Healthcare
The Pump Handle
Category archives for Healthcare
Texas family planning cuts dismantling the safety net for women’s preventive care; researchers chronicle early impacts
Posted by The Pump Handle on October 5, 2012 In the west Texas city of San Angelo, Planned Parenthood has been serving local women since 1938. It was one of the very first places in Texas to have a family planning clinic. Now, due to state policy and funding changes, the clinic’s ability to serve all those in need is on shaky ground.
Resources and readmissions: a challenging policy for hospitals
Posted by Liz Borkowski on October 4, 2012 An Affordable Care Act provision taking effect this week will reduce Medicare reimbursements to hospitals with high readmission rates. But to what extent are readmissions under a hospital’s control?
It’s official, 50 cancers added to eligible diseases covered by World Trade Center health program
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on September 17, 2012 In response to the findings and recommendations of a scientific expert panel, the World Trade Center Health Program will now consider certain cancers a covered health condition.
Access matters: U.S. lags behind in preventable deaths
Posted by The Pump Handle on September 7, 2012 Another study, another support beam in the argument that access to insurance coverage matters — a lot.
States and localities take on poor working conditions, safety hazards
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on September 7, 2012 In the final section of our new report “The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety,” we end on a high note. We profile a number of new laws at the state and local levels to improve working conditions for Americans and protect them from serious health and safety hazards.
Health insurance exchange lessons from Netherlands and Switzerland
Posted by Liz Borkowski on August 24, 2012 An NEJM piece offers some advice and cautions about health insurance exchanges — a key to the Affordable Care Act’s success — based on the experiences of the Netherlands and Switzerland.
News stories that might make you question your medical care
Posted by Liz Borkowski on August 20, 2012 Recent New York Times and Washington Post stories on activities at certain HCA hospitals and the nationwide use of anemia drugs show how profit-maximizing practices can sometimes put patients’ lives at risk.
Medical marijuana progress under Obama not what advocates had hoped; recent crackdown puts patients in the middle
Posted by The Pump Handle on August 17, 2012 For years, Peter Rosenfeld was looking for an effective way to treat what doctors had diagnosed as severe and intractable migraines. He’d heard of medical marijuana, but thought it was a joke — that it was just a way for people to justify their marijuana use. Today, he’s a passionate advocate for medicinal marijuana and one of many advocates disappointed at recent federal actions.
New Health Wonk Review is up
Posted by Liz Borkowski on August 16, 2012 The latest Health Wonk Review features posts on healthcare quality, the Affordable Care Act, Paul Ryan, and other healthcare issues.
What Paul Ryan’s budget says about his priorities
Posted by Liz Borkowski on August 13, 2012 Unlike Mitt Romney, who has often declined to provide specifics about policies he’d pursue as president, Paul Ryan has been very clear about what he thinks the government should do.