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Section: Health

Not Such Good News

We recently used this space to praise Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, which received an award for delivering outstanding patient services. The national Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award was no big surprise for local residents — Valley Cottage Hospital is known for its top-quality patient services — but the Press Ganey honor puts the […]

August 21, 2017

Environmental Groups Sue Trump Over Lax Rules

Earthjustice — on behalf of the Environmental Working Group and organizations representing consumers, people from low-income communities of color, Alaska Natives, parents and teachers of children with learning disabilities, workers, and scientists — has brought two suits against the Trump administration for weakening key rules establishing how the Environmental Protection Agency will regulate toxic chemicals […]

August 21, 2017

Federal Panel Studying Illnesses, Link to Strip Mining

A panel studying the potential link between surface mining and health problems in Appalachia plans meetings in Kentucky to gather information. The committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine will hold a town hall meeting in Hazard on Aug. 21 to gain “insights and information” from people in the area, according to […]

August 21, 2017

A Drink a Day Is Healthy. More? Not So Much

Having a glass of wine or beer with dinner tonight may be good for you, according to a new study. Researchers found women who had up to one drink a day and men who averaged up to two a day had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Dr. Jon LaPook explains. Read More

August 21, 2017

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Study Links Noise Pollution, Social Inequity

Like air pollutants and exposure to hazardous waste, noise pollution is not distributed evenly, a new study led by campus researchers found. The study is the first to assess social inequalities, such as racial disparities, in noise pollution across the United States. The research, published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal July 25, was supported […]

August 21, 2017

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Deadline Extended for Insurers

The Trump administration is giving insurance companies an extra three weeks to decide whether to offer insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act markets, and how much to charge. The extension comes as insurance companies wait for President Trump to decide whether he will continue to make payments to insurance companies that are called for […]

August 21, 2017

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ACA Repeal Would Harm Women of Color the Most

Women of color have benefited immensely from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Through the ACA, coverage for women of color grew at more than twice the rate of women overall between 2013 and 2015. Of particular importance is the ACA’s role in addressing women of color’s reproductive health needs, both through its requirement for insurers […]

August 21, 2017

Medicare for All

Dreaming of a state-run single-payer healthcare system? Wake up and enter the real world. Want universal healthcare for all Americans? Medicare for all is the solution. Not this year or next, but possibly in the future — when Democrats recapture the presidency and Congress. That’s the clear-eyed, pragmatic fight to engage in, and one advocated […]

August 16, 2017

Med School Expansion Could Close Gaps in Mississippi

JACKSON, Miss. — Physician-starved Mississippi can expect more doctors, more room for medical training simulations and a permanent home some once-scattered resources because of a new building at University of Mississippi School of Medicine, school leaders say. Med students are happy about it too. “This is going to be amazing,” said Andrew Strachan, a second-year […]

August 16, 2017

LGBT & Women Who Had Abortions May Lose Safeguards

WASHINGTON D.C., August 14, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — The Trump administration is preparing new guidance purported to roll back Obama-era protections for LGBTs and women who have had abortions. While the exact contents of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommendations have not been revealed, red flags are being raised by progressive activists who […]

August 16, 2017

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Poll: Americans Want Bipartisan Healthcare

Now that the great Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal and replace debate has seemingly ended in Congress, we’ve seen movement by members of Congress towards a bipartisan approach to healthcare reform, starting with discussions on how to improve the current law. The new Kaiser Health Tracking Poll for August from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows […]

August 16, 2017

Oregon Adopts Protections for Abortion, Reproductive Health

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Tuesday signed what activists describe as the most far-reaching law in the land to solidify access to abortion and subsidized birth control, bucking efforts in Washington to limit reproductive health coverage. The Reproductive Health Equity Act requires insurers to cover abortions at no cost to the patient, enshrining the right to […]

August 16, 2017

CBO: If Subsidies End, Premiums and Deficit Will Soar

WASHINGTON — Premiums for the most popular health insurance plans would shoot up 20 percent next year and federal budget deficits would increase by $194 billion in the coming decade if President Donald Trump carries out his threat to end certain subsidies paid to insurance companies for the benefit of low-income people, the Congressional Budget […]

August 16, 2017

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Health Disparities Can Be Skin Deep

About half of patients will have skin of color by 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau projects. Of the many ways this demographic change will affect American society, there is one medical implication that is not widely appreciated. Dermatologists and the primary care physicians who refer to them will be faced with cutaneous diseases that happen […]

August 16, 2017

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States With Legal Pot Crack Down on Smuggling

PORTLAND, Ore. — Well before Oregon legalized marijuana, its verdant, wet forests made it an ideal place for growing the drug, which often ended up being funneled out of the state for big money. Now, officials suspect pot grown legally in Oregon for medicinal and recreational purposes and other states is also being smuggled out, […]

August 16, 2017

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Doctor: Will I Have to Turn Children Away?

It has been 20 years since I’ve had to tell a mother she had no options for insuring her child. At the time, I had been treating a little boy who was born prematurely and required developmental therapies. He toddled over to me from across the waiting room, shouting my name to show that he […]

August 14, 2017

Big Data Yields Surprising Links Among Diseases

Using health insurance claims data from more than 480,000 people in nearly 130,000 families, researchers at the University of Chicago have created a new classification of common diseases based on how often they occur among genetically-related individuals. Researchers hope the work, published this week in Nature Genetics, will help physicians make better diagnoses and treat […]

August 14, 2017

Disease Kills Hundreds of N.M. Residents

Cerebral cavernous malformation is a genetic disease where blood cells clump together, weakening their walls and causing them to leak blood. When that happens in the brain, it leads to headaches, seizures and potentially death. The vast majority of the people who have the disease still live in the Land of Enchantment. Read More

August 14, 2017