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Retail Medical Clinic Operators Hit a Rough Patch
2008-05-14 20:32:00
Retail walk-in medical clinics in pharmacies are proving more difficult to establish than initially thought. The clinics are more complicated and expensive to operate. It seems, operators and investors were overly optimistic in their return on investment estimates. The clinics are experiencing an 18 to 24 month break-even rather than the initial projections of a six month break-even. Much of the added cost is in marketing to make the public aware the service exists in each market and to gain acceptance. While the pubilc likes the convenience of the walk-ins, it takes a lot of users to make it pay.
More About: Medical , Retail , Operators , Patch

Florida Health Reform Legislation Passed
2008-05-08 23:45:00
The state of Florida has passed health insurance legislation that will allow insurance carriers to offer bare-bones coverage for as little as $150 per month. Aimed at Florida?s 3.8 million uninsured residents, the plans would be exempt from existing state-mandated coverage requirements. For instance the plans would not be required to offer coverage for long-term hospitalizations or treatment from specialists, but would cover preventive care and office visits.
More About: Health , Reform , Legislation

Paternity Kits Available Over The Counter
2008-04-04 02:08:00
Consumers with a pressing need to validate the paternity of a child can now buy a DNA Collection Kit offered by a Utah-based genetics company called Identigene. Available over the counter at Rite-Aid stores in 30 states. You pay $22.99 for the kit and another $119 processing fee for the results. The kit has swabs to collect cell samples from the inner cheek of the child and the "alleged" father and consent forms. You get the results in the mail in 3 to 5 business days. Ethical concerns are plenty. Will samples be collected without consent while the alleged father sleeps? What if the samples are used to determine genetic conditions or diseases? What if mistakes are made? According to Identigene the test is 99.9% accurate, but is not legally binding because there is no verification that the samples are from the people listed on the forms sent to the lab. Identigene offers a legally valid test that costs $350 where consumers go to a collection site that oversees sample collection and...
More About: Children , Kits , Paternity , Counter

Shortage of Geriatric Physicians Grows
2008-03-13 23:08:00
The US doesn?t have enough Geratricians. Currently, there about 7,000 Geriatricians practicing in the US. And the shortage is getting worse, because our medical schools and teaching hospitals are training one or two geriatricians for every nine specialists in higher paying specialties like cardiology or orthopedic surgery, Geriatricians make less money because their patients are on Medicare and their services are reimbursed a lower rate than private insurance patients. Additionally, the treatment of the elderly is less attractive to young doctors selecting a specialty. Public relations programs to convince the public of the value of Geriatricians has not had much of an impact on the shortage. So medical schools are adding more courses on the treatment of the elderly for all doctors and some foundations are providing grants to fund those courses. Because there are too few Geriatricians, primary care doctors also need to receive extra training in the treatment of elderly patients a...
More About: Aging

Proposed California Health Plan Dies
2008-01-31 20:31:00
Sadly, the California Senate Health Committee defeated a ground-breaking proposal to reform the state's health insurance system and extend coverage to millions of uninsured residents. In the end, it was the economic downturn that killed the well-intentioned plan. The state already has a $14.5 billion deficit, so the pprobability that the ambitious proposal would not be self-sustaining was just too risky to bear at this time. The nation was watching California on this one and the proposal's failure doesn't bode well for health insurance reform at the national level, regardless who gets elected.
More About: Plan , Dies

Saline Nasal Wash Beats Commercial Cold and Sinus Products
2008-01-24 20:38:00
If you have a child, you know all too well how often they have upper-respiratory tract and sinus infections. According to recently published studies, commercially available sinus and cold medications are ineffective at best and in some cases even dangerous for use by children. For treatment of cold symptoms, try using a nasal wash solution made from processed seawater. It can also prevent respiratory infection from coming back. During the study, 390 children were tested over a period of 6 weeks. The noses of the children in the nasal saline solution group were less stuffy and runny. During the prevention phase, the children in the saline solution group had substantially fewer sore throats, nasal obstructions/secretions, and coughs compared to the children in the standard treatment group who did not receive the saline solution. The researchers also found that during the prevention phase fewer of the saline group children were using fever-reducing drugs (9% vs. 33%), nasal deconge...
More About: Products , Children , Commercial , Cold , Beats

People Are Sicker Without Health Insurance
2008-01-04 22:07:00
A Harvard Medical School study (published recently in JAMA) found that older individuals got sicker than insured people in a comparable age group. Additionally, the differences in health were quickly reduced when the uninsured individuals became eligible for Medicare at age 65. The study also found that previously insured participants experienced no significant change in their health as they transitioned to Medicare, while participants who previously had little or no prior coverage experienced a significant slowing of the decline of their health once on Medicare.
More About: Health , People , Insurance , Health Insurance , Heal

Small Business Supports Individual Health Insurance Mandate
2008-01-04 21:16:00
Group health insurance is too expensive for many small businesses and it?s not surprising that almost 70% of the working uninsured are employed by businesses with fewer than 100 employees. A majority of small business owners (57%) say they will support an individual health insurance mandate - where individuals are required to insure themselves. It stands to reason that small businesses would jump at the chance to get their employees covered by individual plans especially if they wouldn?t be required to contribute very much to offset the lack of group coverage. Presidential candidates Clinton and Edwards, both Democrats, have proposed universal health insurance with individual mandates. Interestingly, small business owners, typically Republican, find at least one of their business interests aligned with the opposition.
More About: Business , Health , Insurance , Small Business , Health Insurance

Give The California Health Plan a Chance
2007-12-19 22:43:00
The status quo of American health care is unacceptable. What makes it a political nightmare to fix is that what one side really wants is a single payor government system like Medicare and what the other side really wants is to minimize government involvement and let a free market bring about changes naturally. How's that working for us so far? Pragmatists, including most presidential candidates, occupy the middle ground seeking workable solutions at the risk of loosing their political constituancies. Such is the case in California , where Repubilcan Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger made a deal with Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez to compromise on a health care bill similar to the recently enacted Massachusettes plan. The California bill has passed the House and will face a Senate vote in January 2008. Both men are risking a lot of their political capital to make this happen. We could use more politicians like them. On the plus side, insurers would no longer be able to rej...
More About: Health , Chance , Give , Plan

Incompetent Doctors Seldom Reported by Colleagues
2007-12-05 00:16:00
While virtually all doctors (96%) agree that they should report incompetent colleagues, only 45% of them have ever done so. This according to a recently published study by Dr David Blumenthal from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Institute for Health Policy. Results were based on responses from 1,662 family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, anesthesiology, and cardiology physicians between November 2003 and June 2004. Another telling bit of information was that about one third of respondents said they would order unneeded MRI for back pain if a patient asked for it. See recent blog on the cost of unnecessary tests
More About: Doctors

Walgreens Drops Some CVS Caremark Prescription Drug Plans
2007-12-04 23:42:00
Walgreens is no longer going to fill prescriptions for these four CVS Caremark plans: ArcelorMittal, Johnson Controls, Progressive Casualty Insurance, and the Wisconsin Education Association Trust managed plans. These plans are available in Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Wallgreens says they can't make money on these four plans, saying "The reimbursement rates are unreasonably low and below-market". Wallgreens is trying to preserve profits while CVS Caremark is trying to lower the cost of health care for its members. In this case, it looks like CVS Caremark stonewalled too long.
More About: Plans , Drug , Walgreens , Some , Prescription

Hospital Bill Padding Bankrupting the Uninsured?
2007-11-30 23:45:00
Hospitals routinely pad their bills. For that matter, so do other health care providers. If you have health insurance and you've been hospitalized or had an outpatient procedure recently, you've probably been astounded at the difference between what the health care provider charged versus what the insurance company or Medicare paid them. Hospitals and providers claim that bill padding is their defense against the aggressive fee cutting efforts of insurers and government programs. But the end result is that the only patients who are stuck with those outrageously inflated bills are the uninsured (without giant insurance companies to negotiate lower rates for them). Because few actually pay their bills, many escaping through bankruptcy, the hospital further increases its fees.
More About: Hospital , Padding , Bill , Bankrupt

Wal-Mart Improves Health Benefits for Employees
2007-11-15 23:26:00
Wal-Mart continues to improve health insurance coverage for employees. The company has enrolled an additional 100,000 workers in health plans. For the last few years, Wal-Mart has been heavily criticized for not offering affordable health insurance to employees. While they still provide health insurance to less than half of their employees, they have been improving rapidly. During 2008, Wal-Mart is offering employees a selection of health plans as well as 2,400 generic medications for $4. Enrolled employees can call a medical hotline staffed by nurses from the Mayo Clinic 24 hours a day. Employees can participate in a wellness program that promotes exercise and lifestyle changes like smoking cessation. At least some of this improvement in Wal-Mart employee benefits can be credited to the power public opinion which turned negative on Wal-Mart a couple of years ago when their stinginess to workers became public.
More About: Health , Wal Mart

Ineffective Medical Tests Add 30% to the Cost of Health Care in the US
2007-11-15 23:20:00
Using comparative effectiveness research, we could reduce health care costs in the US by 30%. There is a significant opportunity to remove costs from the system without harming health outcomes by eliminating medical treatments and tests that are of questionable value. Using comparative effectiveness research is the key. The aging population is not to blame for the rise in health care costs. Congress and health care policymakers need to promote cost effectiveness and evidence-based medicine.
More About: Health , Medical , Health Care , Cost , Care

Dementia Screenings Pay Off in Early Detection and Treatment
2007-11-07 01:01:00
The early stages of dementia are usually not recognized early enough. An early diagnosis could lead to positive intervention and early treatment. Experts at the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) are recommending have more widespread use of memory screenings. Memory screenings are cheap and effective Physicians need to use them more. It is estimated, that physicians miss at least half of the cases of mild and moderate dementia, only recognizing it when the brain disorder is at least moderately advanced. Early diagnosis benefits, include treatments and lifestyle choices, such as proper nutrition and mental stimulation According to a survey of participants in the AFA 2006 National Memory Screening Day, 73% had memory concerns, but fewer than 10% had discussed those conserns with their physician. Clearly, Americans need to consider their brain health as they age. Over 2,000 sites in 46 states offer confidential memory screenings, including all of Kmart's 1,100 pharmacies nat...
More About: Treatment , Dementia , Detection

True But Misleading Statements about American Health Care
2007-11-07 00:24:00
American health care is often compared unfavorably to health care in Canada, France, Great Britain, and others, based on shorter life expectancy and higher infant motrality rates in the US. Critics also point to 47 million uninsured Americans and the relatively high cost of health care in the US. Professor N. Gregory Mankiw, an economist at Harvard University, currently an adviser to Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, spoke out recently about "true but misleading statements about US health care that politicians and pundits love to use to frighten the public." The difference in life expectancy between the US and Canada has more to do with higher rates of obesity and more teenage pregnancies in the US resulting in low birthweight babies. While contributing to big differences in comparative health outcomes between the two countries, they have little to do with the American system of health care. The often quoted statistic of 47 million uninsured Americans exaggerates the magnitude o...
More About: Health , Health Care , American , Care , True

Ford & UAW Reach Deal on Retiree Health
2007-11-07 00:01:00
United Auto Workers- UAW - reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Company for a four-year contract similar to General Motors and Chrysler. Central to the deal is the creation of a voluntary employees' beneficiary association - VEBA. Ford will transfer billions of dollars in retiree health care liabilities to a trust controlled by the UAW. The VEBA is expected to become operational in 2010. Until then, Ford will continue to fund its retiree health care. The UAW will also get a 16% to 17% stake in Ford.
More About: Health , Deal , Reach , Heal

Popular Infant Cough and Cold Medicines Pulled from Market
2007-10-13 00:39:00
Some infant (children younger than two years old) cough and cold medicines are being taken off the market because of their potential for misuse (overdose), meaning they are not dangerous if taken as directed. Here's a list of the branded cough and cold medicines that are being voluntarily withdrawn: Dimetapp Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Dimetapp Decongestant Infant Drops Little Cold s Decongestant Plus Cough Little Colds Multi-Symptom Cold Formula PEDIACARE Infant Drops Decongestant (containing pseudoephedrine) PEDIACARE Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (containing pseudoephedrine) PEDIACARE Infant Dropper Decongestant (containing phenylephrine) PEDIACARE Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough PEDIACARE Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough (containing phenylephrine) Robitussin Infant Cough DM Drops Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips Decongestant Plus Cough TYLENOL Concentrated Infants ' Drops Plus Cold TYLENOL Concen...
More About: Health , Children , Market , Popular

Wal-Mart Expands $4 Prescription Program
2007-10-03 21:14:00
Wal-Mart Stores will begin selling eight additional generic drugs for $4 per 30-day prescription and several family-planning drugs for $9. The added medications include treatments for glaucoma, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fungal infections and acne. In addition, Wal-Mart will offer generic versions of the birth control drugs Ortho Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen and a fertility drug for $9 per 30-day supply. The discount drug program, which started in September 2006, now will cover 361 prescriptions representing different formulations of 157 generic drugs. The new additions add about 24 prescriptions to the program. Other retail chains, including Kmart, Publix and Target, have advertised similar programs.
More About: Program , Wal Mart , Gram

Best Children's Hospitals 2007
2007-08-29 20:30:00
U.S.News Magazine has just published their expanded and improved 2007 list of the best Children 's Hospitals in the United States. Parents now have better tools with these new rankings of pediatric hospitals. It can come down to life vs. death. The best hospitals have greater ability to treat kids successfully and send them home. Click here for the list
More About: Spit

MEGA Life Sued Again
2007-08-28 00:11:00
MEGA Life and Health Insurance , Mid-West National Life Insurance, and their parent company HealthMarkets, Inc are being sued by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley for routinely misleading people about what their health insurance policies cover. These are serious new allegations of misrepresentation and unfair and deceptive practices. The complaint also charges MEGA Life with disclosing the personal information of applicants and policyholders to various third parties. The suit seeks to require MEGA LIFE and Mid-West to pay refunds and make restitution to individuals harmed by the sales practices and substantial civil penalties and costs to the state. These companies usually market under the umbrella of NASE, for National Association of the Self Insured, an association created solely to make it easier to target individuals and small businesses looking for low cost health insurance, but the coverage they provide is not what MEGA and Mid-West's advertising and sales agents ...
More About: Mega , Sued

Most People Satisfied with their Health Insurance Plans
2007-08-13 22:05:00
The Consumer Reports September 2007 issue, contains the results of a survey of over 37,000 people with health insurance. Between May 2005 and April 2006, the subjects reported their satisfaction on issues like choice of and access to doctors, quality of care, billing and administration, and claims processing.Two thirds of those surveyed were either "very satisfied" or "fairly satisfied".
More About: Health , People , Insurance , Health Insurance , Plans

West Nile Virus Hits California Hard
2007-08-08 00:13:00
West Nile Virus is hitting California ns hard. Four people have died of the virus in California and the disease is spreading. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently designated the counties of Kern - with 60% of the state's 64 cases - Colusa and San Joaquin, to be in a state of emergency, giving them access to a 1.35 million dollar fund. The high season (August and September). is just starting and there are already three times as many cases as there were last year in California. West Nile originated in the Middle East but is now usual in North America. Humans and animals get WNV from the bites of mosquitoes that have fed on infected birds. WNV cannot be spread by an infected human which is good becuase most infected people experience no symptoms at all. Those who do have symptoms usually show signs (fever and flu-like symptome initally, sometimes progressing to disorientation, convulsions, tremors, and loss of vision.The symptoms last several weeks. Less than 1% with WNV become ser...
More About: West , Hard , Hits

California Ranks Heart Surgeons
2007-07-14 00:08:00
If you need a heart bypass operation in Calif ornia , you can now check your doctor's report card before going under the knife. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Developmen published a report (available at the office's website) that rates 302 surgeons who performed coronary bypass surgeries at 121 hospitals during 2003 and 2004. The average death rate was 3.08% of more than 40 thousand bypass surgeries (1 in 30) over the 2 year period. The surgeons' ratings factored in degree of difficulty issues like prior heart surgeries, related medical conditions, age, and gender. This is part of the transparancy movement to give health care shoppers better information to make informed decisions.
More About: Heart , Ranks , Surgeons

Moore's Sicko is Stupid
2007-07-10 23:56:00
Moore's attack of American health care, the documentary film - Sicko , is unfair to say the least. Early in the film, Moore tells health care horror stories - a man who died because a bone-marrow transplant that might have extended his life was refused as "experimental? . A baby with a high fever died when her mother took her to the nearest emergency room where she was refused treatment, rather than taking her to a Kaiser Permanente hospital where she was insured.These and other examples will make anyone viewing the film feel that something must be done about our "broken" health care system. But from there the film slides downhill in a hurry. Moore pulls a stupid, insensitive prank by boating sick people to Guantanamo, where he knows they won?t receive treatment. It gets worse. Moore walks through Havana and gets directions to a health clinic from some people on the street. Subsequently his patients get free treatment in Cuba. As if he didn't know that healthcare is free in Cuba a...
More About: Stupid , Moore

Health Insurance Now Mandatory in Massachusetts
2007-07-02 21:06:00
As of July 1, Mass achusetts citizens must have health coverage or face increasing tax penalties. Those residents earning less than the federal poverty level qualify for free coverage. Additionally, the state subsidizes coverage for those who earn up to three times the poverty level. If an individual earns more than $30,630, or a family of four earns more that $61,950, they can keep their existing coverage or choose from some lower-priced private health plans. Businesses that employ at least 11 workers must offer health insurance or pay annual fees of $295 per worker. The deadline to obtain health insurance is December 31, 2007. A poll released on Wednesday finds that two-thirds of residents support it. 57% support the law's individual mandate. People who support the law say "it is the right thing to do."
More About: Health , Insurance , Health Insurance

Computerized Prescriptions Cut Errors by 66%
2007-07-02 20:31:00
More proof that prescriptions should be submitted by computer rather than handwritten appeared recently online in the Journal Health Services Research. In U.S. hospitals with computerized prescription systems there was a 66 percent drop in prescription errors. Illegible handwriting and transcription errors are responsible for most medication errors in hospitals. A decimal point in the wrong place can lead to a patient's dosage being 10 times the recommended amount. Filling a prescription for the pain medication Celebrex instead of antidepressant Celexa is one of the nore comon errors because of the similarity of names. Most errors go undetected unless they led to an adverse reaction for the patient. Each year, more than one-half million patients sustain injuries or die in hospitals from adverse drug reactions. Currently, only about 9 percent of hospitals have computerized prescription systems. It takes 12 to 36 months to implement computerized prescribing system.
More About: Prescriptions , Errors , Teri , Prescription

AMA Wants Controls on Retail Health Clinics
2007-06-27 00:03:00
The American Medical Association (AMA) wants legislation to control the operation of retail clinics at the state and federal level. They will ask federal and state agencies to investigate retail health clinics that are joint ventures between retailers and pharmacy chains. The AMA contends that conflicts of interest exist because retail clinics increase prescription drugs sales and other product. The clinic is not independent of the store which sells the drugs the prescriptions, hence the conflict of interest according to the AMA. Retail health clinics are being installed in large retail chains like Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreen and Rite Aid. About 1000 clinics are expected to be operational by the end of 2007.Nurse practitioners or physician assistants offer basic procedures and they charge less than a doctor's practice. The clinics are supervised by a physician who does not have to be on site. AMA members, particularly primary care physicians, are concerned that the greater accessibil...
More About: Health , Tail , Clinics , Heal

Texas Makes It Easier for Low income Families to Get Childrens' Health Insu
2007-06-20 21:10:00
Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) are state programs supported by federal funds that provide the children (usually up to age 19) of families that fall within published low-income guidelines with health insurance coverage at little or no cost to the child's family. CHIP website One of the main complaints of families who want to apply is the complex paperwork and long administrative delays. Some even believe that states deliberately increase the red tape to save money. The state of Texas has more uninsured children than any other state in the U.S. Recently, the state hired and trained expediters to help families complete the enrollment paperwork. Also, the state Legislature recently passed a paperwork simplification bill. Another 100,000 children could enroll, but the governor has not signed it yet.
More About: Children , Income , Families

Health Care Consumers Will Shop for Price If Motivated
2007-06-18 21:06:00
When consumers have health plans with more out-of-pocket cost responsibility, they're more likely to select lower-cost alternatives for their health care, Booz Allen Hamilton, reports. People responsible for a greater portion of the cost are beginning to act like retail consumers, that is they tend to be more aware of both cost and quality differences. For instance, they are more likely to use generic than brand name drugs to get a minor or moderate price reduction.
More About: Health , Health Care , Care , Shop , Price