008) Utah's population keeps showing more racial diversity, with blacks leading the way in percentage growth as a population last year and Latinos accounting for a quarter of the state's total growth, according to U.S. Census estimates released today. http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_9115936

 

IHC land rezoned with restrictions (Daily Herald, May 1, 2008) Intermountain Healthcare and the city of Saratoga Springs both got what they wanted Tuesday night after a lengthy rezoning debate. http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/264744/

 

UDOH Launches Fight Against Prescription Drug Abuse (KSPW, May 2, 2008) Since the year 2000, Utah has experienced a four-fold increase in the amount of deaths associated with prescription pain medication. The problem has become so big that in 2006 more people in Utah died from prescription drug overdoses than from injuries received in automobile accidents. http://www.kcpw.org/article/5902

 

National Healthcare Headlines

CDC official says America could be 'healthiest nation' (Deseret Morning News, April 30, 2008) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to borrow a timeline from President John F. Kennedy, then issue a challenge as ambitious as his 1961 "let's put a man on the moon." http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695274894,00.html

  • CDC Promotes Health as Effective Health System Reform (KCPW Radio, April 30, 2008) Efforts to fix the nation's health-care crisis are largely ignoring health promotion as a means to lasting reform, says Brad Perkins, the chief strategy and innovation officer for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.kcpw.org/article/5887
  • Fed: Health absent in talks (Salt Lake Tribune, April 30, 2008) In all the talk about health care reform, one important topic is missing, according to a federal official: health. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_9103062

 

Congressional Budget Office backs universal government-private healthcare plan (Salt Lake Tribune, May 2, 2008) A universal health care system overseen by the government but delivered by private companies seems to make financial sense, according to a preliminary analysis released Thursday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9128854

  • Congressional Budget Office Favorable Toward Bennett's Healthy Americans Act (KCPW, May 2, 2008) The Congressional Budget Office today says the Healthy Americans Act co-sponsored by Utah Senator Bob Bennett will cut health care costs and lead to a budget surplus by 2014. Bennett says fixing health care starts with the tax code.

 

Death In Childbirth: A Health Scourge For Afghanistan (New York Times, April 30, 2008) A woman hemorrhages to death as she lies screaming in agony in a Spartan hut in a remote region of Afghanistan. There is no doctor or midwife to help and the hospital is several days journey away. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/lifestyle-afghan-health-mothers.html

 

Human Organs for Sale, Legally, in … Which Country? (New York Times, April 30, 2008) Here is an oversimplification of a complex problem:  Thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, a sick or dying human being can receive a transplanted organ from another human being. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/human-organs-for-sale-legally-in-which-country/

 

Doctors To Monitor ICU Patients Electronically (Washington Post, April 29, 2008) Six Maryland hospitals facing a shortage of emergency room doctors plan to use physicians in Delaware to electronically monitor intensive care patients, officials announced yesterday. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/28/AR2008042801225.html

 

Robot reinvents bypass surgery (USA Today, April 30, 2008) The surgeon working inside J.C. Bizzle's chest perched at an egg-shaped console a few yards from the operating table. Without laying hands on his patient, he bypassed two clogged arteries supplying Bizzle's heart. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-04-29-robot-surgery_N.htm

 

FDA to Hire Additional Scientists To Expand Drug Safety Operations (Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2008) The Food and Drug Administration announced that it will hire 1,300 scientists and pharmacologists as part of a new expansion of its drug approval and safety operations mandated by Congress last year. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com

  • Democrats, FDA Official at Odds Over Inspection Plan (Wall Street Journal, May 2, 2008) A top Food and Drug Administration official rebuffed calls by congressional Democrats to support their proposals for tougher regulations on imported drugs and new fees on drug makers, in the latest round of conflict between lawmakers and the administration over drug safety. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com
  • Lawmakers Fault FDA on Heparin (Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2008) House lawmakers on Tuesday accused the Food and Drug Administration and Baxter International Inc. of failing the American public over a widely used blood thinner that has been linked to 81 deaths. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

Wars Harming Mental Health Of Soldiers, Spouses (Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2008) The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused heightened stress, depression and sleeplessness among some military personnel and their families, a new report says. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

Weak Dollar, Generics Hurt Sanofi-Aventis (Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2008) Continuing a negative streak of drug-industry earnings, French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA posted drops in both profits and sales in the first quarter as a weak dollar and competition from low-cost generics hurt the company's sales. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

Staff Training Reduces Postpartum Bleeding, Episiotomies (Washington Post, May 1, 2008) An intensive educational program for physicians and midwives that stresses giving women the drug oxytocin just after a vaginal delivery resulted in significantly fewer cases of excessive bleeding, according to a study done in two South American countries. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043002763.html

 

More Mothers Breast-Feed, in First Months at Least (New York Times, May 1, 2008) About 77 percent of new mothers breast-feed their infants at least briefly, the highest rate seen in the United States in more than a decade, according to a government survey released on Wednesday. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/health/research/01breast.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

 

Even Less Help in Hard Times (Editorial, New York Times, May 1, 2008) The troubled economy could soon create a major fiscal crisis for the state-run Medicaid and children’s health programs that would only be exacerbated by the Bush administration’s efforts to cut these programs back. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/opinion/01thu2.html?th&emc=th

 

House Overwhelmingly Approves Anti-Genetic Discrimination Bill (Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2008) Companies would no longer be able to use genetic information like a person's predisposition for breast cancer, sickle cell or diabetes to make insurance or job decisions under a bill passed by Congress on Thursday. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com

  • Genetic-test bill goes to Bush (Boston Globe, May 2, 2008) The US House of Representatives gave final approval to legislation barring companies and health insurers from using results of genetic tests to deny people jobs or coverage, sending the measure to President Bush. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008/05/02/genetic_test_bill_goes_to_bush/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z
  • Stronger Oversight of Gene Testing Is Sought (Wall Street Journal, May 2, 2008) A federal advisory panel called for tougher government oversight of the burgeoning genetic-testing business, warning that tests are being marketed with little evidence about their usefulness. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

HSA Users Find Hassles Amid Savings (Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2008) The public debate over consumer-driven health care is heating up. (You must have an online subscription to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

Glaxo's New Chief Shuffles Ranks (Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2008) Andrew Witty, set to take over as chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline PLC in May, started realigning the drug company's executive team in an effort to boost sales in emerging markets and explore new-business opportunities. (You must have an online registration to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

U.K. Court Orders Health Service To Detail Drugs' Cost-Effectiveness (Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2008) Extending a fight in Britain over patient access to Alzheimer's drugs, a U.K. court on Thursday ruled that a branch of the state health service must reveal in full how it calculated that certain Alzheimer's drugs aren't cost-effective for some patients. (You must have an online registration to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

Cardinal Posts Sharply Higher Net, Notes Weakness in Pharmaceuticals (Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2008 ) Cardinal Health Inc. posted a surge in fiscal third-quarter net income on a year-earlier litigation charge, but noted weakness in its pharmaceuticals segment. (You must have an online registration to view this story) www.wsj.com

 

CDC: Measles cases highest in 6 years (USA Today May 1, 2008) Measles outbreaks in several states have led to more than 70 cases so far this year, the worst in six years, health officials said Thursday. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-05-01-measles-cdc_N.htm

 

EPA wants tougher lead rules (USA Today, May 2, 2008) The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a major tightening Thursday of the health standard for airborne lead, saying that current allowable concentrations do not adequately protect public health, especially children. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-05-01-epalead_N.htm

 

Healthcare on the Campaign Trail

Presidential candidates on health care (USA Today, April 29, 2008) Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would provide $2,500 in refundable tax credits for low-income individuals and $5,000 to low-income families who obtain their own health insurance. http://content.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/issues.aspx?i=3&c=11

 

Vital Signs in Health-Care Debate (Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2008) Republican John McCain and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are laboring with understandable vigor to contrast Republican solutions to the ailments of the American health system with Democratic ones. The differences are sharp. (You must have an online registration to view this story) www.wsj.com