Health News E-Clips

An electronic healthcare news link service provided by UHA,

Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association

 

Tuesday, November 4, 2008  

 

Utah Healthcare Headlines

Insurers unveil partial health plan prototype (Salt Lake Tribune, November 1, 2008) Pressed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and the Legislature's Health System Reform Task Force to come up with an affordable health plan, insurers unveiled a new product Friday they say will help capture some of the state's uninsured. http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10871959

  • Health-care reform on a merry-go-round (Deseret News, November 1, 2008) Despite the sincere effort being made, health care reform in Utah and nationwide is destined to run in circles unless everyone gets serious about medical costs and affordability, members of a special legislative task force were told Friday. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705259596,00.html
  • Governor's Office Reports to Health System Reform Task Force (KCPW, November 1, 2008) The Governor's Office reported this morning to the legislature's Health System Reform Task Force on the responsibilities it was assigned in House Bill 133 to begin the process of health care reform. http://www.kcpw.org/article/6931
  • Utah insurers offering affordable health plan (Daily Herald, November 2, 2008) Utah's health-care insurers are rolling out an affordable policy that will become available to people for up to a year after they leave jobs and employer-sponsored health plans. http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/286877/182/

 

Future of the Health System Reform Task Force Unknown (KCPW Radio, November 4, 2008) The legislature's Health System Reform Task Force will disband at the end of November under House Bill 133. Co-chair Representative David Clark says he's not sure if the task force will be reinstated or what group would take over its duties. http://www.kcpw.org/article/6938

 

Cancer hospital breaks ground for expansion (Deseret News, November 1, 2008) The Huntsman Cancer Institute Hospital is doubling in size, less than five years after opening its doors and not quite a decade after Utah businessman and philanthropist Jon M. Huntsman Sr. announced plans to create a cancer-fighting campus on the east bench of the University of Utah. http://deseretnews.com/article/0,5143,705259577,00.html

 

U. experts developing health scanner (Deseret News, November 3, 2008) The era of consumer-driven health care in which medical treatment history, possible illnesses as well as your risk factors — from allergies to genetic markers — will fit on a card the size and as handy as a driver's license is a step closer to becoming reality. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705260122,00.html

 

Utahns lead effort on colon cancer (Deseret News, November 4, 2008) Colon cancers that are inherited — and that's nearly one-third of them — may be more aggressive and strike people when they're younger. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705260375,00.html

 

Health-care group to discuss topics (Deseret News, November 4, 2008) University Health Care is presenting its Health Hot Topics series at the Salt Lake Main Library Main Auditorium, 210 E. 400 South, on Wednesday at 7 p.m. as well as Nov. 19 and Dec. 3. http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705260404,00.html

 

Intermountain Healthcare CEO to retire (Deseret News, November 4, 2008) As he prepares to step down from the helm of Utah's largest health-care system, Intermountain Healthcare CEO William H. "Bill" Nelson notes that it's sappy to refer to Intermountain's role in the community as "noble and caring." Still, he calls it that all the time, he adds with a smile, because, well, "that's what we are. I am committed to the noble and caring nature of what we do." http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705260327,00.html

 

National Healthcare Headlines

Court Blocks White House Push on Medicare Expenses (New York Times, November 4, 2008) A federal court has blocked the Bush administration’s effort to save money on Medicare by paying for only the least expensive treatments for particular conditions. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/washington/04medicare.html?th&emc=th  Also found at Court rejects cap on Medicare rates (Boston Globe, November 4, 2008) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/11/04/court_rejects_cap_on_medicare_rates/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+National+News

 

Expect Changes in Drug Co-Pays for Medicare (Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2008) Millions of older Americans are bracing for big increases in their Medicare drug-plan premiums next year. But consumers also need to watch for changes in co-payment costs, which often can represent the biggest out-of-pocket expense for plan beneficiaries. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122575598227995061.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

A Flawed Assessment of BPA (Editorial, New York Times, November 1, 2008) After reports of a possible conflict of interest, we worried that a scientific advisory panel might pull its punches in evaluating the Food and Drug Administration’s judgments on the safety of bisphenol-A, known as BPA. It didn’t. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/01/opinion/01sat3.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

 

Doctors on the Diamond (Wall Street Journal, November 2, 2008) What can doctors learn from baseball managers? Plenty, say an increasing number of health-care professionals, who are looking at the revolution in baseball statistics -- "sabermetrics," famously employed by Oakland As manager Billy Beane to build better teams with cheaper players -- to question established medical practices and to help develop better and cheaper health care. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122557939520390943.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

Gouging Women on Health Insurance (Editorial, New York Times, November 3, 2008) As tens of thousands of workers lose their jobs — and their group health insurance — in a worsening economy, they will have to scramble to find affordable insurance policies in the open market. The problems will be particularly acute for women, who often pay far higher premiums than men for the same health coverage, if they can get coverage at all. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/opinion/03mon2.html?th&emc=th

 

Few options remain when job insurance disappears (Boston Globe, November 3, 2008) Leah Smith shells out more than $730 a month for health insurance but you won't hear her complaining. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/11/03/few_options_remain_when_job_insurance_disappears/

 

AARP questioned on health plans (USA Today, November 3, 2008) Some health plans offered by AARP, the older Americans advocacy group, mislead consumers into thinking they're protected from catastrophic health costs but leave them vulnerable to paying tens of thousands of dollars, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-02-aarp_N.htm

 

High Court Case Looms Large for Drugmakers (Washington Post, November 4, 2008) Diana Levine went to a medical clinic with a severe migraine headache. She wound up with gangrene and an amputated forearm, the victim of a rare side effect from a popular anti-nausea drug. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR2008110300192.html?wpisrc=newsletter

 

Tenet swings to 3Q profit on investment sale gain (Washiington Post, November 4, 2008) Tenet Healthcare Corp. said Tuesday it swung to a third-quarter profit on an investment sales gain, but the results fell shy of Wall Street expectations and the hospital operator cut its full-year outlook. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110401167.html

 

Extra-Nutritious Bioengineered Foods Still Years Away (Washington Post, November 3, 2008) For years, advocates of agricultural biotechnology have promised a future in which foods will be genetically engineered to give more nutrition and to prevent chronic diseases, in which crops will be modified to thrive in salty soil or hot or dry climates and in which consumers will benefit directly from science's ability to tweak other characteristics of plants. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/02/AR2008110201939.html?wpisrc=newsletter

 

Study Links Violent Video Games, Hostility (Washington Post, November 3, 2008) Children and teenagers who play violent video games show increased physical aggression months afterward, according to new research that adds another layer of evidence to the continuing debate over the video-game habits of the youngest generation. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/02/AR2008110202392.html?wpisrc=newsletter

 

America's Pending Shortage of Cancer Doctors (Washington Post, November 3, 2008) The outlook for cancer patients, in some ways, has never been better, with breakthroughs leading to earlier diagnoses of certain malignancies, new treatments, and improved survival rates. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/31/AR2008103102918.html

 

Study Could Widen Market For Cholesterol Treatments (Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2008) Two decades after the first cholesterol-lowering drug known as a statin hit the market, a major new study is poised to reshape the landscape for the world's best-selling class of medicines. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122567849033392265.html

 

Money Is Tight, and Junk Food Beckons (New York Times, November 4, 2008) How much does it really cost to eat a healthy diet? (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/health/nutrition/04well.html?nl=8hlth&emc=hltha1

 

Number of kids on medication jumps alarmingly (USA Today, November 3, 2008) The number of children who take medication for chronic diseases has jumped dramatically, another troubling sign that many of the youngest Americans are struggling with obesity, doctors say. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-02-kidsmedications_N.htm

 

Iraq returns to its alternative medicine roots (USA Today, November 3, 2008) Like most American parents, 73-year-old Baghdad resident Khaled Shabib has warned his three children and seven grandchildren to stay away from the neighborhood drug dealer. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-11-02-herbalmeds_N.htm

 

The War on Dengue Fever (New York Times, November 4, 2008) There was little that doctors could do for a 3-year-old boy brought to Bangkok’s main children’s hospital two weeks ago with dengue fever. Like thousands before him, he had reached the most dangerous phase of the disease, dengue shock syndrome, and he died of internal bleeding and organ failure three days after being admitted. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/health/04denguefever.html?nl=8hlth&emc=hltha1

 

Deadly New Virus Thought to Be Contained (New York Times, November 4, 2008) A new virus that causes fatal hemorrhagic fevers has been discovered in southern Africa. It killed four people in South Africa and sickened a fifth, but health authorities believe the outbreak has been contained. (you must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/health/research/04global.html?nl=8hlth&emc=hltha2

 

Robodoc: surgeon of the future in theaters now (Washington Post, November 4, 2008) A mechanical snake that can enter the body through natural orifices -- not an incision -- to perform operations is just one futuristic device researchers believe will transform traditional surgical techniques. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR2008110302847.html

 

New ways to mitigate migraines (USA Today, November 4, 2008) Headaches distract. Migraines can debilitate. Nearly 30 million Americans suffer from the throbbing pain, costing employers some $13 billion a year from missed workdays and impaired work function, according to research reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-03-migraine-pain_N.htm

 

Eating fish twice a week may help diabetes patients (USA Today, November 4, 2008) Centering supper around a fish dish at least twice a week might help people with diabetes lower their risk of kidney disease, a study suggests. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-03-fish-diabetes_N.htm

 

And You Thought the Debate Over Fluoridation Was Settled (Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2008) As a baby boomer growing up without fluoridation, I had 14 cavities before my 18th birthday, including seven at one particularly mortifying dental visit. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122576047888095495.html

 

A Single Test to Detect Many Winter Ailments (Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2008) A new cold and flu test can precisely diagnose a dozen winter ailments and reduce unneeded use of antibiotics, says the company that sells it. Physicians say the test is accurate and the most comprehensive available, but some say its long processing time limits usefulness in emergency rooms. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122574959487594607.html

Healthcare on the Campaign Trail

Weighing hopefuls' health objectives (Salt Lake Tribune, November 3, 2008) When it came to promoting his health insurance initiative, Sen. John McCain's timing seemed unfortunate. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10875381

 

When Duty Calls: The Value of Voting, Beyond Politics (New York Times, November 4, 2008) For those who love the civic cheer and lukewarm coffee of their local polling place, an absentee ballot has all the appeal of a tax form. The paperwork, the miniature type, the search (in some states) for a notary public: it’s a tedium bath, and Pam Fleischaker, a lifelong Democrat from Oklahoma City, had every reason to take a pass this year. (You must register to view this link—no fee) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/health/research/04mind.html?nl=8hlth&emc=hltha2