Tag: Weekly Round-Up

By Chloe Reichel

The Hobby Lobby case that is currently before the Supreme Court may have effects far beyond the contraceptives mandate stemming from the Affordable Care Act. Other health care services and non-discrimination provisions may also be at stake.

Deadlines will be extended for people who need more time to complete their enrollment in insurance plans through HealthCare.gov. Those who apply will be given until mid-April to complete their applications.

Social media efforts led to the provision of an experimental drug to treat a young boy’s life-threatening infection. Bioethicists are now debating the ethics of this case and its implications for future social media interactions.

Due to stringent approval processes, researchers interested in studying marijuana face difficulty in attempting to do so. Despite growing interest in researching the substance, it can take years for researchers to begin their studies on marijuana.

Enrollment in health insurance policies through the Affordable Care Act reflect vast differences in the legislation’s implementation across the country. State-by-state enrollment data varies widely, and overall enrollment statistics neglect this important variation.

Tanning salons in New York are now forbidden from making claims about the health effects of their services. Previously, tanning salons in New York suggested that “sunlight prevents cancer,” a misleading statement considering the negative health effects of tanning.

Changes to Medicare’s policy manual have shifted the agency’s policies on paying for care used to maintain, rather than improve, patients’ health. Medicare will now pay for physical therapy, nursing care, and services for patients with chronic diseases.

Responding to a statewide public health crisis, Governor Deval Patrick has proposed a ban on the the opiate Zohydro. He has also suggested designating $20 million in funds for the purpose of bolstering treatment and recovery programs.

By Chloe Reichel

The majority of people in La Crosse, Wisconsin have advance directives. The initiative to increase the utilization of advance care planning began as a way of helping patients, but resulted in large decreases in health care expenditures.

Due to Texas’ recently passed regulations on abortion clinics, two clinics closed this week. Abortion clinics in Texas are required to have a physician with admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic under the new regulations.

A new law passed recently in Arizona would limit access to medication used for medical abortions. Planned Parenthood of Arizona filed a lawsuit this Wednesday to contest the law.

An HIV-positive baby treated with aggressive drugs immediately after birth was reportedly cured of the disease. This is the second such case of this treatment working, and is a promising development for the future of HIV treatment.

On Wednesday it was announced that Americans will be allowed to keep insurance plans that are not compliant with the Affordable Care Act. These plans will continue to be offered for the next two years.

Two surveys have found that uninsured Americans largely have not signed up for insurance following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Some suggest that the changes to the new healthcare law that have occurred since its adoption may be responsible for these low rates of enrollment.

In Washington state, people who operate medical marijuana dispensaries are worried about the effects of the state’s recent legalization of recreational marijuana. They worry that the increased demand for marijuana will put smaller dispensaries out of business.

Twenty-six states have introduced mandatory programs that emphasize private long-term care over nursing homes. Many states have modeled their plans after Tennessee, but long-term care in this state is suboptimal for many residents.

By Chloe Reichel

1) Belgium’s recent vote to legalize euthanasia for children has drawn international debate and criticism. The law would allow terminally ill children to end their lives, provided that they have parental consent.

2) Lawmakers in California have proposed adding a warning label on soda and juice that has sugar added and over 75 calories per 12 ounces. The labels would warn against the health risks associated with consuming sugary beverages.

3) The Food and Drug Administration announced today that it will hold a meeting on the topic of changing the over-the-counter monograph system. Currently, the processes of publishing and changing a monograph are very time consuming.

4) Monsanto is producing new strains of vegetables without using GMOs. Instead, they are selectively crossbreeding different varieties of plants.

5) A recent study conducted by a group at Stanford University released findings that seriously injured patients with insurance are less likely to be transferred to trauma centers than uninsured patients. The group hypothesized that this difference in trauma care can be explained by the fact that non-trauma center hospitals have a financial incentive to keep insured patients under their care.

6) The sale and use of electronic cigarettes will be regulated in Beverly Hills, as decided by the Beverly Hills City Council earlier this week. Los Angeles passed similar legislation this December.

7) Enrollment in health insurance plans for one fifth of people who have registered under the Affordable Care Act was not completed, due to their failure to pay the first premium. Some insurers have granted more time for subscribers to pay their premiums.

8) Wendy Davis recently said that she would support restricting abortion access to the first twenty weeks of pregnancy, but filibustered last year against a bill containing that provision because of the wording of the bill and the other restrictions included within it.

By Chloe Reichel

1) On February 11, the FDA will launch its “Real Cost,” anti-smoking campaign. The $115-million campaign is geared toward discouraging teenagers from smoking by emphasizing the “personally relevant” effects of smoking.

2) Lawsuits against the manufacturer of Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim, have revealed internal documents about the dangers of the drug. The drug, a blood thinner, has been associated with over 1,000 deaths.

3) By October 2014, CVS will no longer sell tobacco products. CVS has decided to implement this ban because, increasingly they see their role as providing health care, and tobacco products cause negative health effects.

4) Naxolone, a drug that is used to reverse the effects of opiate overdoses, is now available to patients in California through their doctors. Prior to the creation of this law, the drug was much less widely available–primarily it was administered in emergency rooms.

6) This Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration released regulations to guarantee that infant formula is safe for consumption. The regulations stipulate that certain nutrients are included in the product, and require tests for pathogens.