Medicare is a federally-governed insurance program. Medi-Cal
is an assistance program governed by the State of California and
financed equally by the state and federal governments.
The U.S.’s largest companies could save billions of dollars by
dropping employee benefits and shifting workers into the federal
health reform law’s health insurance exchanges, even after paying
a penalty for not providing coverage, according to a report
released Tuesday [May 1, 2012] by Republicans on the House
Ways and Means Committee, The Hill’s “Healthwatch” reports.
The findings echo concerns from a similar report released last
week by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
which found that certain companies on President Obama’s Council
on Jobs and Competitiveness expect the overhaul to increase their
health care costs and could provide incentive for them to drop
coverage for their employees.
Childhood vaccinations can be vital to protecting against
diseases such as diphtheria and tetanus. However, not all of them
last a lifetime. To maximize protection, the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) recommends that most healthy adults receive
“booster” shots for some childhood vaccinations, along with a
couple of new ones.
Kaiser Permanente which hyped its mobile device app’s progress
back in January before it had a lot to crow about, has some real
numbers now.
To wit, the Oakland-based health care giant says 94,367 of its
Android apps have been downloaded — up from just 2,100 in late
January. Meanwhile, 74,295 locator apps, used by Kaiser members
to locate their nearest Kaiser hospital or clinic, have found
their way onto mobile phones.
Tobacco companies — including Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds –
are spending tens of millions of dollars to try to defeat
Proposition 29, a June ballot initiative that would increase the
state’s tobacco sales tax by $1 per pack, the San Jose Mercury
News reports.
The current tobacco tax is 87 cents per pack. The state allocates
50 cents of that amount for First 5 early childhood health and
education programs.
Tobacco marketing is targeting California’s low-income and
African American youth, according to researchers who examined
advertising throughout the state.
Academic researchers funded by the state’s Tobacco-Related
Disease Research Program found that there was greater visibility
of menthol cigarette advertising at retailers near high schools
where there are larger African American student populations.
April 19, 2012 (ATLANTA) – Nationwide, women’s lifespans are
improving at a much slower pace than men, and in hundreds of
counties women are living shorter lives today than they did two
decades ago, according to new county-by-county estimates of life
expectancy released today by the Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation (IHME).
The new data also show that life expectancy for black Americans –
both men and women – is improving at a faster rate than for white
Americans, especially in large urban areas in New York and
California.
Researchers have found a way to classify breast cancer tumors
into 10 distinct categories ranging from very treatable to
extremely aggressive, a major step on the way to the long-sought
goal of precisely targeting therapies for patients.
The new categories, described in a study released Wednesday
[April 18, 2011], should help scientists devise fresh approaches
to treat some of the cancers and could spare many women the risks
and pain of unnecessarily toxic treatments, oncologists said.
About 33% of U.S. consumers use social media websites like
Facebook and Twitter to obtain health information and track and
share symptoms, according to a new survey from
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Computerworld’s “Government IT” reports.
Flossing—beyond just clearing out the spinach from those eggs
Florentine lingering between the molars—aids in gum health and
good breath. New research shows flossing may even protect against
diabetes and preterm births.
But there is little literature on flossing’s finer points, says
Denis F. Kinane, professor of pathology and periodontics at the
University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Dental Medicine. “It’s kind of
like grandmother and apple pie. We know flossing is beneficial,
but no one has even studied if it’s better to floss in the
morning or evening.” We asked him to resolve some common
household debates about flossing.
Elementary school students have plenty of interaction in the
classroom, cafeteria and playground, so it’s no surprise that
health issues occasionally crop up on campus. That’s why parents
should take steps to help their children protect themselves from
exposure to illness and injury during the school day.
Respiratory illnesses, the flu and stomach viruses are among the
most common grade-school ailments. Since viral infections are
spread by contact from a sick child to a healthy one, frequent
and thorough hand washing is the best preventive measure.
Encourage children to wash their hands often with soap and warm
water, and avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth as much as
possible.
LOS ANGELES — After providing dental care for more than 7,000
low-income children under age six, the Center for Oral Health’s
WIC Dental Collaborative Project is coming to a close. Advocates
who underscore the importance of oral health to overall health
lament the June 30 end of the successful initiative when funding
expires.
“I could cry,” said Harold Slavkin, dean emeritus of the
University of Southern California’s Ostrow School of Dentistry.
“This kind of program isn’t a big-ticket item, yet doing away
with it is bad investing for little people born in poverty.”
San Diego County has again earned above-average but not stellar
rankings for the health of its residents compared with the rest
of California and the nation, a new study shows.
Easy access to fast food joints and comparatively high rates of
sexually transmitted disease were problems in San Diego compared
with statewide, according to the third annual “County Health
Rankings” released Tuesday [April 3, 2012] by the University
of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation.
On the other hand, San Diego performed well compared with both
state and national figures in providing adequate outpatient care
to avoid preventable hospital stays. Smoking and obesity rates
were lower than state and national averages, and while the
county’s air pollution statistics ran higher than national
benchmarks, San Diego had fewer smoggy days than statewide
figures, according to the study.
In order to highlight the growing need for concern and awareness
about autism, the Autism Society has been celebrating National
Autism Awareness Month since the 1970s. The United States
recognizes April as a special opportunity for everyone to educate
the public about autism and issues within the autism community.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the United States marks the 50th
anniversary of National Poison Prevention Week from March 18-24,
the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is teaming up with product
safety counterparts in Canada and Mexico to call attention to the
dangers of unintentional poisoning.
CPSC, Mexico’s Consumer Protection Federal Agency (Profeco), the
Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks
(Cofepris), and Health Canada have committed to working together
to engage consumers during this week. Consumers need to know how
to safely choose, use and dispose of potentially harmful
products.
Unintentional poisoning is one of the leading causes of injury to
children. Poisoning is a preventable injury. Yet each year
thousands of children in the United States and across North
America are treated in emergency departments after consuming
poisonous substances.
“Fifty years of poison awareness efforts have resulted in
thousands of lives saved,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum.
“However, new and reemerging hazards, such as button cell
batteries and chemicals that look like everyday drinks, have
renewed CPSC’s efforts to raise awareness and encourage poison
prevention.”
While child-resistant packaging, critical safety messaging and
education efforts have contributed to a significant decline in
deaths, the North American safety agencies are aiming to reduce
even further the number of unintentional poisonings.
CPSC recommends that consumers layer the protection in three key
steps:
With innovative programs, county officials encourage
fearful parents to vaccinate
Amanda Tarpening doesn’t want the state telling her to vaccinate
her child.
And California public health officials don’t want her
17-month-old daughter, who has not been immunized, to fall ill or
help spread a vaccine-preventable disease.
It’s a quandary that has physicians frustrated and parents such
as Tarpening citing their First Amendment rights.
As a growing number of Californians exempt their children from
required immunizations, public health departments statewide are
launching campaigns to try to persuade them to vaccinate, and
legislators are trying to make it harder for them to get
exemptions.
Statewide, the number of fully vaccinated children has been
falling steadily since 2004, when 92.9 percent of students
entering kindergarten had all required immunizations, according
to the California Department of Public Health. Only 90.7 percent
— or 11,470 fewer kids — were fully vaccinated in 2010, the most
recent year for which data are available.
“The trend results in a greater number of Californians being
vulnerable to preventable illnesses,” said Dr. Gilberto Chavez,
the state’s Center for Infectious Disease deputy director. “The
risk of outbreaks and widespread illness in our communities
increases as the number of families opting not to vaccine their
children increases.”
A 2011 Journal of Women’s
Health study that was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health indicated that 57
percent of Latina women, 40 percent of African American women,
and 32 percent of white women had three or more risk factors for
having a heart attack. Surprisingly, these women were
significantly less aware (60 percent) than healthier women of the
symptoms of a heart attack and of the need to call 9-1-1 if
having symptoms. These data suggest that the women who are at
most risk for heart disease and its potential outcomes are
actually least aware of the threat.
As consumer advocates celebrate the early benefits of the federal
healthcare law near its two-year anniversary, they are also
warning about the need to crack down on the potential for
deceptive marketing related to reform.
On Sunday [March 18, 2012], the California Treatment Advocacy
Coalition released a report suggesting that a state mental health
law does not provide adequate access to treatment for people with
the most severe mental illnesses, KPCC’s “KPCC News” reports.
The report was compiled by physicians, lawyers, judges, mental
health care workers and patients over the course of 30 months.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) — U.S. health experts
recommended Wednesday that all adults get vaccinated against
whooping cough (pertussis), an infectious bacterial disease that
triggers uncontrollable coughing and is especially dangerous to
infants.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices voted to expand the
vaccination recommendation to include all adults, including those
aged 65 and older.
Showing your ID is important for your health and
safety. Showing your ID is critical to ensuring that you get
treatment that is meant for you, not for someone else. We have
heard of cases where someone uses a fake ID to get care. This
is dangerous and could result in getting the wrong
medication, tests or treatment. Failing to show your proper ID
jeopardizes your personal/patient safety and could put you at
risk of immeasurable harm, as severe injury or even death may
result.
Most healthcare providers are required by federal law
(HIPAA) to
treat your healthcare information as confidential.
What Information Is Protected
Information your doctors, nurses, and other healthcare
providers put in your medical record
Conversations your doctor has about your care or treatment
with nurses and others
Information about you in your health insurer’s computer
system
Billing information about you at your clinic
Most other health information about you held by those who
must follow these laws
