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☆ Trump White House Pharmacy Improperly Provided Drugs and Misused Funds, Pentagon Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Ahmed AbouleneinWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House Medical Unit during the Trump administration provided prescription drugs, including controlled substances, to ineligible staff and spent tens of thousands of dollars more on brand-name drugs than what generic equivalents would have cost, a Pentagon report shows. The unit, part of the White House Military Office, did not comply with federal government and Department of Defense guidelines, the report, which was released on Jan. 8, found. Ineligible staffers received free specialty care and surgery at military medical facilities and were provided with prescription drugs including controlled substances, in violation of federal law, the report also found. "The White House Medical Unit's pharmaceutical management practices ineffectively used DoD funds by obtaining brand‑name medications instead of generic equivalents and increased the risk for the diversion of controlled substances," it said. Opioids and sleeping medications were not properly accounted for and were tracked using error-filled or unreadable handwritten records, the report said.

Persons: Ahmed Aboulenein WASHINGTON, Trump, ineffectively, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Lester Martinez, Lopez, Ahmed Aboulenein, Leslie Adler Organizations: White, Medical Unit, Pentagon, Military Office, Department of Defense, Medical, Military Health

A faster and more effective rollout of the first COVID-19 booster shot authorized in 2021 would have saved more than 29,000 lives in the U.S., according to a new study. regulatory caution, in the middle of a pandemic, thus had a large, avoidable cost.”Still, they estimated that the first round of booster shots in the U.S. saved 42,000 lives. Israel was the first country to authorize a COVID-19 booster in July 2021. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 81% of the U.S. population received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, uptake decreased with every subsequent shot authorized. Just 16% of adults have gotten the latest shot, which health officials have said is not enough.

Persons: ”, Israel Organizations: Health Affairs, U.S, Centers for Disease Control Locations: U.S, Israel

☆ Opinion: An 11-year-old who survived Uvalde says he and his friends will ‘never be the same’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Opinion Danielle Campoamor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —On May 24, 2022, then-fourth-grader Daniel Ruiz managed to escape the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas that claimed the lives of 19 of his classmates and two teachers. But Daniel, now 11, says the fun-loving kid he was, prior to that fateful day, did not survive the massacre. “My friends, cousins and I will never be the same again … I miss how happy I used to be. Yet these harrowing statistics do not fully or adequately encapsulate the true, ever-lasting harm caused by acts of gun violence. According to a recent study published in the journal Health Affairs, in the one-year period after a shooting, survivors’ health care costs increased by about $34,884, or a 17.1-fold increase.

Persons: Danielle Campoamor, CNN —, Daniel Ruiz, Daniel, Danielle Campoamor Ashley Batz, ” Daniel, “, …, Daniel —, Briana Ruiz, Daniel’s, ” Briana Ruiz, Briana Ruiz Dr, Chethan, Sathya, ”, aren’t, Dr, Jill Emanuel, Emanuel, ” Emanuel, wasn’t Organizations: NBC, CNN, Robb Elementary School, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Health Affairs, Center for, Northwell Health, PEW Research Center, Child Mind Locations: Uvalde , Texas, United States

☆ Medicare Advantage Plans Offer Few Psychiatrists
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Reed Abelson | More About Reed Abelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

People with private Medicare coverage may not be getting the mental health services they need because they cannot find a psychiatrist within their plan’s network, according to a new study. More than half of the counties the researchers studied did not have a single psychiatrist participating in a Medicare Advantage plan, the private-sector counterpart to traditional Medicare. Some 30 million people, just over half of all participants in the federal program, are enrolled in these private plans. The researchers, in an article published on Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs, found that of the plans reviewed, nearly two-thirds were narrow, with fewer than a quarter of available psychiatrists in a plan’s network. The more limited “networks present a frustrating additional barrier in mental health services even when, on paper, there are a sufficient number of providers in a geographic region,” the researchers wrote.

Organizations: Health Affairs

“Mission Hospital used to be where everyone would go if they wanted good care,” Jaquins said, reflecting on her previous experiences with the health care system. Sue Fischer is a longtime HCA employee who’s concerned about patient care in her facility. “We were a great system as Mission Health and we’re an even better system as HCA Mission Health,” she said. “Delays in care is the biggest patient care issue I see because of staffing,” Hernandez said. According to the CMS ranking system, Mission Hospital currently holds an above-average overall quality rating — four stars out of a possible five.

☆ Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. hospitalized patients experience a harmful event, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kaitlin Sullivan | Kaitlin Sullivan Is A Contributor For Nbcnews.Com Who Has Worked With Nbc News Investigations. She Reports On Health | Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The stark findings underscore that, despite decades of effort, hospitals in the United States still have a long way to go to improve patient safety, experts say. A total of 222 adverse events were considered preventable, meaning an error resulted in patient harm. Twenty-nine people, or 1% of the total of those admitted, experienced serious preventable adverse events that resulted in serious harm. The most common adverse events overall (nearly 40%) were related to medications given in the hospital. It used data from patients hospitalized in New York state in 1984, and found that only about 4% of hospitalized patients experienced harm.

☆ Debt woes and zero-Covid: China's cities are running out of cash to pay huge bills
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

They spent 11.8 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion) more than they raised in revenue between January and October, borrowing heavily to do so, according to data from China’s Ministry of Finance. Andy Wong/AP‘Widest in history’For nearly three years, local governments have borne the brunt of enforcing pandemic controls. The weak fiscal position of local governments has been a drag on the country’s overall financial standing. Kevin Frayer/Getty ImagesLow income, high costsWhy are local governments in this parlous state? In May, Beijing told local governments that they had to bear the costs for regular Covid testing in their regions.

☆ Covid death rates higher among Republicans than Democrats, research shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Covid deaths are unevenly distributed among Republicans and Democrats. Excess death rates in Florida and Ohio were 153% higher among Republicans than Democrats during that time, the paper showed. But the June study suggested that Covid vaccine uptake explained just 10% of the partisan gap in the deaths. Both Wallace and Sehgal said their studies shouldn't be misinterpreted as blaming Republicans for Covid deaths. Gerald predicted that the partisan gap in Covid deaths could narrow over time as more people get Covid and acquire immunity, regardless of their vaccination status.

Patient advocates were disappointed with Sunday’s vote — Republican senators blocked the $35 insulin cap for private insurers — and expressed hope that federal and state measures could be included in legislation down the road. Clayton McCook of Edmond, Oklahoma, is among those who support capping the cost of insulin for people with private health insurance. A federal insulin cap for private insurance would have made “a huge difference to our family,” he said. “This year, with an evenly divided Senate, the insulin cap for people with private insurance didn’t secure enough votes,” Neuman said. McCook also advocated for changes besides a cap on insulin costs, saying Congress pass legislation that would lower the list price.

The 26-year-old had been recently removed from his parents' health insurance plan and was about $300 short of the $1,300 he needed to pay for his insulin medication, his mother said. Though drugmakers often offer programs that can lower the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for both insured and uninsured patients, the financial burden can still be devastating for some. Why insulin remains unaffordableBut why does insulin — a medication that’s been around for more than 100 years — remain unaffordable for many people in the U.S.? Meanwhile, state and federal lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would lower the out-of-pocket cost for patients on insulin. She is pushing for more states to adopt the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act, which provides an emergency 30-day supply of insulin to patients for $35.

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