People who already bought health insurance through Obamacare will likely face another round of confusing technical issues as they try to re-enroll for a second year. The health-care law's second open-enrollment period begins November 15. And by almost all accounts, HealthCare.gov will probably work much better this time, especially considering its disastrous debut. Health insurance companies, at least so far, seem to think HealthCare.gov is on the right track to function more smoothly for new customers. But insurers still see gaps in the system for people who want to renew their coverage, including pitfalls that threaten consumers with duplicate enrollments, unexpected cancellations, or surprising tax bills.
A second Texas health care worker who provided care for Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan has contracted the virus, according to preliminary test results released early Wednesday. The worker reported a fever Tuesday and was immediately isolated at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, state health officials said in a statement. Confirmatory testing will be carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "Health officials have interviewed the latest patient to quickly identify any contacts or potential exposures, and those people will be monitored," the Texas Department of State Health Services said. "
At least 76 hospital workers in Dallas could be at risk of contracting Ebola, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday. CDC director Tom Frieden said the government has cast "a wide net" to identify people who may have had contact with the Ebola patient who died at the hospital last week. That includes anyone who entered the room of the Dallas hospital's first Ebola patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, and anyone who might have handled specimens of his blood, Frieden said.
Ebola has killed more than 4,000 people, and the number of cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone is growing rapidly. We don't know how many will ultimately die. But we do know that unless the world takes broader, more coordinated steps aimed at anticipating outbreaks like Ebola and controlling them early, we'll be vulnerable to this and other devastating diseases. This vulnerability reflects a world that is increasingly interconnected and susceptible to potentially pandemic viruses that are transmitted to humans from wild animals. In the past year, for example, we've witnessed the emergence of MERS and H7N9 as well as Ebola—and despite the understandable focus on Ebola, the risk of a serious outbreak from these other viruses has not disappeared. [Subscription Required]
Hospitals and clinics will likely see an increase of nervous patients complaining of fevers, muscle aches and headaches, Tarrant County public health officials predicted. "There is going to be a heightened sense of panic in the United States in the coming weeks. The initial signs and symptoms of the flu and the signs and symptoms of Ebola are damn similar," said Kelly Hanes, spokesman for the Tarrant County Public Health Department. "People are going to panic. People are going to worry." Nina Pham, a Texas Christian University graduate who attended Nolan Catholic High School, contracted Ebola after caring for Thomas Eric Duncan, who died Wednesday of the virus. She tested positive for Ebola on Sunday and is in stable condition at Texas Health Presbyterian.
Federal health officials announced Tuesday that they've developed a faster lab test to diagnose the rare enterovirus D68 amid a large outbreak of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the test would come in handy as the agency moves through a backlog of roughly 1,000 specimens submitted since mid-September. "When rare or uncommon viruses suddenly begin causing severe illness, CDC works quickly to develop diagnostic tests to enhance our response and investigations," said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.