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Health costs, disability issues cause concern among people nearing retirement

USA Today reports on new poll findings that indicate health care costs are a prominent fear among older workers. Also, Reuters reports on what might be behind the recent rise in disability claims among people in that same age group.

7 May 2012

Recession drives Medicaid spending

Job losses and diminishing income have pushed Medicaid spending to new heights, according to a study released Friday.

7 May 2012

Obama, Romney and their supporters debate government role in health care

[Bill] Clinton defended the Affordable Care Act that Obama signed into law in 2010, which is now the subject of debate among U.S. Supreme Court justices who are weighing the constitutionality of the legislation's requirement that all people have health insurance.

7 May 2012

First Edition: May 7, 2012

Today's health policy highlights include reports detailing what's ahead this week on Capitol Hill as well as state-level developments.

7 May 2012

Oral nutriceutical restores vision to otherwise hopeless patients facing permanent loss

There may be new found hope for patients whose vision is threatened when medicine injected directly into the eyes fails to cause abnormal blood vessels to recede. While injectable drugs called angiogenesis (an-gee-oh-jen-esis) inhibitors are considered a modern miracle and have become the standard of care for patients with the fast-progressive form of macular degeneration, they are not foolproof.

7 May 2012

Obama features health care law, contraception efforts in campaign kick-off speech

News outlets report that the president attacked his likely GOP rival, Mitt Romney, while highlighting his own health care record.

7 May 2012

Mass. house releases plan to curb health costs

Massachusetts House leaders released a major proposal to curb health care costs Friday, calling for new limits on the fees charged by hospitals and doctors and for creation of an independent agency to monitor medical spending.

7 May 2012

Ariz. Gov. signs law aimed at abortion providers; Court orders Texas to keep paying Planned Parenthood

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Friday signed into law a bill banning abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving money through the state, her office said in a statement.

7 May 2012

For U.S., preventable health conditions a gathering storm

The current generation of American children may be the first not to live as long as their parents. Much of this projection is linked to the increase in obesity and health conditions. These and other medical deficits in the U.S. health system were highlighted Thursday at an Atlanta conference and in national media reports.

5 May 2012

HCA's profits up, Cigna's down, as patients use more services

Earnings were slightly below the level analysts expected in the quarter, despite a boost from claims reserves that weren't needed in prior periods, although Cigna said it topped its own forecast. ... Like other insurers, Cigna has been projecting patients will start using health care services more after a long slump. The company in its release noted its latest guidance reflects, in part, an "expected increase in medical services utilization during 2012."

5 May 2012

Dengue fever costs Puerto Rico nearly $38M a year, study shows

"The costs of treating and coping with dengue fever in Puerto Rico total nearly $38 million a year, a new study," published Wednesday in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, finds, according to U.S. News & World Report.

5 May 2012

American voters say U.S. support for WHO important, poll shows

"Nine in 10 U.S. voters say it's important for the United States to support the global health efforts of the U.N.'s World Health Organization, according to a United Nations Foundation/Better World Campaign poll released Thursday," The Hill's "Global Affairs" blog reports.

5 May 2012

Survey: First-year medical school enrollment expected to increase

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the number of students entering medical school will show an increase of nearly 30 percent from its starting point in 2002 to projections for 2016.

5 May 2012

Study reveals steepest decline in HPV vaccine completion among girls

The proportion of insured girls and young women completing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among those who initiated the series has dropped significantly - as much as 63 percent - since the vaccine was approved in 2006, according to new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston.

5 May 2012

Reining in Medicare costs: Lots of talk but little action

News outlets report on how efforts to control Medicare spending often get lost in political messages and campaign posturing.

5 May 2012

U.N. adopts resolution on young people's sexual and reproductive rights

This RH Reality Check post by the International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere Region (IPPFWHR) examines a "resolution in support of young people's sexual and reproductive health and human rights" adopted recently by member states at the 45th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development.

5 May 2012