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Archive of Health Care on Wednesday October 28, 2009
KS: Group seeks state amendment on health care
In a pre-emptive strike on national health care, conservative state lawmakers and representatives of the "tea party" movement on Tuesday proposed changing the state Constitution to exempt Kansas from federal health insurance mandates. (Also see: CA: Schwarzenegger airs Medicaid cost concerns, but still backs action ) Read More
CA: Schwarzenegger airs Medicaid cost concerns, but still backs action
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday reiterated his call for Congress to pass a bill this year to overhaul the U.S. health-care system, while also expressing concerns about the legislation's potential impact on state budgets. Read More
AL: Riley asks Silver-Haired Legislature to help younger generations
Alabama's top senior citizen, Gov. Bob Riley, issued a challenge to the members of the Alabama Silver-Haired Legislature: build something that allows your kids and grandkids to have the same opportunities you had. Read More
AL: Vaccines target high-risk groups
County health departments across the state will begin administering the H1N1 vaccine to targeted high-risk groups today. The Alabama Department of Public Health now has 55,000 doses available statewide. Read More
AR: State's share of flu vaccine short
Arkansas health officials already struggling with a slow trickle of swine-flu vaccine coming into the state said Tuesday that there will also be shortages of seasonal-influenza vaccine when mass vaccination clinics start around the state Thursday. Read More
AZ: 300 protest child-care fee hike
Hundreds of people appealed to Gov. Jan Brewer on Tuesday in an effort to prevent steep increases to child-care licensing fees that could raise the cost of care. Read More
CA: Senior Legislature convenes at Capitol
The four-day session examines issues of the aging and helps to shape potential legislation helping older citizens. Read More
CA: Planned background checks for in-home healthcare workers are criticized
A storm of protest has erupted over the Schwarzenegger administration's push to require prospective home health aides for the elderly and disabled to begin undergoing criminal background and fingerprint checks next week. Read More
CO: Personhood initiative lining up friends and foes
A version of the anti-abortion initiative soundly defeated by Colorado voters in 2008 is making its way to the 2010 ballot, this time reworked as an "egg-as-a-person" initiative. Read More
CT: Dodd -- Public option opt-out 'reasonable'
U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., Tuesday called the latest proposal to allow states to opt out of a public option feature of health care reform "very reasonable." Read More
HI: Isle officials warn of surge in swine flu cases soon
Hawaii has been lucky to avoid the upsurge of influenza that has plagued the mainland, but that could end soon, state health officials say. Read More
IL: Compromised care -- Illinois has cited half of best nursing homes
Half of Illinois' best nursing homes -- those rated four or five stars by the federal government -- have been cited at least once since 2001 for misusing psychotropic drugs, and some violations involved injuries and deaths, the Tribune has found. Read More
KS: State Republican lawmakers propose 'Healthcare Freedom Amendment'
Several Republican state lawmakers toured Kansas on Tuesday pushing for a proposed state constitutional amendment that would prohibit requiring Kansans to buy health insurance under a government plan. Read More
KY: Trans fat ban draws fans for issue's first public forum
About 50 people attended the first of two public forums on the dangers of eating chemically altered mono and polyunsaturated fats, known as trans fats, used in deep-frying and baking to give food longer shelf or fry lives. Read More
KY: H1N1 threat leads to many precautions
Kentuckians' daily routines are changing with the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. Read More
LA: Louisiana blasts FDA plan to limit oyster production
In an effort to reduce cases of a rare, but potentially fatal, bacterial illness contracted from raw oysters, the FDA announced new rules this month that will require any oyster served from April through October to undergo a sterilization process before it can be sold in restaurants or on the market. Read More
MA: Mentally ill rally against service cuts
Disabled Bay State residents may now face even more cuts to the services they urgently need, advocates said. Read More
MD: Developmental disabilities community decries budget cuts to state services
Advocates for people with developmental disabilities are mobilizing to try to preserve their services in the midst of Maryland's budget crisis. Read More
MS: Ex-Miss. USDA director pleads guilty
Nick Walters, the former Mississippi director of USDA Rural Development, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge for work he performed for Natchez Regional Medical Center after he left the government agency. Read More
MS: Miss. joins in fight against heart disease
Mississippi will become the 15th state to join an initiative that aims to decrease the risk of heart disease, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant said. Read More
MT: State holds influenza summit on Internet
State, local and tribal health officials in 71 locations across Montana participated in an influenza summit Tuesday via the Internet and heard Gov. Brian Schweitzer and top state health officials discuss the state's planning and response to the virus. Read More
NC: BCBS mails ill-timed plea
Maybe it was just lousy timing, but many customers of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina are ticked off at the mail they've received recently from the state's largest insurer. Read More
ND: Sen. Conrad takes cautious approach to public option health care plan
Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., architect of the cooperatives alternative to the controversial public option plan to reform the nation's health insurance system, said Tuesday that he will "reserve judgment" on the apparent revival of a government-run insurance provision in the Senate. Read More
NE: Terry offers health bill
WASHINGTON - Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., introduced his version of health care legislation on Tuesday. Terry's bill would create a health insurance system similar to the health benefits program that covers members of Congress and federal workers, but the new system would be open for anyone to purchase insurance through it. Read More
NE: Terry offers health bill
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., introduced his version of health care legislation on Tuesday. Read More
NH: Lawmakers to mull override of medicinal marijuana veto
Legislators return to Concord today to take up four vetoed bills, including one that would legalize the medicinal use of marijuana. Read More
NH: Layoffs to affect poorest residents
Some patients with brain disorders will have to find care outside New Hampshire. Read More
NM: Meetings aim to soften the budget blow
Educators and state employees. People representing youth shelters, behavioral health organizations and literacy programs. Law-enforcement officers dealing with border crime. Emergency 911 operators. Read More
NV: Case spurs pharmacies' fears of lawsuits over drug abuse
When Patricia Copening, a petite, 35-year-old doctor's office receptionist, bought nearly 4,500 doses of prescription painkillers one year, alarm bells sounded at the Nevada controlled-substance task force. The state board sent letters to 14 pharmacies in the Las Vegas area warning that Ms. Copening could be abusing drugs. Read More
NY: An unwanted visitor with sneezes in tow
The H1N1 virus is here, but so far the effects of its presence are slight Read More
OH: New state Medicaid director familiar with the role
Tracy J. Plouck knows a thing or two about her new job as state Medicaid director. Read More
OH: Ohio is unlikely to opt out of new government-run health insurance plan, Gov. Ted Strickland and Sen. Sherrod Brown say
WASHINGTON -- Gov. Ted Strickland says he'd rather let Ohioans participate in the government-run health insurance program being planned by congressional Democrats, despite the option to let the state say no. Read More
OH: A bundle of ill effects from Ohio's change in Medicare reimbursement is hurting specialty nursing home patients
Just as the Ohio General Assembly is about to give the state budget its blessing and send it to the governor for signature, someone tosses in a seemingly minor change that turns out to be major for someone. Read More
OK: Rally planned to protest $7.4M senior nutrition cuts in Oklahoma
Older Oklahomans plan to rally next week at the state Capitol to get money restored to Oklahoma's senior nutrition programs. Read More
OK: Oklahoma lawmakers eye cost savings from drug treatment
Oklahoma could save millions in Medicaid expenses for hospital visits, nursing home stays and other costs by providing substance abuse treatment to select groups of recipients, a Washington state economist said Tuesday. Read More
OR: Most unfilled jobs are health-related
Oregon's unemployment rate may be sitting at11.5 percent, but there are plenty of unfilled jobs. Read More
PA: Health district schedules free swine-flu clinics
South Central Public Health District announced Tuesday that it will provide swine flu vaccination clinics for two of the high-risk priority groups: pregnant women and children with documented care plans related to chronic health conditions. Read More
SD: Rounds -- Economic pain will sharpen
Revenue to the state of South Dakota was down by $33 million in the first three months of this fiscal year, Gov. Mike Rounds said Monday, setting the stage for a painful legislative session next year. Read More
TX: Swine flu vaccine is prison-bound
Thousands of prisoners could get vaccinations for swine flu before law-abiding Texans because they fit the criteria for priority inoculations, officials said Tuesday. Read More
US: States' choice on public option -- More than health care at stake
There are differences between the states. To take the most incendiary, two men can marry in Massachusetts but not Montana. But such differences are far more often the exception rather than the rule. Read More
UT: New tactics aim to get H1N1 vaccine to Utahns
With demand for H1N1 swine flu vaccine far exceeding supply -- leaving many Utahns literally out in the cold -- local health departments are changing their tactics for distributing doses. Read More
UT: Are Utahns drinking, smoking their way through tough times?
What are Utahns doing to make it through the recession? Read More
UT: Liquor law hurts business, critics say
A 2008 state law stopping the sale of alcohol within 200 feet of schools and churches — even if there's no opposition — was criticized Tuesday at a liquor-commission meeting. Read More
VA: Three school divisions suspend clinics for swine flu vaccine
NORFOLK, Va. -- Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach schools announced a suspension of their schedules due to shortages until they receive more vaccines for the pandemic H1N1 flu. Read More
VT: A fierce debate over free drug samples
Medical practitioners on Tuesday presented ardent as well as disparate views to a state panel reviewing the merits of free medicine samples provided at doctors' offices. Read More
WI: Swine flu vaccine shortage narrows eligibility
As doctors cope with shortages of swine flu vaccine and large numbers of people suffering influenza-like illness, the state and federal governments have shifted away from mass vaccination clinics toward targeting limited doses at those with greatest risk. Read More |
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