The DNA Dilemma: Desperate for a Diagnosis?
June 11, 2008
Yesterday, we posted on last month’s passage of the Federal Government’s Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
We hope that the law will help protect Americans’ coverage and employment despite their genetic likelihood for disease. This should allow them to feel more comfortable with seeking information about their own DNA in order to better manage their health.
Prior to this legislation passing, however, patients were seeking more private ways of testing their DNA - primarily through take-home kits.
Insurers Dropping Patients Should Think Twice
April 24, 2008
UPDATE:
On April 17, California’s Department of Managed Health Care announced the state’s most assertive stance yet on policy recission: that an independent arbiter will review and hold accountable the state’s 5 major insurers for its past 4 years of canceled policies. Thousands of people will have a chance to win back their coverage and be reimbursed by the insurers for outstanding medical bills if they were deemed to have had their coverage wrongly rescinded.
Originally posted March 17, 2008:
Thank You for Smoking
April 14, 2008
People have been smoking tobacco for over a thousand years. Even a generation ago smoking was considered the norm. Now we know of its link to a variety of cancers and diseases, and many laws have been introduced at all levels of government to try to protect nonsmokers and smokers alike. The numbers of U.S. smokers are declining, but cigarette smoking is the still the single most preventable cause of untimely death in this country – claiming 400,000 Americans each year – 1 in every 5 deaths. Treating cancer cost $219 billion in 2007.
Costs of Cancer Care?
March 31, 2008
Part of the heartache of cancer is that surviving it is ultimately a game of statistics. There are no assurances - except in the worst case scenarios where they are grim.
Even determining the best treatment is a matter of weighing likelihoods rather than having clear-cut solutions. On top of all that, patients must deal with the cost of various treatments.
Fortunately, cancer death rates have been falling in recent years - for several reasons:
- There is more and more information available on how to prevent cancer.
- Regular screening can catch the disease in early stages when it’s more treatable.
Health Care Outlook Gloomy in the Golden State
March 10, 2008
The debate on health care in this country and how it needs to be reformed often centers around the issue of uninsurance. But getting insured in order to afford care is only half the battle; getting good quality care is also important.
There is an effort under way right now in California to expand and improve the state’s health system. While the first image that comes to mind when people think of the Golden State is sunshine, surfboards and muscle beach, the average Californian may not be that healthy.
Cancer Care Beyond the Cancer
February 29, 2008
A diagnosis of cancer is terrifying and something that around 1.4 million of us can expect to hear this year. More frightening is that in recent years cancer beat heart disease as the number one killer in this country. There is good news on the horizon. Increased education about cancer prevention has caused the number of U.S. lives lost to cancer to fall by 2.1 % each year between 2002 and 2004 — almost twice the 1.1% annual rate of decline noted between 1993 and 2002.
Cancer Without Coverage
February 26, 2008
The number of uninsured Americans rose by more than 20% to 47 million from 2000 to 2006. Children and employees at every income level lost coverage during this time. With cancer as the number one cause of death in the U.S. one wonders how the uninsured fight this merciless killer.
The answer? Not so well. A recent study – the first to chart a dozen major cancer types using nationwide data - shows that those with private insurance fare better in the war against cancer than those without. The uninsured are twice as likely (and those covered by Medicaid 80% more likely) to receive a diagnosis of cancer in its late stages when it’s difficult to combat the disease. Typically, the under-insured don’t get screened for cancer as often or as thoroughly so the diagnosis is delayed, as is follow-up treatment.
Faith-Based Health Care?
February 15, 2008
With the portion of non-elderly uninsured in this country at nearly 18%, one in five Americans must be wondering how they’ll get health care if they need it. ER rooms and walk-in clinics are a typical resource for folks who can’t rely on health insurance to cover their health care tabs. Churches, an age-old institution and social service provider, may now be ministering to the public in a new way: health care. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Council of Churches, about 70% of U.S. churches provide direct health care services via medical professionals to either their members or the community, with half offering such services to both. Services include counseling, medical tests, health education and vaccinations. These churches also help fund local clinics and provide financial aid for those with large medical bills.
SWF Looking for CHC
February 14, 2008
What if you were battling cancer but didn’t have health insurance? How far would you go to get it? Like immigrants who marry citizens to get a green card, at least one person is trying the approach of looking for love - and coverage. Both heartbreaking and humorous, this article has the story of a Seattle woman who used her blog to advertise that she was looking for a Canadian man who would marry her and share his government-sponsored health care coverage.
Give the Gift of Health Care?
December 24, 2007
Looking for those last minute holiday gifts? For years, gift certificates have been growing in popularity in the holiday season as people overburdened by work and family choose the presents path of least resistance. Well now the gift card option has entered new realms - if you live in Pennsylvania, that is. One of the state’s largest health insurers, Pittsburgh-based Highmark, is offering the nation’s first “Healthcare Gift Card” to encourage loved ones to visit their doctor or finally fill that pesky prescripton.
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