The U.S. health care system, again, ranks last among 11 high-income countries — the seventh such time it trailed its peers since a leading, independent nonprofit conducted its first study in 2004. The Commonwealth Fund, in its latest published research, says it examined 71 different measures to study health systems in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the….
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Delta variant-surge embroils kids and parents in politicized pandemic disputes
Kids are flocking back to school for in-person, fall classes — and they are getting eye-opening views of how grownups continue to react to the gravest public health crisis in a century. What kinds of lessons are the next generations taking away from us? Public health officials are moving with urgency not only to get….
Continue ReadingSharp reminders of the need to watch out for dangerous doctors
Patients, politicians, and regulators may find it tough to believe, so they need sharp periodic reminders: While there are many terrific, dedicated doctors working today, there also are some truly terrible ones. And dealing with the harms of medical malpractice by the incompetent and abusive can require courage and vigilance. Perhaps a new, streamed Hollywood….
Continue ReadingCDC official sees a ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated’ as coronavirus cases surge
Coronavirus infections have increased in just a week by 70%, with hospitalizations increasing 36% and deaths rising by 26%. Public health officials blame the Delta variant for fueling the latest surge in the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Times reported, noting: “Delta now accounts for more than half of new infections across the country,….
Continue ReadingHospitals gouge poor and uninsured patients with top prices, cost data show
Cash is king. That truism may hold for thrifty savers and businesses and individuals buffeted by economic uncertainty. But this realistic view also may be turned on its head for poorer, uninsured patients trying to cope with bankrupting medical bills. That’s because hospitals — a leading driver of health care costs — gouge with their….
Continue ReadingFor the vulnerable and injured, more proof that civil lawsuits provide key way to obtain justice
No matter what the carping critics may claim about the shortcomings of the civil justice system, when Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, and big organizations exploit and harm the vulnerable, lawsuits and what follows may provide a concrete, productive way for the wronged to see remedy and recompense for injuries inflicted on them. Recent news….
Continue ReadingU.S. advances key new protections for patients from ‘surprise’ medical bills
Federal regulators have taken a welcome initial step to bar insurers and health care providers from holding patients hostage in their all-too-common fee fights, with draft rules out now to crush “surprise” medical bills. The politically riven, do-nothing Congress shocked critics by ending 2020 with an actual new law, included in legislation dealing with the….
Continue ReadingWho can’t see problems in medical device makers paying surgeons billions?
Billions of dollars have flown from medical device makers to specialists performing back, spine, knee, and hip surgeries, with unsavory cash and practices also accompanying that fiscal tide. Industry officials and doctors defend the sizable and growing payment program, saying it results in better medical hardware that ultimately benefits patients, the independent, nonpartisan Kaiser Health….
Continue Reading14 million +1 reasons why sexual abuses of young athletes can’t be ignored
It may be time to rewrite that country western tune and advise mommas maybe to not let their babies grow up to be athletes, because of the rising chance that they may be sexually mistreated at high amateur levels, even with the complicity of legendary coaches now stained by ugly legacies of abuse. The disturbing and….
Continue ReadingCovid shots are voluntary. Mostly. But pressures are growing on unvaccinated.
In the crunch to quell the coronavirus pandemic and to do so by getting as many people as possible their protective shots, public health officials consistently have stressed a big V in the national vaccination campaign: Voluntary. But as hundreds of millions of people around the globe have willingly gotten them and the vaccines have….
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