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Archive of Health Care on Tuesday October 27, 2009
'Opt out' proposal puts focus on states
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s call Monday (Oct. 26) for a new public health insurance plan already is prompting debate in state legislatures, which could opt out under the latest proposal being promoted by Democrats on Capitol Hill. Read More
US: Senate bill has public option
WASHINGTON -- The Senate will consider in its health-care legislation whether the government should run and fund a plan to compete with private insurance, but states could choose not to participate in the public option. Read More
AK: 16 Alaska kids died by abuse or neglect in seven years
A new report says 16 Alaska children died from abuse or neglect during a seven-year span, and the true count likely is much higher. Read More
AL: Alabama delays school clinics that will administer H1N1 vaccine
Students will have to wait until after Thanksgiving break -- almost a month later than the date health officials originally announced -- to get the H1N1 vaccine at their schools. But when all the vaccine arrives, officials believe not only will there be enough, but that Alabama could have more than it needs. Read More
AR: Arkansas' death toll from swine flu at 13
The number of Arkansans who have died from swine flu has risen to 13, a state Health Department spokesman said today. Read More
AZ: Rally to protest planned increases to child-care-center licensing fees
Parents with children in child care will have a chance to rally today in opposition to proposed increases in licensing fees for child-care centers, after-school programs and other facilities. Read More
AZ: Perfect storm threatens child care
Parents of young children in our state are facing rising child care costs and reduced tuition support. Read More
CA: Cal, UCSF scientists form cancer research unit
Scientists at UC Berkeley and UCSF have formed a research center to explore the physical principles that govern the origin and behavior of cancer cells, and how they multiply in humans. Read More
CO: Ritter to reveal plan to rebalance Colorado's budget
Gov. Bill Ritter's office on Wednesday will reveal its plans to rebalance the state budget, likely meaning more cuts to state programs. Read More
CO: Colorado air-quality programs lose $31.5 million
Programs designed to improve Colorado's air quality are taking the biggest hit from a significant federal take-back of transportation funds that occurred at the end of September. Read More
FL: Obama gives Florida Democrats a pep talk at Miami Beach fundraiser
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- In his second trip to Florida since his election, President Barack Obama told backers at a Miami Beach fundraiser not to worry about his critics: "I don't rattle." Read More
HI: Feral cats dog residents
Al Alicea still visits Kakaako Waterfront Park for walks with his wife, but stopped holding family barbecues there because he's bothered by the feral cats. Read More
IA: Service providers worry about Iowa budget cuts
WEST DES MOINES -- Private service providers in Iowa are keeping a nervous eye on the Capitol, where decisions are being made on cutting $600 million in state funding this budget year. Read More
IA: Task force tours fourth Iowa mental institute
MOUNT PLEASANT -- After touring the fourth of the four state mental health institutes Monday, a task force of Iowans will now spend a few weeks figuring out what to do next. Read More
ID: Employee group demands Otter delay premium hikes
An Idaho state workers association wants Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to delay increasing health-insurance premiums for part-time government employees, saying the 2010 Legislature should review the move first. Read More
IL: Compromised care -- Psychotropic drugs given to nursing home patients without cause
Frail and vulnerable residents of nursing homes throughout Illinois are being dosed with powerful psychotropic drugs, leading to tremors, dangerous lethargy and a higher risk of harmful falls or even death, a Tribune investigation has found. Read More
LA: Swine flu vaccines finally getting to Louisiana
Thanks to manufacturing supply shortages nationally, Louisiana and every other state is well behind where public health officials would like to be on distributing H1N1 vaccinations. But the state health department's pandemic preparedness director says the doses should begin flowing more freely in the coming weeks. Read More
LA: Medicaid cost-cutting recommended by state official
The state Department of Health and Hospitals has recommended a $232.5 million cost-cutting option in Medicaid rate reductions that would trim the state budget while lowering compensation to private health care providers. Read More
MA: Feds blast Deval Patrick on cuts to disabled
A top federal official rapped Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday for a belt-tightening move that could worsen a Social Security backlog, leaving tens of thousands of disabled citizens desperately waiting for benefits. Read More
MD: Advocates claim success for Medicaid outreach
BALTIMORE -- Health care advocates said Monday that they had met their goal of adding 10,000 Baltimore residents to Medicaid rolls since the state expanded coverage and lowered eligibility requirements last year. Read More
MD: Substance abuse assessment provides clues, raises questions
More than 7,000 people across Maryland who struggle with substance abuse aren't receiving publicly funded treatment for it, according to the results of a recently completed county-by-county treatment needs assessment. Read More
MD: Health experts address H1N1 questions, concerns
More than 30 cases of H1N1, or swine flu, have been confirmed in Anne Arundel County. Currently, the county Health Department does not have any more appointments available to administer the vaccine. Read More
MN: Primary concern -- Fewer family doctors
It's one small piece of health care reform, but it's a big deal for medical schools and doctor's offices: forgiving the student loans of doctors who choose primary care. Read More
MN: Hopes for H1N1 shots put on hold
Park Nicollet's flu hot line crashed as clinics struggled with demand that outstrips supply. Read More
MO: Analysis -- Missouri finally produces Medicaid report
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — After claiming for more than a year that it could not do so, the Missouri Department of Social Services finally has obeyed a state law and published a list of employers whose workers get government-funded Medicaid health care coverage. Read More
NC: Lost laptop has doctors' data
Social Security numbers for nearly every doctor in North Carolina were stolen this summer, but many just recently found out about the security breach. Read More
ND: N.D. confirms first H1N1 death
An older man from northwestern North Dakota is the state's first confirmed death due to the H1N1 influenza virus, state health officials announced Monday. Read More
NH: Swine flu spreading in region
The H1N1 flu never really left New Hampshire, but in recent weeks it has started to crop up again – "widespread" is the way state health officials categorize its presence as of early October – and schools are starting to feel it. Read More
NJ: Flu fears overriding quest for perfection
When her 7-year-old daughter, Olivia, got sick the first full week of school, Jamie Amato of Roselle Park knew she'd have a disagreement on her hands. Read More
NJ: Flu fears overriding quest for perfection
When her 7-year-old daughter, Olivia, got sick the first full week of school, Jamie Amato of Roselle Park knew she'd have a disagreement on her hands. Read More
NJ: State health officials propose tighter standards for lead poisoning
TRENTON, N.J. -- Children poisoned by lead would get health services earlier and their homes would be inspected sooner under state standards proposed Monday. Read More
NJ: Corzine -- Using 'weight' in Christie ad was poor word choice
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Governor Corzine said Monday night that it may have been a "good idea" to use different wording in a campaign commercial that spawned accusations he was calling Chris Christie overweight. Read More
NV: More welfare going to parents here illegally
Jose Silva had just obtained an appointment in three weeks to see whether his family would be eligible for monthly welfare benefits. Read More
NV: Reid public option choice could move the debate to state lawmakers
U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's decision Monday that the Senate health care bill would allow states to opt out of the government health care plan ultimately could push the raging debate into state legislatures. Read More
NV: What's at stake in House hearing on OSHA
When the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee holds a hearing Thursday to examine the failings of Nevada's workplace-safety program, representatives will try to answer two overarching questions: Why did the state agency charged with keeping workers safe on the job fail so badly — and are those failures symptomatic of a national problem? Read More
OH: Abortions in Ohio drop to lowest level since '76
The number of abortions performed in Ohio last year dropped to the lowest level since 1976, when the state first started keeping statistics. Read More
OH: Lance Armstrong gets visit from Strickland
Gov. Ted Strickland stopped at cyclist Lance Armstrong's house in Texas last week in between fund-raising events in Austin on Thursday and Dallas on Friday. Read More
OK: Sen. Patrick Anderson wants Oklahoma food program to get funding
A state senator continues to plead with the governor to use some of his discretionary funds he received as part of the federal stimulus dollars to keep Oklahoma's senior nutrition programs operating at present levels. Read More
OK: Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists tout antibody as a lifesaver
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists say a newly discovered antibody could halt major internal bleeding from traumatic injuries such as those suffered in vehicle crashes or on a battlefield. Read More
OR: Senate bill will include a 'public option' but questions remain about its reach
WASHINGTON -- A sleepy Monday on Capitol Hill was interrupted by serious breaking news today when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the health care bill the chamber will soon debate will include a public option. Read More
OR: Ore. gives most foster parents a raise
An overhaul of the way Oregon compensates foster parents means a big raise for most but deep cuts for some who care for children with extensive medical, mental health or behavioral problems. Read More
SD: Stem cell research petition to circulate to push for a vote
Organized by the South Dakotans for Lifesaving Cures, the petition drive comes eight months after President Barack Obama overturned a 2001 order by then-President George W. Bush that barred the National Institutes of Health from funding embryonic stem cell research beyond the existing stem cell lines. South Dakota passed its ban in 2000. Read More
TN: Second Harvest gets stimulus funds to feed hungry in Middle Tennessee
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is distributing more than $572,000 in federal stimulus funding to help five Tennessee food charities. Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is the state's top beneficiary, receiving more than $205,000. Read More
TX: State suing to shut plants while fatal incidents probed
Texas' attorney general has filed suit to temporarily close two affiliated industrial waste facilities in south Houston and Port Arthur until dozens of operational changes are made. Read More
US: H1N1 flu 'pushing hospitals to their limit'
BALTIMORE — To Mitchell Goldstein, the flood of sick children seemed endless. Day after day, nearly three times as many kids as usual streamed into the rainbow-colored pediatric emergency room at Johns Hopkins Hospital, sniffling and feverish, worried parents hovering. Read More
US: Why such a shortage of swine flu vaccine?
Administration officials sought Monday to explain why so much less H1N1 flu vaccine is available than had been promised, blaming the manufacturers and the vagaries of science for nationwide shortages. Read More
US: Public option push in Senate comes with escape hatch
WASHINGTON — The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, sided with his party's liberals on Monday and announced that he would include a government-run insurance plan in health care legislation that he plans to take to the Senate floor within a few weeks. Read More
UT: Utah lawmakers dislike Reid's public-option proposal
The only good thing about Sen. Harry Reid's proposed health-care reform compromise is that states can opt out from federal reforms, several Utah lawmakers and health-reform advocates said Monday. Read More
UT: Laura Bush wows Utah women
Former first lady Laura Bush wowed the 1,700 women who gathered in Salt Lake City Monday for the wrap-up of Sen. Orrin Hatch's 25th annual Women's Conference. Read More
UT: State health department unveils flu campaign
Utah's H1N1 outbreak may be just weeks away from peaking, marking the halfway point of this fall wave of influenza, health officials say. Read More
UT: Utah wants 'Flu Fighters'
Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap is one. So is Gov. Gary Herbert. And the Utah Department of Health wants you to be a "Flu Fighter," too. Read More
VA: Swine-flu vaccine is in short supply in Richmond metro area
Richmond metropolitan health facilities are largely, if temporarily, out of H1N1 flu vaccine. Read More
VT: School vaccinations under way for H1N1
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — Concerns over the H1N1 flu virus have exhausted some providers' supplies of seasonal flu vaccine, health officials said Monday. The Visiting Nurse Association's seasonal flu vaccination clinics have been discontinued because they've run out of vaccine. Read More
VT: UVM opens clinic to deal with flu
Preparing for a deluge but hoping for the best, the University of Vermont has set up a temporary medical station for student flu victims. Read More
WV: Ex-asbestos official gets 1 year for helping rig bids
A former head of the West Virginia Capitol's asbestos abatement program was sentenced to a year in prison in federal court in Maryland last week. Paul Prendergast, 47, of Gaithersburg, Md., pleaded guilty in October 2007 to violating the federal Travel Act by leaking confidential bidding information to a company in Maryland. Read More
WV: Manchin tells employees 'fat tax' is off the table
A proposed "fat tax" on overweight public employees is off the table, Gov. Joe Manchin told representatives of public school employee groups Monday. Read More |
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