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Reform law causing students, insurers to examine college health plans

Colleges are saying the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited benefit student health insurance plans, "and they're seeking federal authority to continue offering them," Kaiser Health News reports. "Without a number of changes, it may be impossible 'to continue to offer student health plans,' says an Aug. 12 letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from the American Council on Education and signed by 12 other trade associations representing colleges."

21 Aug 2010

FDA warns of typhoid fever through frozen mamey fruit pulp

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat frozen mamey fruit pulp sold under the La Nuestra brand by Montalvan Sales Inc. Ontario, Calif., or the Goya brand by Goya Foods Inc. Secaucus, N.J.

21 Aug 2010

Assurant health cutting jobs ahead of health reform implementation

Milwaukee-based Insurer Assurant Inc. is cutting its workforce in various locations around America ahead of health care reform implementation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that 130 jobs in Milwaukee and Plymouth, Minn., will be cut. "The company, which sells health insurance for individuals and small employers as well as short-term policies, faces an onslaught of new federal health care reform regulations, including the requirement that it spend 80% of premiums on medical care.

21 Aug 2010

What hospital consolidation means for the cost of an MRI

An MRI for a skier's torn ligament at Sutter Davis Hospital near Sacramento cost $1,271, while an identical scan at a nearby imaging center run by Radiological Associates of Sacramento runs only $696, Bloomberg reports. Why? Insurers say it's because Sutter has monopolized the regional hospital market and can essentially demand whatever prices it wants — often between 40 and 70 percent higher than competitors.

21 Aug 2010

Cholera outbreaks on the rise, WHO expert says

A recent increase in the number of cholera outbreaks is threatening populations in pockets of the world, Claire-Lise Chaignat, WHO's cholera group coordinator, said on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reports. "Cholera is transmitted by water but also by food that had been contaminated by unclean water," the news service writes. "It causes serious diarrhoea and vomiting, leading to dehydration. With a short incubation period, it can be fatal if not treated in time," AFP writes.

21 Aug 2010

CDC says teen vaccination rates up but should go higher

The Wall Street Journal writes about vaccination rates among teens: "The CDC says more teenagers got their recommended immunizations last year, but that there's room for improvement — for example, only 27% of teenage girls received the recommended three doses of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.

21 Aug 2010

Research Roundup: Lowering malpractice costs; Advance care planning limitations; Consumers review their own health care

Annals of Internal Medicine: Liability Claims And Costs Before And After Implementation Of A Medical Error Disclosure Program - This study focused on a "disclosure-with-offer program" launched by the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) in 2001. "After full implementation of a disclosure-with-offer program, the average monthly rate of new claims decreased from 7.03 to 4.52 per 100,000 patient encounters.

21 Aug 2010

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware selects Highmark as affiliation partner

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware (BCBSD) announced today that it has signed an affiliation agreement with Pennsylvania-based Highmark Inc. (Highmark) that will position BCBSD to remain a strong local leader in the health care marketplace. This announcement is the culmination of a four-year corporate strategic planning process for BCBSD.

21 Aug 2010

California radio report examines end of life care

KQED's California Report/Health Dialogues reports on end-of-life care and the roles culture and insurance play. In considering end of life care, "sometimes there's disagreement within a family, and cultural and generational differences can complicate what is already an emotionally fraught situation.

21 Aug 2010

Disability discrimination claims increase

USA Today, in a front page story: "More people with disabilities filed charges of discrimination against their employers last year than at any other time in the 20-year history of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Almost 21,500 ADA-related charges were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2009.

21 Aug 2010

N.C. Blue requests 7 percent rate hike

BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina has proposed increasing its average insurance premiums by 6.97 percent — although some policies could rise by up to 30 percent — in a move that would have to be approved by state regulators, the Charlotte Observer reports. The biggest increases will hit children, men and some older members. Still, "[t]hat's the lowest proposed annual increase since 2007, and about 28,000 people will see rate decreases, including women in their early 20s" (Wolf, 8/20).

21 Aug 2010

Feds to revamp bioterrorism and flu plans

Federal officials say they will revamp strategies for dealing with bioterrorism and pandemic flu because efforts to develop medical solutions have lagged, the Los Angeles Times reports. They "announced a $1.9-billion makeover of the system for identifying and manufacturing drugs and vaccines for public health emergencies." The makeover includes plans to hasten manufacturing time and improve surveillance to detect such threats more quickly.

21 Aug 2010

State Roundup: Hospital safety, infant mortality, immigration and more

Officials in Oregon say hospitals accidentally killed 32 patients; in Texas, as the immigration debate simmers, the government is tallying illegal immigrants' health costs.

21 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions: Florida's medical association; Massachusetts' politics; Medicine and money

What a colossal mess! That first sentence in the Miami-Dade Grand Jury report on what's wrong with Jackson Health System summed up the community's frustration with Miami-Dade's ailing safety net hospital. The report spared no one it examined before offering a string of remedies (8/20).

21 Aug 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

In view of World Humanitarian Day, a Huffington Post blog discusses the "lessons" of disaster response and the global "proliferation of humanitarian crises." First, the authors write that "the number of people affected by disasters is on the rise," mostly due to conflict and natural disasters. "Second, and in spite of these trends, U.S. humanitarian assistance is a sound investment. Though only about one-tenth of one percent of the federal budget, our aid not only saves lives, but promotes security and well-being where despair and misery threaten."

21 Aug 2010

New plans for uninsured off to slow start

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports that some officials say there has been "an unexpectedly small number of people" signing up for a new federally subsidized program for uninsured people with health problems.

20 Aug 2010

Colleges say new health law may imperil student policies

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports on confusion about how the new health law affects college health plans. "Colleges and universities say some rules in the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited benefit student insurance policies

20 Aug 2010

New law offers hope for homeless health care

Kaiser Health News staff writers Mary Agnes Carey and Andrew Villegas, writing in collaboration with The Washington Post, report: "Tianne Hill dreads getting mail at the city shelter on Guilford Avenue where she lives. She knows it often includes medical bills she can't pay.

20 Aug 2010

Washington's adult smoking rate drops to 14.8%, but smokeless tobacco use is on the rise

New survey results show Washington's adult smoking rate has dropped to a new low of 14.8 percent. That's down from 15.3 percent the previous year. Washington now has the third lowest smoking rate in the nation—the state's best ranking since measuring across all 50 states started in 1995. Despite these gains, people from low income and lower educational backgrounds continue to smoke at higher rates. Smokeless tobacco use, including products like chew, is also on the rise among people who already smoke.

20 Aug 2010

U.S. boosts aid relief to Pakistani flood victims; U.N. donors meet about funding

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) visited Pakistan on Thursday "to assess the damage and relief efforts" as flooding continues and millions remain in need of humanitarian aid, the New York Times reports. According to the newspaper, Kerry "said the United States would increase its flood aid to $150 million" (Masood/Gall, 8/19).

20 Aug 2010