Health News E-Clips

An electronic healthcare news link service provided by UHA,

Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association

 

 

Thursday, November 20, 2008  

 

Utah Healthcare Headlines

A mixed review for health plans (Salt Lake Tribune, November 19, 2008) Utah's private health maintenance organizations (HMOs) do a good job treating children with asthma, but need to do better in providing breast cancer screenings, according to a new state report. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11015929

 

Experts to discuss caring for the aging (Deseret Morning News, November 19, 2008) Need advice on tough decisions about an aging parent or spouse? Wonder how to care for a frail loved one? http://deseretnews.com/article/0,5143,705264148,00.html

 

Hospitals to go smoke-free (Salt Lake Tribune, November 20, 2008) Intermountain Healthcare's three Utah County hospitals soon will soon have tobacco-free campuses to address rising concerns over secondhand smoke. http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_11015689

  • All of Utah County's hospitals now smoke-free (Daily Herald, November 20, 2008) Four Utah County hospitals are officially banning smoking on their campuses today, ending the practice at all of the area's major health care facilities. http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/289411/17/

 

Kennecott OKs new U. clinic at Daybreak (Deseret News, November 19, 2008) Kennecott Land and University Health Care have agreed to place a 150,000-square-foot health-care center in the Daybreak community to serve the southwest valley's growing population. It will be located at 11400 S. Daybreak View Parkway. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264066,00.html

 

New report: Utah 10th-worst for children lacking health insurance (Salt Lake Tribune, November 20, 2008) A growing number of Utah kids from poor working families are losing their health insurance, underscoring the importance of reauthorizing and funding the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), policy experts and a congressional representative said Wednesday. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11026287

  • Matheson urges state, federal action for Utah's uninsured kids (Daily Herald, November 20, 2008) The number of uninsured children in Utah is on the rise, and Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson says state and federal lawmakers must act to preserve a program designed to help them. http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/288874/17/
  • Utah has high rate of uninsured children (Deseret News, November 20, 2008) One in eight children in Utah is uninsured — nearly 13 percent of all children in the state — according to a report released Wednesday by a national health care consumers policy research and advocacy group. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264348,00.html
  • Matheson: lawmakers need to help rising number of uninsured (The Spectrum, November 20, 2008) One in every eight children in Utah is without health insurance, according to a report released Wednesday, and U.S. Rep Jim Matheson said lawmakers need to step in and help. http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20081119/NEWS01/81119008

 

Health Care Portal May Be a Bust (KCPW, November 20, 2008) The Utah Association of Health Underwriters will report to the legislature's Health and Human Services Committee today on its efforts to create an internet-based health care portal. But President-elect Ernie Sweat doesn't think the portal will do what the legislature may be hoping for. http://www.kcpw.org/article/7033

 

Hatch snags one of McCain's campaign advisers (November 20, 2008) The senior health policy adviser to defeated GOP presidential candidate John McCain has found a new job — as the senior health counsel to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264312,00.html

 

More Utah women delivering at home (Salt Lake Tribune, November 20, 2008) It appears a growing number of Utah women are choosing to have their babies at home, with few mothers or babies suffering complications. http://www.sltrib.com/parenting/ci_11025637

 

Nurses: Utah needs tougher helmet, seat belt laws (Salt Lake Tribune, November 20, 2008) Utah is improving its road safety laws, but is still lacking a few key provisions, the Emergency Nurses Association said in a report released this week. http://www.sltrib.com/parenting/ci_11026747

 

National Healthcare Headlines

Dem Officials: Daschle Accepts HHS Cabinet Post (New York Times, November 20, 2008) Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Democratic officials said Wednesday. The appointment has not been announced, but these officials said the job is Daschle's, barring an unforeseen problem as Obama's team reviews the background of the South Dakota Democrat. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Obama-Health-Daschle.html Also found at http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264317,00.html (Deseret News, November 19, 2008)

 

This Time Around, Health-Care Revamp Has Wings (Wall Street Journal, November 19, 2008) The effort to overhaul the nation's health system will begin next year with one clear advantage over previous attempts: A wide variety of interest groups are rooting for it to succeed rather than plotting to kill it. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122711567037241219.html

  • The Obama Health Plan Emerges (Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2008) "Universal" government-run health care proved too ambitious even for FDR, who stripped it out of the Social Security Act of 1935. Lyndon Johnson settled for Medicare and Medicaid. Now liberals think the political moment has finally arrived to achieve what has eluded every other Democratic President from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122714181668742739.html?mod=article-outset-box
  • The health care promise Obama is bound to break (Opinion, USA Today, November 20, 2008) residential candidates make many promises that, when circumstances change and political realities intrude, get modified or broken. Just ask George H.W. Bush or Bill Clinton. Here's one campaign promise President-elect Barack Obama is virtually guaranteed to break: He'll cut health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/11/the-health-care.html#more

 

Medicaid and Hospitals (Opinion, Mike Leavitt, New York Times, November 20, 2008) I strongly disagree with your interpretation of a new Medicaid regulation that clarifies Medicaid outpatient hospital services. This regulation seeks to restore accountability and transparency to the program. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/opinion/l20medicaid.html

 

Health Insurers Offer to Accept All Applicants, on Condition (New York Times, November 20, 2008) The health insurance industry said Wednesday that it would support a health care overhaul requiring insurers to accept all customers, regardless of illness or disability. But in return, the industry said, Congress should require all Americans to have coverage. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/us/20health.html?partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040

  • Insurers make pitch for health coverage mandate (Deseret News, November 20, 2008) The health insurance industry said Wednesday it will support a national health care overhaul that requires them to accept all customers, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions, but in return it wants lawmakers to mandate that everyone buy coverage. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264300,00.html

 

Report: Economy is sickening US hospitals (Washington Post, November 20, 2008) The dismal economy has American hospitals ailing, with new data showing declines in overall admissions and elective procedures, plus a significant jump in patients who can't pay for care, the American Hospital Association said Wednesday. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/19/AR2008111903146.html

 

Defying Slump, Developers Plan 60-Story Hospital Industry Center on West Side (Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2008) A major hospital trade association, one of New York City’s most aggressive developers and a financier with a personal interest in health care are teaming up in hopes of building a 60-story glass-and-steel tower on the West Side of Manhattan that would function as an international showcase and permanent conference center for the hospital industry. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/nyregion/20product.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

States Cut Services for Elderly, Disabled (Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2008) Faced with widening budget shortfalls, several states are rolling back support services for the elderly and disabled. The move is making it tougher for them to continue living on their own, advocates say. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122714130153442755.html

 

The Doctor Will See You Now — Online (New York Times, November 19, 2008) American Well aims to reinvent the house call. If Roy Schoenberg, the start-up’s co-founder and chief executive, has his way, patients will no longer have to wait a month to see a doctor for an urgent sore throat, wait all day for a doctor to return their call or leave work midday and drive a long distance for a routine appointment. Instead, patients will log on to their computers and find themselves face-to-face with physicians over Webcam. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/the-doctor-will-see-you-now-online/

 

Use of Antipsychotics in Children Is Criticized (New York Times, November 19, 2008) Powerful antipsychotic medicines are being used far too cavalierly in children, and federal drug regulators must do more to warn doctors of their substantial risks, a panel of federal drug experts said Tuesday. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/health/policy/19fda.html?hp

 

States lacking in children's mental health care (USA Today, November 20, 2008) Publicly funded mental health care for children has improved in the past 25 years, but top officials in more than one out of five states say no child with serious mental disorders receives good care in their states, a report says today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-20-children-mental-disorders_N.htm?csp=34

 

Payment Hassles, Not Just Stinginess, Turn Doctors Off Medicaid (Wall Street Journal Health Blog, November 19, 2008) As Democrats in Congress consider covering more of the uninsured kids by expanding Medicaid, they may want to consider this: Fewer doctors are accepting Medicaid patients not just because fees are so low, but because it often takes months to get paid. http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/11/18/payment-hassles-not-just-stinginess-turn-doctors-off-medicaid/

 

Federal Court Upholds Drug Privacy Law (New York Times, November 19, 2008) A federal appeals court in Boston on Tuesday dealt a setback to the pharmaceutical industry and companies that collect prescription data for use in drug marketing. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/business/19drug.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

AARP Orders Investigation Concerning Its Marketing (New York Times, November 19, 2008) After a Senate inquiry found evidence of deceptive marketing, AARP, the lobby for older Americans, has hired an outside investigator to look into sales of some of its popular health insurance products. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/us/19insure.html?th&emc=th

 

FDA Sending Inspectors to Other Nations (Washington Post, November 19, 2008) Under fire for not having the resources to better protect consumers at home, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is deploying staff members abroad to work directly with importers and foreign regulatory agencies to guard against contaminated animal feed, counterfeit drugs, toys made with lead paint and dairy products containing melamine. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111802926.html?wpisrc=newsletter

 

Study: Cost of diabetes $218B (USA Today, November 19, 2008) As diabetes is rapidly becoming one of the world's most common diseases, its financial cost is mounting, too, to well over $200 billion a year in the U.S. alone. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-18-diabetes-cost_N.htm

 

Mandate may spur insurer revenue; profit less sure (Washington Post, November 19, 2008) A government plan mandating insurance coverage for all Americans could rake in revenue for commercial health insurers, but whether that revenue would trickle down to robust profit growth remains to be seen, according to Wall Street analysts. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/19/AR2008111903082_pf.html

 

Health-Insurance Deductible of $1,000 Now Common (Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2008) Health-insurance deductibles of $1,000 or more have become commonplace for people who receive coverage through their employers. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122714479224043153.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

Windpipe rebuilt with patient's stem cells (Deseret News, November 19, 2008) Doctors have given a woman a new windpipe with tissue grown from her own stem cells, eliminating the need for anti-rejection drugs. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264233,00.html

 

Study finds that ginkgo can't prevent dementia (Deseret News, November 19, 2008) The dietary supplement ginkgo, long promoted as an aid to memory, didn't help prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease in the longest and largest test of the extract in older Americans. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705264221,00.html

 

Offended moms get tweet revenge over Motrin ads (USA Today, November 19, 2008) The maker of painkiller Motrin got a painful lesson in the power of online social networking. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-11-18-motrin-ads-twitter_N.htm

 

FDA Panel Backs Theravance's MRSA Antibiotic (Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2008) A federal advisory panel backed a proposed Theravance Inc. antibiotic designed to treat serious skin infections, including some caused by a type of staph bacterium known as MRSA that is resistant to many antibiotics. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122712953231241905.html

 

Early HIV Treatment Best for Babies (Washington Post, November 20, 2008) A new study finalizes research that changed guidelines around the world regarding when HIV-infected babies should begin drug therapy. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/19/AR2008111903428.html

 

Would a Market for Organs Punish the Poor More Than They Are Already Punished? (New York Times Health blog, November 19, 2008) Below is a fascinating statement issued by Physicians for a National Health Program, “a membership organization of over 15,000 physicians [which] supports a single-payer national health insurance program.” http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/would-a-market-for-organs-punish-the-poor-more-than-they-are-already-punished/

 

Walgreen eyes growth despite slowdown (Washington Post, November 19, 2008) Walgreen Co <WAG.N> expects to increase its share of prescription sales even as anxious consumers rein in spending in the tough economic climate, said President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Wasson. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/19/AR2008111902614.html