Although the still-chugging U.S. economy is providing workers with more employment opportunities than many economists expected, it is always tough to leave a job, even with the highly publicized trend of “quiet quitting” supposedly in full force. Still, no less an authority than Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, has warned Americans that too….
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U.S. toughens law to ensure patients’ full access to their medical records
Patients have hit a red-letter day in the long, too-difficult struggle to win control of a crucial part of their care — their electronic medical care records. Hospitals and other caregiving institutions no longer can block access to these documents, with federal law now holding them accountable for any runarounds they may try. As Stat,….
Continue ReadingA newly diagnosed apnea patient finds healthy sleep costly and treatment aids questionable
With millions of patients struggling with long delays in getting replacements for night-breathing devices recalled by their manufacturer over the machines’ potential health risks, a seasoned health journalist has reported an intriguing, personal counterpoint on the growing prevalence of the problem of sleep apnea and its routine, costly, inconvenient care. Jay Hancock, who has been….
Continue ReadingPro sports show seamy sides in mistreating women and head trauma
While fans may wax poetic about how sports show humanity at its finest, the grim and even sleazy aspects of U.S. games also have been on full display in recent days. The poohbahs of two of the nation’s most popular pastimes have acted poorly and spoken loudly as to how, maybe they don’t really give….
Continue ReadingMedicare premium fix fails to deal with deeper problems at FDA
Seniors had reason to let out a whimper of pleasure when the Biden Administration announced that Medicare’s monthly, part B premiums would go down by 3% next year — the first such decline in a decade. To be sure, the sums that they will save will be small, with most of those covered on the….
Continue ReadingBig hospitals’ buck-raking schemes exploit poor and pile on medical debt
Big hospitals and hospital chains that enjoy the financial and reputational benefits of nonprofit or charitable status have taken major fire for maximizing profits while piling on patients’ crushing medical debt and exploiting the poorest and most vulnerable of the injured and sick. Medical economists, in recent times, have zeroed in on hospitals and their….
Continue ReadingHollywood puts appearances above all in fad injections of diabetes drug
Troubling but perhaps predictable news is traveling from a vanity trend-setting capital of this country: Hollywood stars have made the taking of a relatively new prescription drug, targeted for the treatment of diabetes, into a fad. The injectable drug semaglutide, whose brand name is Ozempic, has become a must-have among A-listers because of one of its….
Continue ReadingAppellate judges zero in on corporate twists of bankruptcy shield
Federal appeals judges have expressed skepticism about the scheming by Big Pharma and other big corporations to twist U.S. bankruptcy laws to let wealthy, powerful defendants shield themselves from major claims of harms filed by plaintiffs seeking justice in civil courts. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia has been asked….
Continue ReadingSome sensible guidance on exercise, diet, sleep and weight gain
We’re barraged by so much health hokum that it’s a relief when common-sense reminders come along about crucial wellness concerns like exercise, diet, and sleep. Timely information on these issues has been reported by the Washington Post (here on movement myths and here on sleep and weight), the Athletic on a soccer nutritionist’s insights on….
Continue ReadingIt’s past time for Congress to reconsider propriety of FDA ‘user fees’
Members of Congress, as usual, are racing to meet a deadline: This time, to determine the funding for the federal Food and Drug Administration, an agency with some of the most consequential responsibilities affecting Americans’ health. In their furious political and financial machinations, though, lawmakers aren’t asking the tough, critical question about the FDA’s leading….
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