Children's Health News and Research

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Research Roundup: Shifting ER visits to urgent care centers; Evaluating doctors; Medicare Advantage quality ratings

Health Affairs: Many Emergency Department Visits Could Be Managed At Urgent Care Centers And Retail Clinics - Researchers analyzed samples of patient records and found "13.7 percent of all emergency department visits could take place at a retail clinic" - 7.9 percent when hours are restricted - and "an additional 13.4 percent of emergency department visits could take place at a urgent care center—8.9 percent when hours are restricted.

10 Sep 2010

People to gather for CUGH annual conference to discuss critical role of universities in global health

More than 600 people will gather for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health annual conference being held at the University of Washington in Seattle on September 19-21 to discuss the critical role of universities in global health. The conference is the largest university-based global health conference ever held.

10 Sep 2010

States continue to wrestle with federal funding issues, budget shortfalls

The Fiscal Times: "Nationally, the number of Medicaid beneficiaries has risen by 8 percent a year since 2008, and 44 states have reported that they will exceed their enrollment and spending growth projections this year, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured reported. A dozen other states, including Arizona, Utah, Wisconsin and Maryland, have experienced double-digit annual enrollment increases."

9 Sep 2010

MAXIMUS signs new contract with Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing

MAXIMUS announced today that it has signed a new contract with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to help Colorado modernize eligibility and enrollment for its Medical Assistance programs, including Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

8 Sep 2010

Study finds wide gaps in participation in children's health insurance program across country

The hunt for the nearly 5 million uninsured U.S. children who are eligible for free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program just got a road map.

8 Sep 2010

State Roundup: Some premiums soar in Washington State; Building boom for Denver hospitals; Looking for uninsured kids

The Seattle Times: "Whopping rate increases are coming soon for many people with individual health-insurance policies. Most insurers offering individual policies in the state have asked for and been granted rate increases, effective Oct. 1, according to the state's insurance commissioner. Regence BlueShield's rate increase — an average 16.5 percent — was one of the highest.

7 Sep 2010

Study reveals high rate of parental depression in first year after child's birth

More than one-third of mothers and about one-fifth of fathers in the United Kingdom appear to experience an episode of depression between their child's birth and 12th year of age, with the highest rates in the first year after birth, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the November print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Sep 2010

Up to 5 million kids uninsured but eligible for government programs

As many as 5 million uninsured kids are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, according to a report published Friday in the journal Health Affairs, Reuters reports.

4 Sep 2010

Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million uninsured children in Medicaid, CHIP

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan today highlighted the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million children in Medicaid and CHIP within five years. Since Sebelius announced the Challenge last February, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have built an unprecedented coalition of partners, ranging from state governors to national advocacy organizations, who have stepped up to the challenge to enroll kids and educate families.

4 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 3, 2010

Today's headlines contain reports on a new study showing that employers are shifting the increasing costs of premiums onto workers, efforts to get Congress to weigh in on the controversy about federal funding on stem cell research and the difficulty getting uninsured children enrolled in state Medicaid and CHIP programs.

3 Sep 2010

Researchers unveil prototype model of first implantable artificial kidney

UCSF researchers today unveiled a prototype model of the first implantable artificial kidney, in a development that one day could eliminate the need for dialysis.

3 Sep 2010

Misuse of OTC medicines increases risk for children

Many children are being put at risk by parents over-use of widely available over the counter (OTC) medicines for fever, coughs and colds, says a study from Australia to be presented to the annual conference of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) today (Monday 30 August).

30 Aug 2010

Research Roundups: Underinsured children; Hospital progress on electronic records; Federal officlals' work on comparative effectiveness

Underinsurance Among Children In The United States - This study examines the scope of underinsurance, or health insurance that fails to sufficiently meet the needs, of children living in the U.S. Based on information obtained from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, the authors of the study report, "19.3% — or 14.1 million — of all U.S. children (and 22.7% of children with continuous insurance coverage) were underinsured in 2007, exceeding the number of children without any insurance at all during the year (3.4 million) and the number who had insurance during only part of the year (7.6 million)."

27 Aug 2010

Study: One in four kids underinsured before recession

Even prior to the onset of the economic recession in 2008, nearly one in four American parents with health insurance reported that their coverage was so inadequate they were unable to access the medical care their children needed.

27 Aug 2010

Study finds post Katrina period increases mental health issues among children

Key findings documented in American Medical Association's Journal of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 60% of children - as many as 20,000 - displaced by Katrina either have serious emotional disorders, behavioral issues and/or are experiencing significant housing instability.One-third of children are reported to have been diagnosed with at least one mental health problem, but fewer than 50% of parents were able to access needed professional services.Children post-Katrina are 4.5 times more likely to have serious emotional disturbance than children not affected by the disaster

23 Aug 2010

UNT Board of Regents approves new M.D. degree program at UNTHSC

The University of North Texas System Board of Regents today voted to approve a proposal to develop a new M.D. degree program at the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth (UNTHSC). The M.D. program will be an independent fifth school in addition to the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, and School of Health Professions.

21 Aug 2010

Cardinal DiNardo calls for support on 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act'

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called on members of the House of Representatives to support the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" (H.R. 5939), introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) at the end of July.

21 Aug 2010

Scientists produce atlas of worm infection prevalence, distribution throughout Africa

On Tuesday at the 12th International Congress of Parasitology, a group of scientists, led by researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, launched an online series of maps showing the distribution and prevalence of worm infections across Africa, Tropika.net reports (Chinnock, 8/17).

19 Aug 2010

Teachers' perceptions of poor behavior leads to potential misdiagnosis of ADHD

Nearly 1 million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder simply because they are the youngest - and most immature - in their kindergarten class, according to new research by a Michigan State University economist.

18 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 16, 2010

Today's headlines reflect coverage of state health reform implementation issues as well as other emerging policy issues in the nation's health system.

16 Aug 2010