Day: March 6, 2017

GOP Senators Cry Foul Over Medicaid Expansion Repeal

The House Republican plan to phase out the Obamacare Medicaid expansion by 2020 may be a nonstarter for some Senate Republicans-and could potentially threaten the larger repeal-and-replace process. Shortly before House lawmakers revealed a revamped version of their Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill Monday evening, four Republican senators sent a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying they would not support an earlier draft from Feb. 10 that repeals Medicaid expansion because it “does not meet the test of stability for individuals currently enrolled in the program.”

GOP Releases Bills to Repeal/Replace ObamaCare

House Republicans on Monday unveiled their long-awaited legislation to repeal and replace ObamaCare, with plans to quickly push the measure through committee votes this week. The two measures dismantle the core aspects of ObamaCare, including its subsidies to help people buy coverage, expansion of Medicaid, taxes and mandates for people to have insurance.

The genetics of diabetic complications.

The rising global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is accompanied by an increasing burden of morbidity and mortality that is attributable to the complications of chronic hyperglycaemia. These complications include blindness, renal failure and cardiovascular disease.

Treatment for eating disorders goes mobile

Every day for the past six months, a 29-year-old actress in New York has been logging every meal via an app to monitor what she eats and more importantly how she feels afterward. “It shows the correlation between the emotion and food,” said the actress, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym, Anita.

PM wise to break reform promise

Before the last federal general election in 2015, Justin Trudeau and his Liberal party promised electoral reform should they be elected. Indeed, one of the first statements Trudeau made after being sworn in as prime minister was to declare that the election of 2015 would be the last to use “first past the post.”

Therapeutics Initiative is out of mainstream

I have written in the B.C. Medical Journal about how the Therapeutics Initiative, which evaluates the effectiveness of drugs for doctors and pharmacists, uses questionable statistics to recommend against the use of medications, and it continues to do so. The TI receives much of its funding from the Ministry of Health and it tells the ministry and Pharmacare what they want to hear: No need to pay for that medication.

Highlights of House GOP health care legislation

Here are highlights of the legislation unveiled Monday by House Republicans as they move to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s health care law and replace it with a system designed along conservative lines. Primarily affected would be some 20 million people who purchase their own private health plans directly from an insurer and the more than 70 million covered by Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people.

Equine Voices offers camaraderie with rescued horses

Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary’s Fourth Annual Spring “Fun-Raiser” will feature the nonprofit’s mascot, Gulliver, along with equine demonstrations, live music, food vendors, wine tastings and a beer garden, tours of the ranch and more at the event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 18. Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary’s Fourth Annual Spring “Fun-Raiser” will feature the nonprofit’s mascot, Gulliver, along with equine demonstrations, live music, food vendors, wine tastings and a beer garden, tours of the ranch and more at the event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 18. Volunteers with Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary suggest Tucsonans attend the Fourth Annual Spring “Fun-Raiser” on March 18 to learn more about another possible companion animal: Horses.

Pollution kills 1.7 million children per year, WHO reports

Exposure to polluted environments is associated with more than one in four deaths among children younger than 5, according to two World Health Organisation reports published Monday. Worldwide, 1.7 million children’s deaths per year are attributable to environmental hazards, such as exposure to contaminated water, indoor and outdoor air pollution, and other unsanitary conditions, the reports found.

Validation of T-TrackA CMV to assess the functionality of…

Uncontrolled cytomegalovirus replication in immunocompromised solid-organ transplant recipients is a clinically relevant issue and an indication of impaired CMV-specific cell-mediated immunity . Primary aim of this study was to assess the suitability of the immune monitoring tool T-TrackA CMV to determine CMV-reactive CMI in a cohort of hemodialysis patients representative of patients eligible for renal transplantation.

Georgia HIV infections drop significantly

The Georgia Department of Public Health says HIV infections in Georgia dropped 6 percent each year from 2008 to 2014. In a news release, the DPH says a recent analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia is among eight states whose infection rate dropped significantly during the six-year period.

Aduro Biotech Announces Upcoming Data Presentations at the 2017…

Aduro Biotech, Inc. , a biopharmaceutical company with three distinct immunotherapy technologies, announced data presentations relating to its technology platforms to be given at the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting taking place in Washington, D.C., April 1 through April 5, 2017. About Aduro Aduro Biotech, Inc. is an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases.

Iditarod mushers begin nearly 1,000-mile race across Alaska

The winner is expected in the old Gold Rush town of Nome, on the Bering Sea coast, in about eight days Dee Dee Jonrowe, of Willow, mushes during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, March 4, 2017. Iditarod rookie Laura Neese of McMillan, Mich., greets the crowd as she mushes through downtown during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, Saturday, March 4, 2017.

Business economists disagree with Trump on trade, budget

A majority of business economists disagree with the Trump administration on several key issues, notably immigration, trade and the budget, according to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics. Roughly two-thirds of economists want the Trump administration to allow more immigration from high-skill workers for high-paying jobs, under programs like the H1-B visa.

Millions May Lose Health Coverage Under GOP Plans

Chris Jacobs, a well-known conservative health care analyst, writes in The Federalist that the original House Republican Obamacare replacement draft was estimated to cause 10 to 20 million people to lose health care insurance. Based on my conversations with multiple sources close to the effort, the Congressional Budget Office had indicated to congressional staff that the prior House framework could see at least 10 million, and potentially up to 20 million, individuals losing employer-sponsored health insurance.

Delmarva Poultry Industry Issues Warning After U.S. Avian Case

GEORGETOWN , Del.- Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. officials are advising growers on the peninsula to be “extra vigilant” after the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the weekend confirmed the presence of avian influenza in a commercial chicken breeder flock in Tennessee. What was detected in Lincoln County, Tenn.

Mulvaney Lies About Trump’s Promise Not to Cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

The following is a statement from Nancy Altman , Founding Co-Director of Social Security Works , in reaction to OMB Director Mick Mulvaney claiming that Trump’s campaign promise was to “save” Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and that Republican plans to cut the programs would be consistent with that promise: “Mick Mulvaney and Republicans in Congress are attempting to rewrite history. Throughout the campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly and unequivocally promised not to cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid, even specifically ruling out one of the GOP’s favorite cuts, raising the retirement age.

Nearly 2 Million Kids Die from Pollution Each Year

More than a quarter of deaths in children under age 5 worldwide are tied to polluted environments, such as contaminated water and smoggy air, according to a new report. The report, from the World Health Organization , found that each year, 1.7 million children under age 5 die from causes attributable to polluted environments .

The Affordable Care Act Allows Workers to Have More Freedom and Flexibility

Washington D.C. – The Affordable Care Act , commonly referred to as “Obamacare”, is on the path to be repealed, and supposedly replaced. A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research , shows that the ACA has not only increased the number of people insured, but also made it so workers have the flexibility to choose the type of job they want and still have the security of having health insurance.

A struggling mall in Virginia has replaced storefronts with…

One mall in Richmond, Virginia, has tried to get creative with some of its shuttered stores in a likely attempt to distract shoppers from the vacated spaces and keep traffic flowing to its remaining tenants. Not far from the former Macy’s, an entire storefront is covered with with a Pepsi ad and two vending machines.