Archive for December, 2007

Lawyers Shun Worker’s Case Over Small Fee

...have health insurance, said her hands still hurt, but she has no money for an operation. Instead she spends her time looking for another job, she said. Her husband is a carpenter, and the downturn in construction has meant that they are having difficulty making ends meet.Meanwhile, her search for a lawyer hasn't helped. ''You go from attorney to attorney, and they say they can't do anything for you,'' she said. ''It's very frustrating.''Newstex ID: KRTB-0164-21967702...

Survey: Americans Hit Web For Solutions

Americans who had broadband tended to use the Internet to help solve a variety of problems.

What Do The Accolades Really Mean?

Sometimes the information has its limitations, said John Adams, an expert in quality measurement of hospitals.

Businesses Fear Political Changes May Allow States To Regulate Insurance

"If ERISA is undone, companies like ours will have to deal with insurance codes for 50 different states."

Obesity Can Affect Transplant Wait Time

Some obese people spend a longer time on kidney transplant waiting lists than people within normal weight ranges, a U.S. study shows.

As Illinois’ Limits On Smoking Near, Tools To Help Quit Are Rising

Would-be quitters have more weapons to try than ever to win the chemical war being waged inside their brains against an enemy, nicotine, that literally messes with their heads.

Law Stalls Medicare Restrictions

President Bush on Saturday signed legislation that will protect access for people who need inpatient rehabilitation care and services.

Arizona Health Program In Peril

A state health program for small businesses faces an uncertain future, losing millions of dollars a year and struggling with the needs of a sick population.

Health Center Starting Local Health-Oriented Version Of Peace Corps

It places workers at health centers to beef up patient outreach and education.

Democrats In All-Out Race To Win Over Caucus-Goers

...health care plan after his share of the premiums hit $136 per month and the deductible hit $400 per year, and now pays more for a private plan that has no deductible. And although he and his wife are covered under his plan, his daughter, 25, a store manager, has no health insurance.But he can't be sure universal health care plans promised by the Democratic candidates will ever take form as they are described."So when people talk about their health plans, I don't know if...

Child’s Checkup Adds Screening

The familiar routine of a check-up at the pediatrician's office will have a new step beginning today for children on Medicaid.

Health Insurance Edict Raises Concerns

Residents who are uninsured will face a $219 penalty when they file their taxes next year, and will accumulate monthly fines if they continue the year without coverage.

Privacy Law Puts Hospitals, Police At Odds

Fear of making a mistake by releasing information that should have been kept private is as much to blame as the complexity of the laws.

Many Area Nursing Homes Lack Backup Generators

When ice storms and summer winds knocked out power across the area last year, nursing homes overwhelmed the emergency medical system.

Financial Incentive Plan Will Close Some Nursing Homes

Nursing home providers will be able to purchase - and then close - an existing Medicaid-funded nursing home and transfer the residents to another facility. In exchange, the buyer then will be able to get additional Medicaid payments for five years for rental value, property tax and property insurance. Currently, the state provides Medicaid money to the homes based on aspects such as square footage and administrative costs, without factoring in the number of unused beds, Castille said.

EEOC Provides Employers Age-Discrimination Exemption for Retiree Benefits

Despite opposition from the nation's leading lobby representing seniors, the move by the federal agency is a clarion call for the need for some kind of reform to address soaring health care costs that are crippling employers' bottom lines.

Blue Cross Makes Changes To Drug Plan

Two days too late for Christmas, but still in time to celebrate the new year, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina announced Thursday that effective Jan. 1, it is waiving the co-payment for some generic drugs and lowering the cost of 40 brand-name drugs.

Berkshire Buys Reinsurance Unit, May Start Insuring Bonds

Insurer ING Group said Friday it will sell its reinsurance unit, NRG., to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway / for about $435.7 million.

Social Factors Eyed In Disparity

It's long been suggested that socio-economic issues, like lack of transportation to a doctor's office, can influence rates of disease in minorities.

Uninsured SouthCoasters Get Final Deadline As Year Ends

Starting Jan. 1, all Massachusetts residents 19 and older must have health insurance or they'll lose their personal exemption of $219 when filing their 2007 state personal income taxes.

Westmoreland Residents To Get Prescription Discounts

The deal is part of a nationwide network of more than 500 counties and CaremarkPCS of Irving, Texas, which negotiates discounts directly with 57,000 participating pharmacies.

Medicaid Computer Price Tag Now Tops $64 Million

A new computer system to run the state's Medicaid program will cost $64.2 million, twice as much as originally projected, officials said Thursday.

Retail Clinics Continue Explosive Growth

Instead of frustration over a seven-hour wait to have their son treated for a common respiratory infection, Rob and Debra Tofil sensed a business opportunity.

Aetna to End Payment for a Drug in Colonoscopies

With millions of colonoscopies performed each year and specialists advising all Americans over 50 to be screened, the proper use of this anesthetic could become a multibillion-dollar point of contention.

Outdoor Gyms Aim To Reduce Health Woes

Faced with rising obesity, diabetes and hypertension rates among inner city residents, officials have recently constructed five "Fitness Zones" around the county on plots of land about the size of a small office.

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