Under a bill signed into law, all pregnant women in New Jersey will be tested for HIV as part of their prenatal care unless they object. The law also requires testing for newborns if the HIV status of the mother is unknown. The new testing procedures are some of the most aggressive HIV-prevention measures in the country for pregnant women and newborns, making New Jersey one of just a handful of states with laws requiring some form of prenatal testing.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said that employers could eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare. The new regulation allows employers to establish two classes of retirees, with more comprehensive benefits for those under 65 and more limited benefits for those older. More than 10 million retirees rely on employer-sponsored health plans as a primary source of coverage or as a supplement to Medicare.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is on the attack against her main rival, charging that Barack Obama's health plan would leave millions of Americans without medical protection while hers provides coverage to all. The assertion, flatly rejected by the Obama campaign, rests on a pivotal difference between the two Democratic presidential candidates' health proposals. Clinton says she wants the government to require all citizens to buy insurance or face a penalty. Obama relies on a mandate for children only, and instead emphasizes ways to make coverage more affordable.
Despite an increasing number of free medical clinics, treatment is hard for the needy to track down. That's especially true for the nation's top health problems--high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol--that require ongoing care even when the person feels no symptoms if they're to avoid heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and amputations. Clinics require a special trip, a long wait, perhaps a baby sitter, annoyances for the well-to-do but huge obstacles for someone who must take three buses to reach the doctor or who loses a day of pay for the time off.
California health insurers have a duty to check the accuracy of applications for coverage before issuing policies and should not wait until patients run up big medical bills, a state appeals court ruled recently. The court also said insurers could not cancel a medical policy unless they showed that the policyholder willfully misrepresented his health or that the company had investigated the application before it issued coverage. The unanimous decision by a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana is the latest blow to California insurance companies and the way they handle policy cancellations after patients get sick and amass major medical claims.
The spread of the MRSA superbug strikes fear in many. But for an entrepreneurial few, it's prompting a burst of marketing for products and services that they maintain can foil the scary drug-resistant staph bacteria. From disposable condom-like covers for stethoscopes to room-fogging that dispenses disinfectants originally created to fight bioterrorism, the MRSA fear factor is spurring an anti-MRSA industry.
The number of uninsured in Georgia has climbed steadily in the past decade, coinciding with the inexorable rise in health care costs. Politicians have pushed various solutions for the problems, as the state's medical safety net quietly tries to deal with a patient deluge. About two-thirds of the state's uninsured live in households headed by a full-time worker. But all too often, the employer doesn't provide health insurance, or if it's offered, the worker can't afford it.
Alabama is making it easier for pharmacists, doctors and law enforcement to monitor prescription drug sales and spot abuse, illegal sales and suspicious prescribing. Doctors, medical license boards and others have checked the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database more than 30,000 times since it became functional last year. The database collects weekly information on filled prescriptions dispensed by doctors, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists and veterinarians.
A gene mutation strongly identified with Jewish breast cancer patients has also turned up in a small but significant percentage of Hispanic patients. In their study of more than 3,000 women with the disease, scientists also found a surprisingly high prevalence among young black women with breast cancer. The finding has led some oncologists to suggest genetic screening for patients of different ethnic groups, because carriers have a greater chance of recurrence and can pass that risk to their daughters.
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine said finding health insurance for the 1.4 million New Jerseyans who lack it ranks among the state's top problems, but he doesn't expect to solve it in 2008. He said the state--facing a projected $3 billion budget deficit for next year--cannot afford it.