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Uninsured cancer patient gives human face to health care debate

The Sacramento Bee has a three-part profile of an uninsured cancer patient, which is tracked alongside the progressing health care reform debate.

1 Dec 2009

COBRA subsidy for many ends today, laid-off workers face bigger bills

As part of February's economic stimulus package, the federal government began subsidizing insurance premiums for millions of recently unemployed workers - such as Paul and Kate Carroll, whose story is highlighted in the Sacramento Bee. But for many people, the subsidies end Monday, leaving the laid-off workers to pay the full cost of insurance plans offered by their former employers if they wish to keep the coverage, the Bee reports.

30 Nov 2009

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Rather than work with us to find a true compromise, members who support abortion rights ignored our concerns (Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., 11/18).

18 Nov 2009

George W. Bush Institute to include global health focus; University of California system launches Global Health Institute

Former President George W. Bush will deliver a speech on Thursday marking the launch of the "George W. Bush Institute as a forum for study and advocacy in four main areas: education, global health, human freedom and economic growth," the New York Times writes.

13 Nov 2009

Costly ER bills raise questions, concerns

McClatchy/The Sacramento Bee reports on a the experience of Scott Hawkins, a 23-year old student who received five minutes of ER care at the UC Davis Medical Center before being pronounced dead. McClatchy reports: "Few question the extent to which doctors tried to save the student's life on Oct. 21, but the amount billed for his emergency care has provoked outrage - a further example, critics said, of what is wrong in a health care system that is roundly maligned for its escalating costs."

9 Nov 2009

With state budgets tight, services are cut; Kansas looks to avoid mandates

California cut program budgets aimed at providing care for the poor while in Wyoming, the programs themselves are forced to close their doors because of a funding shortfall. In Kansas, lawmakers are examining — ahead of final consideration of health care reform in Congress — how they can shield themselves from health care mandates to carry insurance.

3 Nov 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

The federal government could treat Indian Country, at least for health programs, as the 51st state. This seems to me a practical application of the nation-to-nation relationship (Mark Trahant, 10/29).

29 Oct 2009

Propolis exhibits antioxidant and anti-microbial properties that are beneficial to human health

Growing concerns about health has caused the scientific community to focus their interest on investigating functional foods which contribute to boosting the prevention and reduction of the risk of suffering from certain illnesses. The benefits of this product lies in its composition and, thus, its study, identification and subsequent extraction provides a useful tool which enables making high added-value products, given their high concentration of biologically active compounds.

28 Oct 2009

Scrapbooking Marathon to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and research

The 24-hour Survivor Crop Scrapbooking Marathon is back to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and research through Susan G. Komen for the Cure, San Diego.

7 Oct 2009

California's failed health reform attempts offer useful lessons

California's failed attempt at remaking the state's health care system provides useful lessons for participants in the current federal health care debate.

29 Sep 2009

State round up: California E.R. traffic up while Massachusettes plan proves popular

Newspapers report on the rising number of emergency patients in California's state capital and the popularity of Massachusetts' health system.

29 Sep 2009

New partnership to focus on healthcare reporting

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18 Sep 2009

Today's Op-Ed selections: Medicare, Medicaid and the Constitution

My patient had just been the recipient of a rare and highly valued medical commodity, a treatment that is as quantifiable in its effects as the milligrams of a medication or the number of stitches in a wound: Time (Daphne Miller, 9/15).

16 Sep 2009

Researchers discover the role of endothelin in vaso-occlusive pain

Agonizing physical pain, known as vaso-occlusive pain, can afflict children who have sickle cell disease (SCD). In some cases infants as young as two months of age suffer vaso-occlusive pain so severe that opiate medications and hospitalizations are their only relief. Researchers believe vaso-occlusion is caused by a blockage of the blood vessels that occurs when sickle shaped red cells attempt to pass through the round blood vessels.

11 Sep 2009

Some insurers still back Obama after speech

"President Obama had few nice things to say about insurance companies in his speech on health care last night, but leaders of two of this region's largest private insurers -- Independence Blue Cross and Aetna Inc. -- gave him generally high marks anyway," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. He did draw one line in the sand that insurers hoped for: a mandate for all Americans to have health insurance.

10 Sep 2009

Senators return to full plate, featuring health bills

"The focus on health care as Congress reconvenes Tuesday after its monthlong recess is nearly all-consuming," The Associated Press reports. "At stake, beyond the future of health care, is an accomplishment Democrats need to convince voters they deserve to remain in power." Financial legislation, consumer protections and clean energy are also still on the table in the Senate (Abrams, 9/8).

9 Sep 2009

Molecularly targeted nanocarriers deliver the cytolytic peptide melittin specifically to tumor cells in mice, reducing tumor growth

When bees sting, they pump into their victims a peptide toxin called melittin that destroys cell membranes. Now, by encapsulating this extremely potent molecule within a nanoparticle, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have created a potential new type of anticancer therapy with the potential to target a wide range of tumors. This work was reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

7 Sep 2009