Health News
E-Clips
An electronic healthcare news link service
provided by UHA,
Friday, November 14, 2008
Health care reform: You could get cash for health insurance (Salt Lake Tribune, November 12, 2008) With a final Dec. 16 meeting left before it concludes, the Legislature's Health System Reform Task force on Tuesday presented a blueprint for bills that will be drafted and debated this session. http://origin.sltrib.com/ci_10961858
Clark may need his referee skills (Deseret News, November 12, 2008) Dave Clark used to referee college basketball games.That skill — making tough calls and trying to keep the crowd and players under control — will likely come in handy for the Southern Utah banker when, come the first of the year, he officially takes over as speaker of the 75-member Utah House. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705262437,00.html
Longtime public servant Dix McMullin dies (Deseret News, November 12, 2008) Dix McMullin, who served in public offices for more than three decades in the state House and Senate and as a planning commissioner, councilman and mayor of South Jordan, died Nov. 8, 2008, at age 74 from complications related to cancer. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705262332,00.html
Bill Gephardt's
Medical Insurance Nightmare of the Week - Alyson Nation (KUTV, November 13,
2008) If you are comfortable tonight, consider one of
your neighbors whose family was financially paralyzed, all over a medical debt
that was not owed. http://www.kutv.com/content/gephardt/story.aspx?content_id=2fb00fb8-598a-4d9c-bd3a-59b12c67ebab
Utah's poor hit hard by crisis - and they didn't do too well before (Salt Lake Tribune, November 13, 2008) The Utah Legislature needs to remember the needs of struggling Utah families this session, because they didn't fare as well during the last boom as some may believe, Voices for Utah Children officials said Wednesday. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10966479
Hospital fills a
niche in tricky cases (
New Medicare program for Arizona, Utah seniors (KUTV News, November 14, 2008) The federal agency that oversees Medicare has selected Arizona and Utah for a pilot program that invites senior patients to store their health records on the Internet as part of a government effort to streamline and improve health care. http://www.kutv.com/content/news/topnews/story.aspx?content_id=e7ca8958-d802-4d71-9c53-3c16783369b2
Defendants in U.
hospital records theft mull plea deals (
Health Department to
help seniors explore Medicare D (
National Healthcare Headlines
Senator Takes Initiative on Health Care (New York Times, November 12, 2008) Without waiting for President-elect Barack Obama, Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, will unveil a detailed blueprint on Wednesday to guarantee health insurance for all Americans by facilitating sales of private insurance, expanding Medicaid and Medicare, and requiring most employers to provide or pay for health benefits. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/washington/12health.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Study: Deadly stomach
bug more common than thought (Washington Post, November 12, 2008) A nasty, sometimes deadly stomach bug is at least six times
more common than was thought, researchers said Tuesday, based on a survey of
hundreds of
Drug costs for seniors growing (USA Today, November 12, 2008) Elderly and disabled people in Medicare prescription drug plans with the largest enrollments will pay 43% more on average in monthly premiums next year than when the drug program began in 2006, and some enrollees will see increases of as much as 329%, two analyses show. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-11-drugcosts_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Subsidized Insurance Backed (Washington Post, November 13, 2008) Maryland health advocates unveiled a $15.5 billion proposal yesterday for universal health care that would subsidize insurance coverage for low-income residents with a payroll tax and increases to cigarette and alcohol taxes. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111201661.html?wpisrc=newsletter
State toughens rules for building new clinics (Boston Globe, November 13, 2008) Hoping to tame soaring healthcare costs and prevent unfair competition, Massachusetts regulators yesterday significantly strengthened their oversight of medical building projects, a decision likely to reverberate broadly in the state's largest industry. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/11/13/state_toughens_rules_for_building_new_clinics/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Massachusetts+news
Study: Individual Health Insurance Premiums Average $158/Month (Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2008) A new study shows that half of all individual health insurance policyholders paid less than $130 a month for coverage, according to eHealth Inc. (EHTH), parent company of eHealthInsurance. http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20081112-707733.html
Preemie problems persist, state-by-state report shows (USA Today, November 12, 2008) The USA received a "D" overall on the March of Dimes' first state-by-state "Premature Birth Report Card," released today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-12-premature-births_N.htm
Child Obesity Seen as Warning of Heart Disease (New York Times, November 12, 2008) A new study finds striking evidence that children who are obese or have high cholesterol show early warning signs of heart disease. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/health/12heart.html?th&emc=th
Veterans’ Families
Seek Aid for Caregiver Role (New York Times, November 12, 2008) Tracy Keil met her husband, Matt, in August 2005 between his
first and second tours of duty in Iraq. They married in January 2007. Six weeks
later, Staff Sergeant Keil was shot in the neck while
on patrol in
Study:
Mixing Plavix, heartburn drugs raises heart attack
risk (USA Today, November 12, 2008) Stent
patients who take the blood thinner Plavix along with
certain heartburn drugs may face a greater risk of heart attack, stroke and
other dangerous events, according to a study released Tuesday. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-12-plavix-heartburn_N.htm
Google Uses Searches to Track Flu’s Spread (New York Times, November 12, 2008) There is a new common symptom of the flu, in addition to the usual aches, coughs, fevers and sore throats. Turns out a lot of ailing Americans enter phrases like “flu symptoms” into Google and other search engines before they call their doctors. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html?th&emc=th
We're Trying to Help the Uninsured and Doctors, Too (Opinion, Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2008) The basic premise of Frederic Jarrett's Oct. 25 op-ed, "Pennsylvania Is Driving Its Doctors Away," is flat out wrong. Dr. Jarrett writes: Gov. Ed "Rendell wants his health-care program to be funded by the premiums doctors paid into Mcare." The governor has simply never proposed that. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122645323844219475.html
The Hospital Is Watching You (Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2008) The next time you're in a hospital, they may be watching you. Hospitals are increasingly relying on electronic tracking systems to keep tabs on equipment and lab specimens, and even to monitor the location of patients and staff. But the heightened surveillance is raising some safety and privacy concerns. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122645364411819495.html?mod=rss_The_Informed_Patient
Catheter Device Used to Correct Heart Rhythm (Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2008) New study data indicate treatment with a catheter-based system made by a Johnson & Johnson unit can help patients avoid recurrence of a common heart-rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation better than the use of drugs. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122645554305019705.html
Doctors say marrow
transplant may have cured AIDS (
Merck Study Shows Promise for Gardasil in Boys (Wall Street Journal, November 13, 2008) Merck is moving ahead with plans to extend the use of its controversial Gardasil vaccine to boys and young men. http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/11/13/merck-study-shows-promise-for-gardasil-in-boys/
Study: Family members take diet seriously after heart attack (USA Today, November 13, 2008) A creative attempt to exploit a "teachable moment" and help families of hospitalized heart patients lower their own cholesterol has failed, researchers reported Wednesday. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-13-heartpatientrisk_N.htm
Brain stimulation may
help reduce OCD symptoms, study finds (
Poll
finds that young diabetes patients have trouble coping (USA Today, November
14, 2008) Even though a slew of new medical devices launched over the
past decade now help kids with type
1 diabetes better manage their disease, a new survey indicates those
touched by childhood diabetes still seek more support from schools and about
half of young people with the condition have trouble coping. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-14-youngdiabetes_N.htm
11-year-old boy is
31st
How Old Is Too Old
for Lifesaving Surgery? (New York Times, November 14, 2008) I recently
spent a stimulating day at The
Hastings Center in
A Prescription for Change in Primary Care (Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2008) The middle-aged couple that was in my office last week are like a lot of Americans struggling to get by. She works the night shift at Wal-Mart, and he works at a grocery store. She hasn't been on the job long enough to qualify for health insurance. His employer doesn't offer health benefits at all. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122661507085426083.html
When
Alzheimer's Hits at 40 (Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2008) Brian Kammerer, the 45-year-old chief financial officer of a
small hedge fund, called his wife one day from a cellphone
in the men's room of his
Booze Taxes Lower Alcohol-Linked Deaths (Washington Post, November 14, 2008) Raising state taxes on alcohol may trigger an immediate drop in the number of people who die from alcohol-related disease, new research reveals. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111302971.html
The Color of Medicine
(
Military seeks veterans for 'Wounded Warrior' aid (USA Today, November 14, 2008) The military has launched a detective effort to find at least 2,300 veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan to see how they are faring, and whether they are missing out on health and other benefits. http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-11-13-outreach_N.htm
GE &
Nearly 2,000 Carrying H.I.V. in Chile Were Not Notified (New York Times, November 14, 2008) Chile’s health minister said Thursday that the country’s public health system had failed to notify at least 512 people that they were infected with H.I.V., and that private-sector services did not inform an additional 1,364 that they were carrying the virus, which causes AIDS. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/world/americas/14chile.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Californians Drill for Day None Want to Arrive (New York Times, November 14, 2008) It was another warm sunny morning in Southern California on Thursday as 1,800 people “died,” 53,000 “fell injured,” schools, hospitals and apartment buildings “collapsed,” and Fred Tarkanian ordered a grande iced coffee at a Starbucks on Ventura Boulevard. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/us/14quake.html?th&emc=th
U.S. Blocks Chinese Milk Products (Washington Post, November 14, 2008) Federal food safety officials yesterday began holding up shipments of food from China that contain milk or milk-derived ingredients in the largest effort to date to keep products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine from reaching U.S. consumers. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111303798.html?wpisrc=newsletter