Fri.Dec 06, 2024

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The Memo: Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO uncorks anger at insurance industry

The Hill

The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street is the latest moment to shine a light on the tensions roiling American life. On social media in particular, some users gloated about the killing a reaction they framed as rooted in their enmity for the health insurance industry. That, in turn, brought rebukes from others who condemned those responses as inhumane, especially in the circumstances.

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Study shows use of SSRIs may protect against long COVID

Berkeley Public Health

If new research proves to be accurate, SSRIswhich increase synaptic serotonin availabilitymay be used to prevent or treat long COVID.

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CDC warns of new drug more deadly than fentanyl

The Hill

A more potent form of fentanyl is contributing to the thousands of overdose deaths that happen every year, health officials warn. An extremely powerful derivative of fentanyl, called carfentanil, was detected in 513 overdose deaths between 2021 and early 2024, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Carfentanil was designed to tranquilize large animals and is estimated to be 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

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Identifying the genetic pathways through which South Asians have a higher risk of diabetes, and tailoring medication

The Hindu

A study of British Pakistanis and British Bangladeshis has found that South Asian populations have higher genetic risks for producing insufficient insulin, and having fat unfavourably distributed in their body, making them more susceptible to diabetes, and perhaps needing more medication to manage it

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Ex-bodyguard of late UnitedHealthcare CEO calls fatal shooting 'just baffling'

The Hill

A former bodyguard of the late UnitedHealthcare CEO was dumbfounded by the lack of security for Brian Thompson after he was killed ina fatal shooting , sparking a manhunt in New York City. It was baffling, to be honest with you. You know, you get at somebody in the No. 1 health care organization in the United States of America, who is a corporate executive, a high-ranking one, as a matter of fact, just sitting on the board of directors, and he has no protection around him, that is just baffling,

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Road to healthcare for the disabled paved with no intentions

The Hindu

Most persons with disabilities find it very hard to access private health insurance; government insurance, where given, runs into problems when claims are assessed, leading to huge out-of-pocket medical costs for the community

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Op-ed: The plastic treaty had to fail, so it can succeed

Environmental Health News

Looking back at the outcome of the UN plastics treaty negotiations that just finished in South Korea, it is clear to me that failure to reach agreement in this round of negotiations was the best result. This failure was necessary. Moving to a final treaty in South Korea, given the state of negotiations, was premature. But the meeting did lay the groundwork for a future round of negotiations that could produce a more responsible and sustainable result.

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Police test DNA, fingerprints on bottle in search for UnitedHealthcare CEO's killer

The Hill

Police will test for DNA and fingerprints on a discarded bottle and protein bar wrapper found near the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot earlier this week in New York City, as the search for the gunman enters its third day. Police believe the suspect purchased the snack items from a nearby Starbucks just minutes before Thompson set to address an annual meeting of investors was shot and killed shortly before 7 a.m.

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Amid turmoil, Kolkata hospitals say they will not discriminate based on nationality, will continue to treat Bangladeshi patients

The Hindu

The medical fraternity said it does not support the one hospital in Kolkata that had issued a statement barring Bangladeshi patients; the States Indian Medical Association branch has strongly said that turning away a patient based on nationality amounts to a violation of medical ethics

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Division of Finance and Administration Introduces VIBE

Kent State University Epidemiology Blog

Division of Finance and Administration Introduces VIBE | Faculty/Staff News Now | The Division of Finance and Administration is pleased to announce VIBE (Voices Inspiring Better Engagement). Results from a 2023 survey indicated a need tobridge the communication gap between employees and senior leadership.VIBE will enhance communication and engagement throughout the division by serving as an advisory body to the Senior Leadership Team sharing ideas, information and communication on issues and top

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Ballari maternal deaths: How is Karnataka faring in maternal mortality?

The Hindu

While five districts in Karnataka have a high MMR ratio of above 100, overall, Karnataka has seen a significant improvement in this significant public health indicator over the past several years

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Enhancing Essential Health Benefits: How States Are Updating Benchmark Plans to Improve Coverage

CHIRblog

The Affordable Care Act mandates that health plans in the individual and small-group markets cover essential health benefits (EHB), with states setting the scope through a benchmark plan.

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Central government to launch 100-day tuberculosis elimination programme

The Hindu

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P.

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AI Reads Multiple Mammograms to Help Predict Breast Cancer Risk

Washington University in St. Louis - Institute for

Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, deputy director, IPH, & public health faculty scholar, is senior author of a recent study published in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics, finding that AI identified women at risk of developing breast cancer more accurately than standard screening methods.

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Winter skincare: A practical guide to healthy skin for all ages 

The Hindu

Winter skincare: combat dryness, irritation, and flare-ups with tailored routines focusing on hydration, protection, and age-specific needs.

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15 slang words Gen Zers are using in 2024 and what they really mean

Washington University in St. Louis - Institute for

"The emergence of social media has created a situation where the potential for slang virality has increased," said John Baugh, PhD, professor, Arts & Sciences, & public health faculty scholar, in an article explaining Gen Z slang words.

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Science Quiz: On Universal Health Coverage Day

The Hindu

On December 12, the world will observe International Universal Health Coverage Day and nations will dust up their old promises to provide universal health coverage for their population. UHC encompasses equal access for all to good quality health services and affordability for all.

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USDA requires bulk testing of raw milk supply for bird flu virus

The Hill

The nations milk supply must be tested for the bird flu virus H5N1 under a new order announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The rules require unpasteurized milk samples from dairy farms, bulk milk transporters or dairy processing facilities to be collected and shared with the USDA for testing upon request from the government.

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Environmental justice advocates criticize lack of inclusion in plastic treaty negotiations

Environmental Health News

Environmental justice and Indigenous groups say they were largely excluded from key plastic treaty talks last week in Busan, South Korea, which took place over seven days and ended without a final text. As oil and gas producing nations opposed reducing plastic production, the fifth round of talks in a series of UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meetings ended without clear consensus on how to curb global plastic pollution.

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What you can do to prevent cervical cancer

The Hill

After years of decline, cervical cancer rates are rising in some demographics in the United States primarily low-income women and those in their 30s and 40s. If the disease spreads in the body, it can prove fatal: Cervical cancer has a five-year survival rate of just 19 percent once it reaches distant organs. But if caught early, it can be treated effectively in most cases or even stopped in its tracks before it ever develops into cancer.

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Por qué el sarampión, la tos ferina y otras enfermedades graves podrían resurgir con RFK Jr.

KFF Health News

La disponibilidad de vacunas seguras y eficaces contra covid a menos de un año del inicio de la pandemia marcó un hito en los tres siglos de historia de la vacunación: comenzaba, aparentemente, una era de protección contra las enfermedades infecciosas. Sin embargo, una reacción generalizada contra las intervenciones del estado en la salud pública permitió que el presidente electo Donald Trump nombrara a Robert F.

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What to know about Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s anti-vaccine advocacy

Association of Health Care Journalists

Global and national health experts, ethicists , physicians , health care groups , and even autism advocates are sounding alarms and lobbying against Trumps nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services. While theres been no shortage of news coverage, journalists must continue reporting this story until Kennedy undergoes Senate confirmation hearings.

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How Measles, Whooping Cough, and Worse Could Roar Back on RFK Jr.’s Watch

KFF Health News

The availability of safe, effective covid vaccines less than a year into the pandemic marked a high point in the 300-year history of vaccination, seemingly heralding an age of protection against infectious diseases. Now, after backlash against public health interventions culminated in President-elect Donald Trump’s nominating Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s best-known anti-vaccine activist, as its top health official, infectious disease and public health experts and vaccine advo

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Republican senators launch inquiry into unpublished NIH study on puberty blockers for trans youth

The Hill

Six Republican senators in a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli said they are concerned about the transparency of studies funded by the NIH, the federal agency responsible for conducting and supporting medical research. Their public statement of concern follows an October New York Times report that a long-awaited study of puberty-blocking drugs had gone unpublished over fears that its findings would be weaponized by opponents of transition-related care for

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Medicare Advantage is popular with NC seniors, but the program has come under increased scrutiny.

NC Health News

By Grace Vitaglione This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, The Journalists Network on Generations and The Silver Century Foundation. Linda Duffy, 83, got sick of the games that she says UnitedHealthcare played with health care providers over negotiating contracts. Duffy, who lives outside Raleigh, was enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan under UnitedHealthcare, a private insurance company that administers her Medicare ben

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Millions will lose health coverage if ACA subsidies expire: CBO

The Hill

A new report released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that if the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) extended subsidies are allowed to expire at the end of 2025, millions of people will become uninsured and premiums will rise. Responding to the Senate Finance Committee, the CBO found that "not extending the credit will increase the number of people without health insurance and raise the average gross benchmark premiums for plans purchased through the marketplaces.

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Health care quality rating at 24-year low: Gallup

The Hill

Americans outlook on the quality of health care in the U.S. is at a 24-year low, according to a new survey. The Gallup poll , released Friday, shows 33 percent of U.S. adults said the quality of American health care is excellent, and 11 percent said it is good. That 44 percent represents a 10 percent drop from 2020. Another 38 percent of respondents said health care quality was "fair," while 16 percent gave it a "poor" rating.

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