May 07 Employers eye moving sickest workers to insurance exchanges By Jay Hancock, Kaiser Health News Can corporations shift workers with high medical costs from the company health plan into online insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act? Some employers are considering it, say benefits consultants. "It's all over the marketplace," said Todd Yates, a… Continue reading
May 06 Watch Persistence is key to wiping out polio outbreaks in fragile nations By PBS News Hour Signaling a new public health emergency, the World Health Organization warns that if polio is not completely eradicated it could become endemic again. Worldwide, 74 cases of the crippling disease have been confirmed this year, with Syria, Cameroon and Pakistan… Continue watching
May 06 Maternal deaths down in Afghanistan with help from community workers By Larisa Epatko One of the bright spots in Save the Children’s 15th annual ranking of the best and worst countries to be a mother, released Monday, is the progress Afghanistan has made improving maternal health. Continue reading
May 05 Finland gets gold in mom rankings; U.S. maternal deaths on the rise By Larisa Epatko Finland is the best country to be a mother, according to Save the Children’s 15th annual ranking released Monday, while Somalia comes in last. The United States hovers at 31 -- about the same as last year -- but is… Continue reading
May 05 What’s holding undocumented immigrants back from seeking health care? By Ruth Tam A new study published by the journal “Health Affairs” examines how often undocumented immigrants in California used health services to see whether conservative talking points about the Affordable Care Act hold true. Continue reading
May 05 Baby safety gates send 1,800 kids to the ER every year By Travis Daub The study, conducted by Nationwide Children's Hospital, looked at data on children up to age 6, and covers hospital records going back to 1990. The report finds that gate-related injuries were different for different age groups, and that they most… Continue reading
May 05 Many insured U.S. Latinos prefer to see doctors in Mexico By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News Mexican immigrants living in California, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico have long sought health care in border cities like Tijuana, Mexicali and Nogales. The Affordable Care Act won't change that, experts said, even though it has expanded coverage to millions… Continue reading
May 05 Some schools push to roll back healthy lunch requirements By Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Some schools say new health lunch guidelines have been expensive and difficult to put in place, and school officials are asking Congress and the Agriculture Department to roll back some of the requirements. Their main concerns: finding enough whole grain-rich… Continue reading
May 03 Watch Pfizer-AstraZeneca deal could impact drug development By PBS News Hour Pfizer made a $106 billion bid for the British drug maker AstraZeneca this week in a move that was potentially motivated by lower corporate tax rates overseas. The deal could also affect the development of new drugs. Hari Sreenivasan speaks… Continue watching
May 02 Officials confirm first MERS case in the U.S. By Sam Lane U.S. health officials have identified the first American infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS. Continue reading