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Viewpoints: CHIP funding needed; GOP's flawed plan to make 'the pill' OTC; millennials' health issues

Federal financing for a beneficial health insurance program for low-income children, known as the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP, will run out next year unless Congress agrees to extend it. Bills are pending in both the House and the Senate to extend financing for four years, to 2019. Congress should approve the extension in the lame-duck session after the midterm elections so that families and state officials will know what the future holds. The program needs to be maintained amid uncertainty as to whether other good coverage will be available for these children (9/21).

23 Sep 2014

Even in N.H., which seeks to make health prices transparent, getting information is difficult

New Hampshire is one of a handful of states that requires disclosure of health care prices. Also, The Miami Herald continues its coverage of the problems Miami-Dade County has in trying to get details about what it spends on health care for workers.

21 Sep 2014

CDC urges all adults to get flu vaccination

Influenza vaccination coverage estimates show an encouraging upward trend overall, but coverage among healthy 18 to 64 year-olds has yet to top 40 percent, according to new data announced at a news conference held today by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

19 Sep 2014

Hillary Clinton urges Congress to reauthorize 9/11 compensation fund

The former secretary of state and member of the Senate pressed union members at a fundraiser to mobilize and push for an extension of the legislation that supports compensation for first responders who got sick at ground zero.

17 Sep 2014

Young girls in poor households more likely than their male counterparts to become obese in midlife

Adolescent girls living in economically disadvantaged families are more likely than their male counterparts to become overweight or obese, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.

17 Sep 2014

State highlights: N.Y. sues drugmaker over Alzheimer's drug switch; Ariz. Republican resigns over Medicaid remarks

New York State's attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit on Monday seeking to stop a pharmaceutical company from forcing patients with Alzheimer's disease to switch to a new version of a widely used drug. The lawsuit contends that the switch is designed to blunt competition from low-priced generic versions of the medication (Pollack, 9/15).

17 Sep 2014

State highlights: States want home care worker wage changes delayed; Ga. delays nursing home rate hike

State officials that argued against providing overtime and minimum wage protections to the nation's 2 million home care workers are asking the Department of Labor to push back a Jan. 1 start date for the policy to take effect. State Medicaid officials concerned that their costs will rise are asking for a delay and tweaks to the policy, even though the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized the rule a year ago.

15 Sep 2014

Widespread use of unnecessary antibiotics drives up avoidable healthcare costs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Premier, Inc. have released new research on the widespread use of unnecessary and duplicative antibiotics in U.S. hospitals, which could have led to an estimated $163 million in excess costs.

11 Sep 2014

Joint agreement to make it easier for qualified students to enter nursing school

A new joint agreement between The University of Texas at San Antonio and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio will make it easier for qualified students to enter nursing school.

10 Sep 2014

Nearly half of hog workers carry livestock-associated bacteria to home

A new study suggests that nearly half of workers who care for animals in large industrial hog farming operations may be carrying home livestock-associated bacteria in their noses, and that this potentially harmful bacteria remains with them up to four days after exposure.

9 Sep 2014

Research roundup: Doctors' training; expanding FEHBP; the ACA and part-time work

Growing concern about rising costs and potential harms of medical care has stimulated interest in assessing physicians' ability to minimize the provision of unnecessary care. Objective: To assess whether graduates of residency programs characterized by low-intensity practice patterns are more capable of managing patients' care conservatively ...

8 Sep 2014

State highlights: Democrats consider letting states curb health costs; obesity in America

Borrowing a Republican idea, a group including former senior Obama and Clinton advisers is unveiling a novel proposal to let states take the lead in controlling health costs.

8 Sep 2014

Study finds considerable gap between economic loss and compensation after Hebei Spirit oil spill

Although nearly eight years have passed since a major oil spill in South Korea, compensation and recovery efforts appear to be far from satisfactory, and the affected communities continue to suffer the effects of the disaster.

4 Sep 2014

State highlights: Mass. health care costs grow smaller 2.3 percent; new rules in Calif. for inmates with mental illness

Two years ago, Massachusetts set what was considered an ambitious goal: The state would not let that persistent monster, rising health care costs, increase faster than the economy as a whole.

3 Sep 2014

New guideline recommends against routine use of bed rest in pregnancy

In a new guideline, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine has recommended against the routine use of bed rest in pregnancy.

3 Sep 2014

Bypassing politics, insurers pay for end of life talks

These doctor-patient conversations had been labeled "death panels" by opponents of the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, in a bid to reduce backlogs, Medicare offers a deal to hospitals to pay 68 percent of short-term stay medical claims that were rejected by outside auditors.

3 Sep 2014

State highlights: Heroin deaths rise in N.Y.; TennCare computer system delay; Colo. races to win $87M to integrate care;

A heroin crisis gripping communities across the country deepened in New York last year, with more people in the city dying in overdoses from the drug than in any year since 2003. In all, 420 people fatally overdosed on heroin in 2013 out of a total of 782 drug overdoses, rising to a level not seen in a decade in both absolute numbers and as a population-adjusted rate, according to preliminary year-end data from the city's health department (Goodman, 8/28).

29 Aug 2014

Labor News and Research

Viewpoints: CHIP funding needed; GOP's flawed plan to make 'the pill' OTC; millennials' health issues

Even in N.H., which seeks to make health prices transparent, getting information is difficult

CDC urges all adults to get flu vaccination

Hillary Clinton urges Congress to reauthorize 9/11 compensation fund

Young girls in poor households more likely than their male counterparts to become obese in midlife

State highlights: N.Y. sues drugmaker over Alzheimer's drug switch; Ariz. Republican resigns over Medicaid remarks

State highlights: States want home care worker wage changes delayed; Ga. delays nursing home rate hike

Widespread use of unnecessary antibiotics drives up avoidable healthcare costs

Joint agreement to make it easier for qualified students to enter nursing school

Nearly half of hog workers carry livestock-associated bacteria to home

Research roundup: Doctors' training; expanding FEHBP; the ACA and part-time work

State highlights: Democrats consider letting states curb health costs; obesity in America

Study finds considerable gap between economic loss and compensation after Hebei Spirit oil spill

State highlights: Mass. health care costs grow smaller 2.3 percent; new rules in Calif. for inmates with mental illness

New guideline recommends against routine use of bed rest in pregnancy

Bypassing politics, insurers pay for end of life talks

State highlights: Heroin deaths rise in N.Y.; TennCare computer system delay; Colo. races to win $87M to integrate care;

CBO: Smaller deficits projected as Medicare and Medicaid spending declines slightly

Millions of women suffering in silence with hot flashes

First Edition: August 28, 2014

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Exploring the G:Box and for high-quality imaging

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