WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare is launching a major shift in how it pays for hip and knee replacements. The goal: improve quality and control costs. The Obama administration said on Monday, November 16, that starting April 1, hospitals in 67 metropolitan areas will get a single payment for hip and knee replacements, covering surgery, … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is giving an election-year hearing to a dispute over state regulation of abortion clinics in the court’s first abortion case in eight years. The justices said Friday, November 13, they will hear arguments, probably in March, over a Texas law that would leave about 10 abortion clinics open … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York hospital says a volunteer firefighter has received the most extensive face transplant ever performed. The Mississippi man was badly burned in a fire 14 years ago. The surgery, announced on Monday, November 16, took place in August at the NYU Langone Medical Center. Forty-one-year-old Patrick Hardison is … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An incurable disease has given Jose Gonzalez Ortiz thehealth of an old man at age 42, and the collapsing Puerto Rican health system only adds to his pain. He was refused the $300 worth of monthly medications he needs to treat the degenerative illness known as Lou Gehrig’s … Continue reading
CALAIS, France (AP) — Adnan Kurdu has been living in a world of hurt. For months, he has chewed food to the left of his mouth to try to minimize the pain that starts from a right upper molar and seems, sometimes, to shoot down to his feet. Kurdu finds salvation at one of … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Tim Gunn said he was apprehensive about participating in a bite-size version of “Project Runway” featuring teen designers as young as 13. “I thought,” he recalled in a recent interview, “will I have to soft-pedal my critiques? Is it all going to be watered down? Are they going to be … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Some lit up, others were pretty — and patriotic — in pink and still more burst forth like fireworks. Yes, Tuesday, November 10, was Victoria’s Secret sexpot angel time, though the masses will have to wait until 10 p.m. EST on Dec. 8 to watch the 20th annual lingerie extravaganza … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Medicare beneficiaries will keep paying the same monthly premium for outpatient care next year, the Obama administration said Tuesday, November 10. But new beneficiaries will pay a larger amount, and upper-income retirees are looking at considerably higher charges. Separately, all beneficiaries face a $19 increase in the Part B deductible … Continue reading
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Many cancer treatments have a dark side — they can damage the heart. New research suggests this risk might be lowered in women with breast tumors if they take a heart drug as a preventive measure during their cancer care. If confirmed in wider testing, this could improve care for … Continue reading
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The election of a conservative outsider as Kentucky governor has given Republicans a laboratory to show the rest of the country how they’d replace President Barack Obama’s health care law. Three years into a coverage expansion that has brought the share of uninsured Americans to historically low levels, Matt Bevin’s … Continue reading
PALMAS, Brazil (AP) — Forget New York, Milan or even Paris: With nearly 2,000 native people from around the world rocking their finest traditional garb at the World Indigenous Games, there’s not a catwalk in the world that can compete with this dusty agricultural outpost. Awash in a riot of tropical feathers, draped in … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of the health care law’s nonprofit insurance co-ops are closing, the Obama administration said Tuesday, November 3, even as it defended the troubled alternative to mega-insurers. Mandy Cohen, a senior official with the Health and Human Services Department, told lawmakers at a hearing that 12 of the nonprofit … Continue reading
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Many Virginia residents seeking insurance coverage on the healthcare exchange will see their premiums go up next year, but rates are rising less in Virginia than in most states, federal officials said. The cost of the mid-level silver plan in Virginia — also called the benchmark plan — will increase … Continue reading
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — This year’s Tel Aviv fashion week showcased local talent to international fashionistas even as a rash of deadly violence had Israel on edge. Organizers say the event was a great success, both in terms of collections and attendance, despite the tensions. Viktoria Kanar of GeekChicTLV, a fashion PR company … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Opponents of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul are taking yet another challenge to the law to the Supreme Court, and say they will be back with more if this one fails. A new appeal being filed Monday, October 26, by the Pacific Legal Foundation contends the law violates the provision … Continue reading
CHICAGO (AP) — The American Cancer Society now says women should start mammograms later in life and get fewer of them, a stance that puts the trusted group closer to an influential government task force’s advice. In new guidelines out Tuesday, October 20, the cancer society recommends that most women should begin annual screening … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — Doctors treating a Scottish nurse suffering from a rare relapse of Ebola say she has improved significantly and are hopeful she will make a full recovery. Dr. Michael Jacobs of the Royal Free Hospital said Wednesday, October 21, that Pauline Cafferkey was hospitalized earlier this month for meningitis that developed as … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Wednesday, October 21, that two major healthinsurers preparing multibillion dollar acquisitions could tip “the balance of power” too far away from consumers. The Democratic presidential candidate said in a statement she had “serious concerns” with the proposed acquisition of Cigna by Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer Anthem, and … Continue reading
ATLANTA (AP) — A new museum focusing on international fashion has opened in Atlanta. The first exhibition at SCAD FASH features more than 80 Oscar de la Renta designs and opened to the public this month on the Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design. The pieces come from the school’s … Continue reading
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush touted on Tuesday, October 13, his plan to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law with one that would increase tax credits for individuals, allowing them to buy coverage protection against “high-cost medical events.” “I won’t accept the straw man argument that the opposite … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — London’s Royal Free Hospital says the condition of a nurse being treated for complications resulting from Ebola has worsened. The hospital said in a statement Wednesday, October 14, that Pauline Cafferkey is now critically ill after her condition deteriorated. Cafferkey was treated for Ebola after returning from Sierra Leone last year. … Continue reading
LONDON (AP) — The biggest study ever of women who had ovarian tissue removed, frozen and transplanted suggests the experimental technique is safe and can help about one third of them to have babies. The procedure is intended for women with cancer who wish to preserve their fertility, since cancer treatments can harm the … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government’s health insurance website is getting long-awaited upgrades that should help consumers find out whether their doctors and medications are covered, and get a better estimate of costs. Detailed in an internal document, the customer-friendly changes to HealthCare.gov are still being tested. With the start of 2016 open enrollment season … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers on Wednesday, October 7, asked federal officials whether Americans should trust the government’s dietary guidelines, which inform everything from school lunches to advice from a doctor. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended the guidelines before the House Agriculture Committee, pointing out that the … Continue reading
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Sitting among hospital leaders, law enforcement and recovering addicts in New Hampshire’s largest city Wednesday, September 30, Jeb Bush heard a sobering statistic: In the past 30 days, 102 people overdosed on drugs in Manchester alone. Ten died. “It is all over the place, it is something extraordinary, it’s heartbreaking,” … Continue reading
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