Scientists from UCSF said once birds have learned a song they sing it ‘automatically’, much like we learn and perform movements. However, a key brain hub kicks into action if mistakes are made.
The Wellness Center’s registered nurse, Janie Benckert, illustrates good and bad cholesterol at the Girls and Pearls night out Thursday sponsored by Newberry County Memorial Hospital.
A report out today from the Health Care Cost Institute analyzed what insurers and households paid for medical care from 2007 to 2010.
The Washington Post: Data Trove May Shed Light On Health-Care Uncertainties
How much do hospitals and doctors actually charge insurers for their services? How much and which of those services are privately-insured patients using? And, most significantly, what drives changes in health-care use, costs, and total spending? (Aizenman, 5/21).
Politico: Study: Higher Prices For Care May Be Driving Health-Care Costs
A new study could pose a challenge to the basic premise of President Barack Obama’s approach to controlling health costs — that spending will come down if doctors don’t give patients as much unnecessary medical care (Feder, 5/21).
Kaiser Health News: Higher Prices Charged By Hospitals, Other Providers, Drove Health Spending During Downturn
Higher prices charged by hospitals, outpatient centers and other providers drove up health care spending at double the rate of inflation during the economic downturn– even as patients consumed less medical care overall, according to a new study (Appleby, 5/21).
Bloomberg: Health-Care Costs Rise Faster Than U.S. Inflation Rate
Doctors, hospitals and drugmakers raised prices faster than inflation in 2010, driving U.S. health costs higher as fewer Americans sought care after the recession. Spending on workers covered on the job grew 3.3 percent per person in 2010, twice the general inflation rate, according to a report today from the Health Care Cost Institute, a Washington group that examined data from insurers including UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) and Aetna Inc. (AET) While costs increased, enrollment in employer-sponsored plans declined, the researchers said (Nussbaum, 5/21).
Modern Healthcare: Rising Prices Drove Higher Spending Among Commercially Insured: Study
Rising prices meant higher health spending for patients with insurance through a job in 2010 even as demand for medical care stagnated, according to the first report generated from a trove of claims data from private insurers. The report, which analyzed what insurers and households paid for medical care from 2007 to 2010, was released by the Health Care Cost Institute, a not-for-profit with access to insurance claims from Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare. The project was launched last year (Evans, 5/21).
Dozens of unpaid jobseekers are to deliver patient care at three hospitals in the Midlands, an NHS Trust has revealed.
Today’s headlines includes reports on a new poll that explores what it is like to be sick in America.
Kaiser Health News: Higher Prices Charged By Hospitals, Other Providers, Drove Health Spending During Downturn
Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports: “Higher prices charged by hospitals, outpatient centers and other providers drove up health care spending at double the rate of inflation during the economic downturn– even as patients consumed less medical care overall, according to a new study” (Appleby, 5/21). Read the story.
Kaiser Health News: Second Guessing Medicare’s Star Rating System
Kaiser Health News staff writer Marilyn Werber Serafini, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, reports: ”As the federal government pumps billions of bonus dollars into private Medicare health plans to encourage better care, the quality rating system used to award the bonuses is coming under increasing fire” (Werber Serafini, 5/20). Read the story.
Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Sebelius Tells Georgetown Students To Follow Their Own Moral Compass
Now on Kaiser Health News’ blog, Christian Torres reports: “About 200 students earned degrees this year from Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute, but most of the attention at Friday’s graduation ceremony was focused on one person: Kathleen Sebelius. The Health and Human Services Secretary gave commencement remarks – with only one major interruption – to a largely supportive audience” (5/28). Check out what else is on the blog.
Kaiser Health News also tracked weekend health policy headlines, including reports about how health issues are playing on the presidential campaign trail (5/20) and details of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ appearance at Georgetown University (5/19).
NPR’s Shots Blog: Poll: What It’s Like to Be Sick In America
In the lull between the Supreme Court arguments over the federal health overhaul law and the decision expected in June, we thought we’d ask Americans who actually use the health system quite a bit how they view the quality of care and its cost (Knox and Neel, 5/21).
NPR: Stories Of Being Sick Inside The U.S. Health Care System
To get a feeling for what being sick in America is really like, and to help us understand the findings of our poll with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, NPR did a call-out on Facebook. We asked people to share their experiences of the health care system, and within 24 hours, we were flooded with close to 1,000 responses (Knox and Neighmond, 5/21).
The Washington Post: Data Trove May Shed Light On Health-Care Uncertainties
How much do hospitals and doctors actually charge insurers for their services? How much and which of those services are privately-insured patients using? And, most significantly, what drives changes in health-care use, costs, and total spending? (Aizenman, 5/21).
Politico: Study: Higher Prices For Care May Be Driving Health-Care Costs
A new study could pose a challenge to the basic premise of President Barack Obama’s approach to controlling health costs — that spending will come down if doctors don’t give patients as much unnecessary medical care (Feder, 5/21).
The Associated Press/Washington Post: Republicans Romney, Sen. Brown Play Down Connections As They Face Different Election Fights
The distance between the candidates is more than strategic. Romney and Brown have adopted competing views on several big issues, from a new nuclear weapons treaty with Russia to the fate of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. Romney has said Roe v. Wade should be reversed. Brown says a woman should have the right to an abortion, although he opposes federal money for the procedure. Brown voted for the new START treaty with Russia, saying it was important for national security. Romney said the treaty was Obama’s “worst foreign policy mistake” (5/21).
NPR: A Dire Sign Of The Obesity Epidemic: Teen Diabetes Soaring, Study Finds
Karlton Hill was only 12 years old when when he found out he had diabetes. Even though he was only in seventh grade, Karlton knew what diabetes was; he had watched the disease destroy his great-grandmother’s life (Stein, 5/21).
The Washington Post: ‘Radical’ Bill Seeks To Reduce Cost Of AIDS Drugs By Awarding Prizes Instead Of Patents
Prizes, not patents. That could be the slogan for a radical idea that leading economists say would lower the price of new drugs for treating HIV/AIDS (Vastag, 5/19).
Los Angeles Times: Backers Of Health Insurance Rate Regulation Edge Closer To Ballot
Supporters of a proposed ballot measure seeking tighter regulation of health insurance rates in California turned in 800,000 petition signatures, confident that they will qualify for the Nov. 6 election (Terhune, 5/19).
The New York Times: Down To One Hospital, Rockaway Braces For Summer Crowds
Summer is coming to the Rockaway Peninsula, the thin strip of land lapped on either side by Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. And with the warmth will come the usual hordes who play and bask on its beaches, and, inevitably, suffer heatstroke, volleyball sprains, beach glass lacerations and near-drownings — the sorts of seaside scrapes that send people to the emergency room every season (Nir, 5/20).
Check out all of Kaiser Health News’ e-mail options including First Edition and Breaking News alerts on our Subscriptions page.
Poland is the latest country to ban a genetically-engineered food, in a desperate attempt to save the world’s bees. Citing a link to Monsanto’s GE corn and the depletion of bee colonies in the country, Poland banned the insecticide-producing corn after experts determined that the widely used insecticide was causing colony collapse disorder. Scientists know that honeybees play a critical role in the pollination process, and that their decline could threaten the sustainability of the world’s agricultural ecosystems.
That’s one reason Illinois beekeeper Terrence Ingram spent the past 15 years studying the effects of Monsanto’s Roundup on bee populations. It’s also the reason Ingram went to great lengths to buy bees and hives only from areas that had never been affected by Roundup. But when Ingram approached the Illinois Department of Agriculture about his concerns, instead of confirming that Roundup destroys bees, the department swooped down on his hives while he was gone, destroyed many of them and stole the rest, ruining his livelihood and 15 years of research.
The University of Missouri was abuzz with excitement recently when researchers announced they’d found a non-toxic treatment that can stop breast cancer in its tracks. In the study, this treatment worked even on deadly, fast-growing breast tumors, inhibiting cell proliferation (growth) and reducing expression of a gene associated with cancer growth. Blood vessels feeding the cancer tumors also shrunk and restricted nutrient flow to the tumor cells, starving them of their ability to spread.
The finding was doubly exciting because the ingredient needed for the treatment―apigenin―is cheap and is as close as your garden or grocery store. Apigenin is a natural, active ingredient in celery, parsley, thyme, and a number of fruits, vegetables, and spices. Now imagine the frustration these researchers must feel, knowing they’re going to have a hard time convincing anyone to fund further research on apigenin. Why? According to study co-author Salmon Hyder:
“Since apigenin is easily extracted from plants, pharmaceutical companies don’t stand to profit from the treatment; hence the industry won’t put money into studying something you can grow in your garden.”
Researchers noted that while the best way to get apigenin is from foods, many health food stores also sell it in pill form.
Alternative Health Arthritis Asthma & Allergies Autism Breast Cancer Cancer Cardiovascular Health Children’s Health Dental Health Diabetes Fertility & Pregnancy Men’s Health Mental Health Multiple Sclerosis Neurological Disorders Nutrition & Wellness Orthopedics Pet Health Robotics Seniors’ Health Sports Medicine Vision Women’s Health – Since 1980, … (more)
Heather Underwood of Seabeck demonstrates how a digital pen works with a partograph that she developed to aid women’s health in developing countries Thursday.
There has been a great deal of research dealing with good versus bad fats for cardiac health.
The link between prenatal exposure to air pollution and childhood lung growth and respiratory ailments is well established, and now a new study suggests that these prenatal exposures can be especially serious for children with asthma.
Concerned mother Cerys Owens, 33, of Ystradgynlais, Swansea, South Wales, turned to her online friends to find what caused son Evans’ frightening fits after doctors said he was holding his breath during tantrums.
Ranked #6 in the nation, #1 in New York City in the U.S. News & World Report “America’s Top Hospitals” survey.
Emma Murphy’s three children were irreversibly damaged in the womb by the anti-epileptic drugs she had taken since she was 12.
Cultural Center, in Midtown Stern women were staging their final performance of “So You Think Stern Can Dance.” The dilemma: in which audience will I choose to sit? The dilemma reflects upon a larger tension within the Stern student body.
THE Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is collaborating with the Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Society Malaysia to hold its International Scientific Congress in Malaysia.
Maclin is board-certified in adult and women’s health, and is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health.
Women who eat a lot of “bad” saturated fat may hurt their overall brain function and memory over time, Harvard University researchers report.
More than 400 men and women are expected to come together to promote women’s health and raise money for local charities at White-Wilson’s third annual Little Black Dress Party on May 19 at the Emerald Coast Convention Center on Okaloosa Island.
A new review of the evidence on how to tackle the obesity epidemic reveals, perhaps unsurprisingly, that going on a diet is the best way for pregnant women to stay in shape.
A group of healthcare professionals is coming out in strong support of President Obama.
Jeanette Maitland said Aberdeen City Council had given her the impression herhusband would be cared for by a core group of 10 people so as not to unsettle him.
Dr. Colleen Boling, left, goes over a patient’s X-ray Thursday at Draeger Chiropractic & Laser Center in Weston.
Pregnant women, including those who are obese or overweight, should be encouraged to minimize weight gain through diet, according to major new research.
Dr. Joseph Selby, head of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, tells Dr. Eli Adashi what this newly created institute is all about.
Medscape Internal Medicine
Doctors at Washington University have created a test that detects how strong a baby’s immune system is at birth – and how likely they are to fall prey to colds in their first year.
Eating right should always be a standard dietary practice, but pay particular attention to your eating habits duringA National Women’s Health Week A . Try preparing food oriented toward women’s common dietary issues in acknowledgement of this trend.
News outlets report Republican lawmakers’ conflicting views as they wait for the Supreme Court’s decision on its constitutionality. Meanwhile, The Associated Press reports that the fate of the nation’s “uninsurables” is tied to what the justices decide.
Politico: Right Infighting Over Health Care
Thirty minutes. That’s the roughly time it took for conservatives to jump all over Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his leadership team after the GOP’s game plan for dealing with President Barack Obama’s health care law leaked to the media. … The behind-the-scenes fight among Republicans richly illustrates why House GOP leadership is so cautious, sensitive and calculating when it comes to dealing with the conservative right. POLITICO obtained the email chain, the contents of which show that health care reform remains just as emotional an issue as ever (Sherman, 5/17).
The Washington Times: Senate Republicans Wary Of Health Care Law
Republican governors and GOP-dominated state legislatures were united in opposing President Obama’s health care law, but now that it’s in place, they are far more divided over how far to go in complying with it, especially with the U.S. Supreme Court poised to rule on the law’s constitutionality (Winfield Cunningham, 5/18).
The Associated Press: Fate Of ‘Uninsurables’ Hinges On Supreme Court
Cancer patient Kathy Watson voted Republican in 2008 and believes the government has no right telling Americans to get health insurance. Nonetheless, she says she’d be dead if it weren’t for President Barack Obama’s health care law. Now the Florida small businesswoman is worried the Supreme Court will strike down her lifeline. Under the law, Watson and nearly 62,000 other “uninsurable” patients are getting coverage through a little-known program for people who have been turned away by insurance companies because of pre-existing medical conditions (Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/18).
