WASHINGTON (AP) — When Emmanuel Obeng-Dankwa worries about the rent on his New York City apartment, he sometimes refrains from refilling his blood pressure medication. “If there’s no money, I’d rather skip the medicine to be homeless,” said Obeng-Dankwa, a 58-year-old security guard. He is among a majority of U.S. adults who say health care … Read more
Congress must complete its annual appropriations bills before the fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. But that rarely happens, and this year is no different, as lawmakers scramble to pass a short-term funding bill so they can delay a final decision until at least December. Meanwhile, with the midterm elections in mind, House Republicans have … Read more
Payment applications AdobeStock_275606341 Medical debt is plaguing the United States, leaving both providers and patients searching for answers. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans owe at least $195 billion in medical debt, even though more than 90 percent of the population has insurance coverage. Medical debt’s share of collections outpaces student loans, auto loans, … Read more
The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission reached an agreement with General Brigham of Massachusetts on a cost-cutting plan. The state agency wants more powers to control hospital costs, including financial penalties. A state agency in Massachusetts has signed on to Brigham General’s cost-cutting plan, and the agency would like more power to control health care costs. … Read more
Dragonfly hyperscooter. The four-wheeled battery-electric scooter was relaunched after a three-year delay … [+] caused by Covid and business disruptions. D-Fly Group The Dragonfly hyperscooter may have been renamed the Phoenix. First introduced in 2019 by London-based D-Fly Group, multiple issues, mainly the Covid-19 pandemic, justified its launch. Starting today, the four-wheeled, battery-powered personal mobility … Read more
One of the report’s key findings is that 42 states saw an increase in the proportion of opioid and opioid-like drug overdose patients compared to the total number of patients using medical services by state. In each year from 2016 to 2021, men accounted for 62% to 63% of the gender distribution of patients diagnosed … Read more
With our health systems strained by the simultaneous epidemics of monkeypox, polio and COVID-19, chronic diseases are not getting the attention they deserve. But as we continue to face ongoing threats from infectious diseases, we must build resilient health systems that are equipped to meet both public health emergencies and ongoing population health challenges. Chronic … Read more
URBANA – Rollout of the new bivalent COVID-19 booster began last week across Illinois, including Champaign County. The divalent booster offers more protection against the Omicron variant because it combines the original strain of COVID-19 with the latest, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Previous boosters only protected against the SARS variant. https://illinoisnewsroom.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/NEWS20220919_BivalentBooster_webaudio.mp3 Champaign … Read more
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the rapid outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has claimed more than 6.52 million lives worldwide. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants due to genomic mutations prolonged the pandemic. Some variants of SARS-CoV-2, such as Omicron and Delta, are more transmissible and virulent than the … Read more
Before the 117th Congress ends in January, health care advocates are pushing lawmakers to approve legislation that would allow hospitals and health systems to continue offering telehealth services. Now 375 companies, healthcare organizations and hospitals have signed a joint letter urging Congress to act. The Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) helped lead the … Read more