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State highlights: Vt. readies universal health care launch; Fla. adds four contractors to Medicaid managed care

As states open insurance marketplaces amid uncertainty about whether they're a solution for health care, Vermont is eyeing a bigger goal, one that more fully embraces a government-funded model. The state has a planned 2017 launch of the nation's first universal health care system, a sort of modified Medicare-for-all that has long been a dream for many liberals (Gram, 10/26).

29 Oct 2013

IFPA brings attention to the need for improving treatment, care for psoriasis

Today, on World Psoriasis Day, the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations, IFPA, brings attention to the need for improving the availability of treatment and care for psoriasis - a disease that affects more than 125 million people all over the world.

29 Oct 2013

State exchange updates: Football marketing, slow starts and Calif.'s litmus test

News outlets provide updates on state health insurance exchanges in Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota and California, the state that many believe will provide a litmus test on how, and if, the state-based exchanges can work elsewhere.

29 Oct 2013

Study find that people search about quitting smoking more often on Mondays

Forget New Year's; a study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Internal Medicine found that Mondays are when smokers are most likely to think about quitting.

29 Oct 2013

Houston Methodist physicians provide tips for training, protecting the entire body

For avid runners, training for the next marathon never stops. While it's important to focus on running faster or farther, Houston Methodist physicians encourage runners to expand their training regimen and are providing the following tips for training and protecting the entire body.

29 Oct 2013

Penn Medicine researchers show predictive power of overlooked lymph nodes

For the first time, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have shown the predictive power of a group of overlooked lymph nodes--known as the posterior intercostal lymph nodes--that could serve as a better tool to stage and ultimately treat patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

29 Oct 2013

Loyola researchers publish first ever study of moral distress experienced by nurses in burn ICU

Loyola University Medical Center researchers have published the first ever study of emotional and psychological anguish, known as "moral distress," experienced by nurses in an intensive care unit for burn patients.

29 Oct 2013

ERs may begin to receive more reimbursement once Obamacare gets fully implemented

Emergency departments, which have suffered shortfalls in reimbursement for decades due to the high rate of uninsurance in the United States, may begin receiving "considerably more" reimbursement once the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) is fully implemented.

29 Oct 2013

States report Medicaid surge as result of health law rollout

Several media outlets examine how some states are signing up tens of thousands of new Medicaid enrollees in the first month of the health law's rollout, while enrolling fewer people in private insurance policies. In addition, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett touts his alternative to Medicaid expansion using private insurance.

29 Oct 2013

Review on barriers to medical adherence among chronically ill adolescents

Teenagers with chronic illnesses face special barriers that may interfere with how well they adhere to their medical treatment, according to a new review in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

29 Oct 2013

Palliative care often errantly reduced to end-of-life care

Palliative care, a specialized, multidisciplinary team approach to caring for seriously ill people and their families, is often errantly reduced to end-of-life care. This misconception has led to palliative care involvement being introduced late in an illness, often depriving patients and their families of comprehensive symptom control, support and assistance with complex decision-making throughout the course of their illness when it could provide the most benefit.

29 Oct 2013

Questions about medical necessity for some surgeries, screenings

The Washington Post looks at the dramatic increase in spinal fusion surgeries and whether all are necessary, while Kaiser Health News examines screenings for stroke and heart disease, some of which are not recommended for healthy people.

29 Oct 2013

Tips to keep children safe on Halloween

On average, twice as many children are killed while walking on Halloween than on any other day of the year, according to Safe Kids, an organization dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. As children prepare for October's fun-filled night of trick-or-treating, a few precautionary measures could prevent vehicle-related deaths and other injuries.

29 Oct 2013

Lack of psychiatric beds puts hospital ERs under stress

There's a lack of psychiatric beds in Pennsylvania, and it's placing undue stress on hospital emergency departments, according to doctors across the state.

29 Oct 2013

Republicans eye health law opportunities to make midterm inroads

Republicans are set to pounce on the health law's rollout problems as a way to make inroads in 2014's midterm elections. Among the strategies they are considering is leaving the law out of budget negotiations but voting again in the House to delay the law.

29 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Sen. Sanders says don't cut entitlements before making corporations pay taxes; Rep. Smith argues that if entitlements are tamed, other priorities will suffer

Instead of talking about cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, we must end the absurdity of corporations not paying a nickel in federal income taxes. A 2008 report from the Government Accountability Office found that was the case with 1 in 4 large U.S. corporations. At a time when multinational corporations and the wealthy are avoiding an estimated $100 billion a year in taxes by stashing money in tax havens like the Cayman Islands, we need to make them pay taxes just as middle-class Americans do (Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., 10/28).

29 Oct 2013

Study finds high rate of lower back injuries in athletes under age 18

Lower back injuries are the third most common injuries suffered in athletes under age 18, according to a study presented by Loyola University Medical Center sports medicine physician Neeru Jayanthi, MD.

29 Oct 2013

Verizon data failure takes down health insurance websites

Computer servers hosting a key part of the health law's infrastructure relied upon by all 14 state-run health websites, as well as by the federal website that serves 36 states, failed Sunday.

29 Oct 2013

Study explores solutions to reduce firearm-related injuries in children

Firearm-related injuries in children and adolescents are an important cause of preventable injury and mortality. Recent national shooting tragedies involving children have resulted in new efforts to study the problem and find solutions to reduce this type of injury.

29 Oct 2013

New federal grant aims at improving physical access, transportation for people with disabilities

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, are collaborating on a five-year, $4.6 million federally funded project to advance physical access and public transportation for people with disabilities by bringing together computer science technology and the principles of universal design.

29 Oct 2013