Research led by the University of California, Los Angeles, shows that conventional imaging may not be able to correctly assess prostate cancer patients whose cancer has metastasized and spread to other areas of the body.
The first person to have a severe case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States has died, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. This is the first human death from bird flu in the US.
The status of the negotiations between Tenor Health Partners, the company supposed to take over operations, and Sharon Regional Medical Center is currently unknown while Monday marked the deadline to close the hospital. Sources say the closure began Sunday with the emergency room at 7 a.m. and for a few hours, there were no emergency services available at the hospitals serving the Sharon area. Monday all was quiet as darkness fell over Sharon Regional Medical Center. There were some lights on and signs of hope hung in the windows but the hospital had no patients, and all medical procedures had stopped. Paramedics were available to transport patients who showed up at the hospital not realizing it was closed.
The union has claimed, in several complaints filed with the state, that staffing and equipment shortages are jeopardizing patient care at the company's three Massachusetts facilities.
The U.S. has recorded its first death of a person infected with bird flu. The patient was a resident of southwest Louisiana who was hospitalized last month with the first known severe case of bird flu in the country. On Monday, the Louisiana Department of Health said the person had died from the illness but shared few other details because of patient privacy rules. The patient was over 65 and had underlying medical conditions.
A Massachusetts court ordered three health insurance companies affiliated with UnitedHealthcare to pay $165 million in damages to consumers and the state after an earlier finding the companies engaged in deceptive sales practices, the state attorney general's office said Monday.
Suffolk Superior Court Justice Hélène Kazanjian ruled that HealthMarkets Inc., and two subsidiaries, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company and HealthMarkets Insurance Agency, must pay $50 million in restitution for Massachusetts consumers and $115 million in civil penalties to the state. The charges are a result of violations to a previous settlement agreement and Massachusetts law.
Key violations by the insurers include misleading customers into buying supplemental health insurance through deceptive "bundling" practices and agents misrepresenting themselves as impartial, licensed "insurance advisors," or representing all insurance carriers.