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Child care trends

As baby boomers age and women with young children return to the work force, families are increasingly turning to paid workers to care for children and elderly parents and grandparents.

8 Jun 2007

Damages caps in medical malpractice cases

Caps on medical malpractice damages mean lower insurance premiums for doctors, according to a new review from two Alabama universities.

1 Jun 2007

Uncontrolled asthma is highly prevalent

A survey of 1,812 patients with moderate-to-severe asthma revealed that the disease was not controlled in 55 percent, despite the fact that most had health insurance and visited their health care providers regularly.

1 Jun 2007

FDA should be given broad regulatory authority over tobacco marketing, packaging, and distribution

A combination of increased excise taxes, nationwide indoor smoking bans, and other measures would significantly lower the U.S. smoking rate, which now hovers at around 21 percent of the adult population, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

28 May 2007

Newly discovered WU virus may explain some respiratory infections

An ongoing effort to identify the microorganisms that make us sick has discovered a new virus potentially linked to unexplained respiratory infections.

18 May 2007

National Physician Assistant Conference to be held in Philadelphia

The largest annual gathering of the physician assistant (PA) profession – the fourth fastest-growing profession in the country – will convene Saturday, May 26, through Thursday, May 31, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

18 May 2007

American College of Physicians commends introduction of Bipartisan Health CARE Act

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has commended Marcy Kaptur and Steven C. LaTourette, members of Congress, for their bipartisan sponsorship of the Health Coverage, Affordability, Responsibility and Equity (CARE) Act.

18 May 2007

Study of unexplained respiratory infections leads researchers to new virus

An ongoing effort to identify the microorganisms that make us sick has discovered a new virus potentially linked to unexplained respiratory infections.

17 May 2007

Surgeons rebuild war veteran's nose using his own body parts

It took only seconds for the Humvee to flip over and crash on a highway near Camp Bucca in southern Iraq in August 2005.

17 May 2007

U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency

The U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and outcomes, in the third edition of a Commonwealth Fund report analyzing international health policy surveys.

16 May 2007

Worksite health programs improve blood pressure and diabetes control

Employees who participated in a worksite health program improved blood pressure control by 9 percent and diabetes control by 15 percent, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke.

11 May 2007

The financial impact of a brain tumor diagnosis on patients and families

A new study released by the National Brain Tumor Foundation, The Financial Impact of a Brain Tumor Diagnosis on Patients and Families, reveals that the financial impact for patients suffering from brain tumors is devastating and life-changing.

10 May 2007

America's Health Insurance Plans statement on health care

At a roundtable of key business, labor, government, community, and health care leaders from across the nation sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), issued the following statement on progress in providing the highest value health care to patients:

10 May 2007

Study finds collective bargaining rights for independent pharmacists could cost Medicare and commercial payors $29.6 billion over five years

A key legislative priority championed by the independent drugstore lobby, HR 971, that would provide pharmacists with new, sweeping collective bargaining rights could increase prescription drug costs for Medicare and commercial payors by 11.8 percent, or $29.6 billion, over five years, according to a new analysis from CRA International released by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA).

9 May 2007

Number of uninsured Illinois residents increases

The number of uninsured Illinois residents in 2005 increased by about 2% to 1.8 million, compared with 2004, according to an analysis of U.S. Census information released Friday by the Gilead Outreach and Referral Center, the Chicago Tribune reports.

2 May 2007

Racial disparities in treatment of patients with cirrhosis and complications of portal hypertension

African-American and Hispanic patients hospitalized for complications of portal hypertension were less likely to undergo a palliative shunt, prompt endoscopy, or liver transplantation compared to white patients, according to a new study in the May issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

2 May 2007

Ohioans spend $62.2 billion on non-institutional health care each year

...while the Ohio economy loses between $2.1 and $5.8 billion due to lost productivity and other indirect costs of having 1.3 million Ohio residents without health insurance, according to research released today by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO).

2 May 2007

Web-based disease management program improves outcomes for low-income black students

Low-income African-American high school students with asthma who participated in a specially-designed, web-based disease management program reported fewer days and nights with symptoms, fewer school days missed, fewer days of restricted activity, and less hospitalization for asthma during a 12-month follow-up period, as compared to non-participating asthmatic students.

2 May 2007

Oregon children's insurance expansion fails to obtain three-fifths majority in legislature

The Oregon House on Thursday voted 32-24 in favor of a plan to expand health coverage to all children in the state by increasing the state cigarette tax by 84.5 cents per pack, but the proposal failed to win approval because a three-fifths majority is required to pass a tax increase, the Oregonian reports.

1 May 2007

States increasingly expanding SCHIP coverage to middle-class families

Several states are working to raise income eligibility limits for SCHIP, despite White House opposition, AP /Long Island Newsday reports. According to a survey conducted by Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families, 18 states already have received federal approval to offer SCHIP coverage to families with annual incomes greater than 200% of the federal poverty level -- the income threshold established when SCHIP began a decade ago.

1 May 2007