Psychiatrists Approves Vast Changes To Diagnosis Manual by Sharon Jayson. USA Today. December 2, 2012.
Culminating the work of over a decade, the board of the American Psychiatric Association approved the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which will be published in detail in May. The Manual has tremendous significance for insurance coverage and school special services.
Among the several controversial changes addressed by this article is the elimination of a mild form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome and folding it in as a part of autism spectrum disorder.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
CBO: Obamacare Drug Savings Produce Medicare Savings
Medicare Beneficiaries Reach $5 Billion In Drug Savings by Kelly Kennedy. USA Today. December 3, 2012.
Drug discounts from pharmaceutical firms obtained under Obamacare have resulted in more people taking their medication which, in turn, has resulted in long-term medical costs reductions according to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO has quantified the savings: 1% increase in Medicare prescription has caused Medicare spending to drop by one-fifth of 1%. A critic of the new health care law questions the reliability of this "attractive story." Such assertions are "almost never true." he stated.
Drug discounts from pharmaceutical firms obtained under Obamacare have resulted in more people taking their medication which, in turn, has resulted in long-term medical costs reductions according to the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO has quantified the savings: 1% increase in Medicare prescription has caused Medicare spending to drop by one-fifth of 1%. A critic of the new health care law questions the reliability of this "attractive story." Such assertions are "almost never true." he stated.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The Immortal Jellyfish: Cancer and the Human Future
Can A Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality by Nathaniel Rich. The New York Times Magazine. November 28 2012.
In Japan, the country with the world's oldest population, a scientist, Sin Kubota with the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory. looks for the keys to immortality in an obscure species known as Turritonsis dohrnij, the immortal jellyfish.
In 1988 it was discovered that Turritonsis dohrnij could at any stage of development could transform itself back to a polyp, in essence becoming younger and younger until a new life cycle would begin again. In addition to Kubota, other scientists are studying hydrozoans, invertebrates that depending on life cycle stage will resemble a jellyfish or soft coral. For example, the hydra is composed almost completely of stem cells that allow continuous regeneration.
The capacity for regeneration has potentially profound implications for cancer research and longevity. microRNAs regulate cell differentiation by the process of gene expression. These simple organisms may have, in effect, eschewed cell differentiation for cancer prevention and immortality.
Sin Kubota, scientist, is also a songwriter. His songwriting is not merely a hobby but a tool for spiritual change. He worries that needed spiritual changes in the human heart will not be adequate to deal with the potential that he sees from his research. Song is the way he seeks to expand man's vision for change and love of nature.
In Japan, the country with the world's oldest population, a scientist, Sin Kubota with the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory. looks for the keys to immortality in an obscure species known as Turritonsis dohrnij, the immortal jellyfish.
In 1988 it was discovered that Turritonsis dohrnij could at any stage of development could transform itself back to a polyp, in essence becoming younger and younger until a new life cycle would begin again. In addition to Kubota, other scientists are studying hydrozoans, invertebrates that depending on life cycle stage will resemble a jellyfish or soft coral. For example, the hydra is composed almost completely of stem cells that allow continuous regeneration.
The capacity for regeneration has potentially profound implications for cancer research and longevity. microRNAs regulate cell differentiation by the process of gene expression. These simple organisms may have, in effect, eschewed cell differentiation for cancer prevention and immortality.
Sin Kubota, scientist, is also a songwriter. His songwriting is not merely a hobby but a tool for spiritual change. He worries that needed spiritual changes in the human heart will not be adequate to deal with the potential that he sees from his research. Song is the way he seeks to expand man's vision for change and love of nature.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Greece Hammered by HIV, Drugs, Financial Collapse, Austerity
Health Officials: Athens Has Spiraling HIV Crisis by Elena Becatoros. Bloomberg Businessweek. November 30, 2012.
HIV infections among drug users in Greece have skyrocketed by 15-fold last year and 35-fold so far this year compared to a 2008-2010 baseline. During the economic calamity drug users have turned from smoking to injecting in order to get the same effect from smaller amounts of drugs. Austerity measures have impacted hospitals and charities who work with drug users, crippling efforts to deal with the HIV crisis. Efforts to distribute clean needles do no match the extent of the problem.
HIV infections among drug users in Greece have skyrocketed by 15-fold last year and 35-fold so far this year compared to a 2008-2010 baseline. During the economic calamity drug users have turned from smoking to injecting in order to get the same effect from smaller amounts of drugs. Austerity measures have impacted hospitals and charities who work with drug users, crippling efforts to deal with the HIV crisis. Efforts to distribute clean needles do no match the extent of the problem.
ACA: Fear and Opportunity for Small Employers
Small Employers Weigh Impact of Providing Health Insurance by Steven Greenhouse and Reed Abelson. The New York Times. November 30, 2012.
Some small employers are deciding if they should be fearful about the Affordable Care Act or can view it as an opportunity. Most employers, including small businesses, already offer health coverage and will not be significantly impacted by the requirement in the next year or so. However, among firms in the retail and hospitality industries where employees often cannot afford their share of insurance premiums there is great concern. By 2014, firms employing more than 50 employees will be expected to offer affordable--as yet undefined--coverage or pay a fine of 2,000 per employee, excluding the first 30 employees. Some small employers suggest that they may lower the number of hours worked to fall outside the requirement for coverage. This course of action however, experts in the article suggest, will put those employers at a competitive disadvantage. Definitions are key as employers await clarification of key concepts such as "full-time employee" and approved coverage.
Some small employers however view the ACA as an opportunity. With tax credits, they are able to offer health insurance for the first time. These businesses had 15 and 5 employees.
Some small employers are deciding if they should be fearful about the Affordable Care Act or can view it as an opportunity. Most employers, including small businesses, already offer health coverage and will not be significantly impacted by the requirement in the next year or so. However, among firms in the retail and hospitality industries where employees often cannot afford their share of insurance premiums there is great concern. By 2014, firms employing more than 50 employees will be expected to offer affordable--as yet undefined--coverage or pay a fine of 2,000 per employee, excluding the first 30 employees. Some small employers suggest that they may lower the number of hours worked to fall outside the requirement for coverage. This course of action however, experts in the article suggest, will put those employers at a competitive disadvantage. Definitions are key as employers await clarification of key concepts such as "full-time employee" and approved coverage.
Some small employers however view the ACA as an opportunity. With tax credits, they are able to offer health insurance for the first time. These businesses had 15 and 5 employees.
Overall Birth Rate The Lowest Since 1920
U.S. Birth Rate Falls To A Record Low; Decline Is Greatest Among Immigrants by Gretchen Livingston and D'Vera Cohn. Pew Research Center. November 29, 2012.
Comparative figures: Overall U.S. birth rate--8% decline from 2007-2010; U.S.-born women birth rate-- 6% decline; Foreign-born women birth rate--14% decline; Mexican immigrant women--23% decline.
Preliminary figures for 2011 indicate a birth rate of 63.2 per 1,000 rate compared with 122.7 in 1957.
The advent of the Great Recession in 2007 marked the end of an increase in U.S. births that had begun in 2002.
Foreign born mothers give birth to a disproportionate share of U.S. newborns: 23% share of all births as compared with the 13% share of the U.S. population.
Comparative figures: Overall U.S. birth rate--8% decline from 2007-2010; U.S.-born women birth rate-- 6% decline; Foreign-born women birth rate--14% decline; Mexican immigrant women--23% decline.
Preliminary figures for 2011 indicate a birth rate of 63.2 per 1,000 rate compared with 122.7 in 1957.
The advent of the Great Recession in 2007 marked the end of an increase in U.S. births that had begun in 2002.
Foreign born mothers give birth to a disproportionate share of U.S. newborns: 23% share of all births as compared with the 13% share of the U.S. population.
Healthcare Consolidation: Changing Medical Practice
A Hospital War Reflects A Bind For U.S. Doctors by Julie Creswell and Reed Abelson. The New York Times. November 30, 2012.
Using Boise, Idaho as a springboard case for a larger discussion of health care consolidation, this article suggests several contributing factors including shrinking Medicare reimbursements, higher costs due to the implementation of technology including electronic medical records, the changing environment of health care delivery, and certain aspects of Obamacare. Buyers driving the consolidation trend include hospitals and hospital chains, insurance companies, and private equity firms as well as individual doctors who choose to band together.
The patient-care rationale for consolidation is the belief that coordination of care is key to good care. However cited are indications that prices are rising relative to pre-consolidation. e.g. services performed in a doctor's office are sometimes cheaper that the same service performed in hospital which now owns the referring physician group. Also cited by some physicians in the article are perceived difficulties in referral outside the consolidated health care entity. Other problems cited are pressure on doctors to meet financial targets and admissions goals in addition to the structure of physician contracts. Federal and state officials, including the Federal Trade Commission, are investigating some instances of anticompetitive consolidation.
Using Boise, Idaho as a springboard case for a larger discussion of health care consolidation, this article suggests several contributing factors including shrinking Medicare reimbursements, higher costs due to the implementation of technology including electronic medical records, the changing environment of health care delivery, and certain aspects of Obamacare. Buyers driving the consolidation trend include hospitals and hospital chains, insurance companies, and private equity firms as well as individual doctors who choose to band together.
The patient-care rationale for consolidation is the belief that coordination of care is key to good care. However cited are indications that prices are rising relative to pre-consolidation. e.g. services performed in a doctor's office are sometimes cheaper that the same service performed in hospital which now owns the referring physician group. Also cited by some physicians in the article are perceived difficulties in referral outside the consolidated health care entity. Other problems cited are pressure on doctors to meet financial targets and admissions goals in addition to the structure of physician contracts. Federal and state officials, including the Federal Trade Commission, are investigating some instances of anticompetitive consolidation.
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