Tejinder Singh – AHN News Correspondent
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States on Monday confirmed issuance of visa to ailing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for a limited time to undergo medical treatment but refused to divulge time-period for which the visa is issued. “We have issued a visa for Ali Abdullah Saleh,” said Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokesperson, adding, “It is strictly for medical treatment, and our expectation is that he will leave the United States when his medical treatment is complete.” Asked to comment on the time period for which this visa is issued, Nuland said, “He’s got a visa for the period that he anticipated the medical treatment would last. If the treatment goes on longer and he needs to apply for an extension, he would do that with Homeland Security.” [...] Continue Reading…

Boston, MA, United States (KaiserHealth) – Nearly two years after the passage of the federal health law, more than 40 percent of people say they know little or nothing about how the law will affect them, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest monthly health tracking poll, published in December. That figure hasn’t budged since April 2010, just after the law was signed. Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aims to change that with a book, “Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works,” that explains the ins and outs of the law in an innovative way: an adult comic-strip form similar to graphic novels. Gruber was one of the architects of the Massachusetts’ health care overhaul, which included many features that appear in the federal law, and he [...] Continue Reading…

SaanaSana’a, Yemen (IRIN) – Aid workers hope “shocking” new malnutrition figures from a survey conducted in western Yemen will help highlight the serious humanitarian situation in the country and prompt donors to act immediately. Until now, aid workers say some donors have been unconvinced of the extent of the problem because of a perceived lack of evidence. “It’s been a challenge,” one Yemen-based aid worker told IRIN. “Every time we sit down with donors, they say ‘Where are the figures? Where is the data?’” Geert Cappelaere, head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Yemen, said donors have asked him for more evidence that malnutrition was such a priority. “That kind of question – each and every time – kills something in me. Why do you want children to die first before you’re going to [...] Continue Reading…

United States (KaiserHealth) – Dr. Donald Berwick, who oversaw Medicare and Medicaid until earlier this month, defended the programs Monday, but said they are trapped in a U.S. health system that promotes wasteful spending and inefficient care. “Health care is broken,” Berwick said in an interview with Kaiser Health News. “… We have set up a delivery system that is fragmented, unsafe, not patient-centered, full of waste and unreliable. Despite the best efforts of the workforce, we built it wrong. It isn’t built for modern times.” Berwick said the 2010 federal health law is changing how doctors and hospitals are paid and deliver care though such new arrangements as accountable care organizations, which are designed to improve coordination and lower costs. But he said it is unclear whether such efforts would produce results quickly enough to [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – U.S. teens are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings, based on data complied from nearly 10,800 students in grades nine through 12 who took part in the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study 2010, found median consumption was 1.2 times per day for both fruits and vegetables. Median fruit consumption was much higher among males than females, and much higher among grade nine students than among students in grades 10 and 12. A little more than 28.5 percent, or one in four, of the high school students ate fruit less than once a day, and 33.2 percent ate vegetables less than once a day. Only 16.8 percent [...] Continue Reading…

Washington, DC, United States (KaiserHealth) – By agreeing today to hear challenges to President Obama’s 2010 health care law, the Supreme Court set the stage for a decision — probably in late June and in the midst of the presidential campaign — that could be among its most important in decades. The case, which will probably be argued in March on a date still to be announced, is especially momentous because it not only will determine the fate of President Barack Obama’s biggest legislative achievement but also will cast important light on the Supreme Court’s future course under Chief Justice John Roberts on issues of federal government power. The central issue — but not the only important one — is whether Congress exceeded its constitutional powers to regulate interstate commerce and to levy taxes when it adopted [...] Continue Reading…

New York, NY, United States (KaiserHealth) – For many adults, a routine visit to a primary care physician might involve blood tests, a urinalysis, an electrocardiogram, maybe a bone density scan. Too often, however, these tests are inappropriate and they cost a bundle, according to a recent study, not only for the health care system but also for individuals, who are increasingly footing more of the bill for their care. The study, led by physicians from the Mount Sinai Medical Center and the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, was published online in October in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The researchers examined the cost of common primary care practices that were identified as being overused earlier this year in a study by another group of physicians, known as the Good Stewardship Working Group. . More [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – And yet another reason for women not to light up. Researchers say that women who smoke may hit menopause about a year earlier than non-smokers. The study, published in the journal Menopause, reviewed data from several pervious studies that included roughly 6,000 women from the United States, Poland and Turkey and Iran. On average, non-smokers hit menopause between the ages of 46-51. Smokers however, reached menoucpase overall at around 43-50. Both early and late menopause have been linked with health problems. Women who hit menopause later in life are believed to be at a greater risk for breast cancer because one risk for the disease is exposure to estrogen. Earlier menopause is linked to a host of medical conditions including osteoporosis, cardiovascular [...] Continue Reading…

David Goodhue – AHN News Reporter
Tel Aviv, Israel (AHN) – A shot of cortisone may stop trauma victims from developing post traumatic stress disorder, according to a new study. Researchers with Tel Aviv University said that if the shot is given within six hours of experiencing a traumatizing event, the patient may reduce his or her chances of developing PTSD by 60 percent. Professor Joseph Zohar said the findings are important as more U.S. soldiers return home from combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cortisone naturally secretes in the body when a person suffers from trauma, Zohar said. He tested his theory first on lab rats and then in a double-blind study on humans in an emergency room. With the rats, two groups of the rodents were exposed to the smell of a cat. One [...] Continue Reading…

Washington, DC, United States (KaiserHealth) – Disability insurance is one of those under-the-radar benefits you may take for granted, especially if your employer picks up the tab for the coverage, as many firms do. Because of that, as annual benefit enrollment time approaches you probably aren’t worried about examining your disability coverage details and costs the way you will your health insurance plan options. But you should. The same pattern that has emerged in health insurance — employers’ shifting more costs onto workers’ shoulders and trimming or eliminating benefits — is occurring in disability coverage. This fall, as employers spell out insurance options for next year, evaluate what’s offered and what it will cost, and make sure you’re adequately covered. Of course, one of the main reasons people give disability insurance short shrift is that they don’t [...] Continue Reading…