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Futile medical care crowds out other patients

Every day in intensive care units across the country, patients get aggressive, expensive treatment their caregivers know is not going to save their lives or make them better. California researchers now report this so-called "futile" care has a hidden price: It's crowding out other patients who could otherwise survive, recover and get back to living their lives.

28 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 27, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about Kevin Counihan, the person who take on the challenge of running healthcare.gov.

27 Aug 2014

State highlights: Only 1/3 chose Medicaid plan in Fla.; Calif. Prop 46 money

A selection of health policy stories from Florida, Oregon, California, New York, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey.

25 Aug 2014

Lawsuit challenges employer wellness program

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought a lawsuit on behalf of a former employee of Orion Energy Systems, based in Manitowoc, Wis., saying she was punished and then fired for refusing to participate in a company wellness program. Another story looks at how companies are buying or subsidizing fitness-tracking devices to encourage employees to be more fit.

22 Aug 2014

Nurses who are motivated primarily by desire to help others are more likely to burn out on job

Nurses who are motivated primarily by the desire to help others, rather than by enjoyment of the work itself or the lifestyle it makes possible, are more likely to burn out on the job, University of Akron researchers say.

20 Aug 2014

Some working parents experience more psychological strain than others

Some working parents are carrying more psychological baggage than others - and the reason has nothing to do with demands on their time and energy.

17 Aug 2014

Worker health costs drag down Walmart profits even as retailer makes play to be shoppers' health care source

Walmart plans to open a dozen clinics by the end of this fiscal year that will provide a broad range of primary care services.

16 Aug 2014

Research roundup: Benefits of smaller practices; Rx price growth; fixing Medicare claims reviews

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the Department of Health and Human Services has taken steps to prevent its contractors from conducting certain duplicative postpayment claims reviews - reviews of the same claims that are not permitted by the agency - but CMS neither has reliable data nor provides sufficient oversight and guidance to measure and fully prevent duplication.

16 Aug 2014

Survey: Companies continue shift of health costs to workers

The main way companies are seeking to curb health care costs is by moving workers into high-deductible health plans, according to the survey by the National Business Group on Health. Nearly a third are offering such plans as the only option to their workers in 2015, the survey found.

15 Aug 2014

Efforts to treat, contain Ebola virus trigger policy, ethical questions

A push to fast-track an experimental treatment is gaining momentum, but questions persist about this serum's effectiveness, whether the drug should be brought to the places currently confronting outbreaks of the disease and who should have access to its limited supplies.

11 Aug 2014

Healthcare Staffing Services recognized as one of largest healthcare staffing firms

Healthcare Staffing Services, parent to U.S. Nursing and Fastaff Travel Nursing brands, was named the fourth largest travel nurse staffing firm, the fifteenth largest healthcare staffing firm and the 119th largest staffing and talent engagement firm the in the U.S. by Staffing Industry Analysts in its July 2014 tallies of the country's largest healthcare staffing firms and largest staffing and talent engagement firms.

8 Aug 2014

ACA provides opportunities to increase availability of CR programs in workplace

Through financial incentives and an emphasis on proven health outcomes, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides opportunities to increase the availability of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs—including offering CR as part of worksite health programs (WHPs), according to an article in the August Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

4 Aug 2014

1 in 2 mums still excessively sleepy 4 months after giving birth

New mums are being urged to be cautious about returning to work too quickly, after a QUT study found one in two were still excessively sleepy four months after giving birth.

3 Aug 2014

State highlights: Maryland's top health official leaving for Johns Hopkins; Minnesota lawmakers to propose legislation to require contraception coverage

Maryland's top health official, Joshua M. Sharfstein, announced Wednesday that he will leave at the end of Gov. Martin O'Malley's term in January to become an associate dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Johnson, 7/30).

1 Aug 2014

State highlights: New York state faces $1.3B Medicaid payback problem while Mayor De Blasio advances plan to reduce city employees' health costs

When Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his first labor agreements with New York City unions this spring, he was sharply criticized for granting long-awaited wage increases in exchange for promises of unspecified though sizable savings on health care expenses (Greenhouse and Stewart, 7/29).

31 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 30, 2014

Today's headlines include a range of health policy headines, including news from Capitol Hill on the Senate confirmation of Robert McDonald to head the VA.

30 Jul 2014

Researchers to study multi-faceted approaches to address issues of burnout in transplant surgeons

Despite saving thousands of lives yearly, nearly half of organ transplant surgeons report a low sense of personal accomplishment and 40% feel emotionally exhausted, according to a new national study on transplant surgeon burnout.

29 Jul 2014

Despite public programs, food insecurity remains an intractable problem in the US

Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, and low-income households are disproportionately affected by food security, despite the extensive private and public food safety net in the United States, according to a new report by RTI International.

27 Jul 2014

Obama administration moves forward on employer mandate

A signal came Thursday when the Internal Revenue Service posted drafts of forms that employers will have to fill out to comply with the requirement that they provide workers with health insurance.

26 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 25, 2014

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration is moving ahead in preparations for the health law's employer mandate.

25 Jul 2014