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Washington CNN —President Joe Biden is fit for duty, his doctor reported Wednesday following the president’s annual physical, in what is expected to be the last update on Biden’s health before November’s election. Dr. Kevin O’Connor said in a memo there are “no new concerns” with the president’s health revealed by this year’s physical. The White House said earlier Wednesday that no cognitive test was administered as O’Connor did not find it necessary. The procedure was “successfully completed” at the White House by a team from Walter Reed, O’Connor said. Reports from the White House physician over the last several decades have consistently described the office-holder as fit to serve.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin O’Connor, ” O’Connor, Biden, ”, SSRS, Karine Jean, Pierre, “ doesn’t, Donald Trump, Jonathan Reiner, ” Reiner, that’s, O’Connor, “, Biden’s, ” Biden, Lou Gehrig’s, Robert Hur, I’ve, –, seething Biden, “ I’ve, NBC’s, Seth Meyers, ” Wednesday’s Walter Reed, Walter Reed, CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Mira Cheng Organizations: Washington CNN, O’Connor, “, State, CNN, Quinnipiac University, White, US Preventive Services, Force, Medical Unit, American Medical Association, National Institutes of Health, White House Locations: Beverly Hills , California, United States

☆ As more Americans reach 65 than ever, here's what to know about your Social Security retirement age
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Majamitrovic | E+ | Getty ImagesHow to find your Social Security full retirement ageIf you were born between 1943 and 1954, your full retirement age is 66. The full Social Security retirement age gradually increases from 66 to 67 for people born between those years. Social Security full retirement age Year of birth Social Security full retirement age 1943-1954 66 1955 66 and two months 1956 66 and four months 1957 66 and six months 1958 66 and eight months 1959 66 and 10 months 1960 and later 67Source: Social Security AdministrationFor some people, this can come as a surprise, because they may still confuse their Social Security full retirement age with the Medicare eligibility age of 65, according to Elsasser. Social Security statements can be accessed online by creating a My Social Security account. But tying those decisions to each other will result in permanently reduced Social Security benefits, since that would be before full retirement age.

Persons: Elsasser Organizations: Security, Social Security, Social, Medicare

☆ In Gaza, disease could be even deadlier than airstrikes, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, there’s growing concern about how the situation may raise the risk of disease and illness in Gaza. There could be more deaths in Gaza from disease and a broken health infrastructure than from bombs and missiles, the World Health Organization has warned. “If the conflict impacts access to safe water, then there may be challenges with waterborne diseases,” she said. In this situation, the risk of death due to disease is much greater than the risk of death due to bombardment,” said Haque, who is not involved in WHO but has studied infectious disease, conflict and war. During the Israel-Hamas conflict, maternity care facilities have been affected by Israeli airstrikes due to evacuations, power outages, and a shortage of medical supplies.

Persons: “, Margaret Harris, Barry Levy, ”, Levy, Rebecca Katz, ” Katz, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, ” Tedros, Abed Rahim Khatib, Ubydul Haque, Haque, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Shifa, CNN’s Martin Goillandeau, Eleni Giokos Organizations: CNN, World Health Organization, WHO, Tufts University School of Medicine, Center for Global Health Science, Security, Georgetown University, United Nations Relief, Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Getty, Rutgers Global Health Institute, CNN Health, Shifa Locations: Israel, Gaza, Covid, Al

☆ Retirees will pay more for Medicare Part B premiums in 2024. What to know about managing those costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Social Security beneficiaries will soon get notices showing exactly how much money to expect in their monthly checks for 2024. Those recipients are slated to get a 3.2% boost to their benefits starting in January with the 2024 annual cost-of-living adjustment. One factor that will affect exactly how much beneficiaries receive is their Medicare Part B premium, which is typically deducted directly from Social Security checks. More from Personal Finance:Will Social Security be there for me when I retire? Standard monthly premiums are slated to rise by $9.80 per month to $174.70 in 2024, from $164.90 per month this year.

Organizations: Social Security, Finance, Will

☆ For some cardiac patients with stents, long-term aspirin treatments might be on the way out
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Giri Viswanathan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

For years, medical professionals widely recommended regular aspirin to prevent heart problems, since aspirin can reduce blood clotting to prevent complications like heart attacks or strokes. Still, many health care professionals still consider aspirin to be beneficial for many patients who have heart problems or have a stent. Dropping aspirin also reduced the risk of severe bleeding by nearly 50% compared with patients on the combination therapy, said Mehran — without increasing the risk of cardiac complications. Given the results of her clinical trial and a growing amount of evidence suggesting that long-term aspirin may not be beneficial for acute coronary syndrome, Mehran prescribes a treatment plan without long-term aspirin for her own patients. Aspirin remains ‘an essential therapy’However, experts agree that aspirin remains a beneficial medication for heart conditions.

Persons: ’ ”, Roxana Mehran, Mehran, ” Mehran, Aspirin, Dr, Harlan Krumholz, ticagrelor, Sanjay Gupta, ” Organizations: CNN, Icahn School of Medicine, World Health Organization, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, United States Preventive Services Task Force, Yale School of Medicine, CNN Health Locations: Mount Sinai, United States, South Korea

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Federal law that prohibits insurers from denying healthcare based on preexisting conditions, or kicking dependents off their parent’s coverage until age 26, is now codified separately into Michigan law. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Thursday that attempts to duplicate the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare,” into state law. Earlier this year, a federal judge struck down the ACA preventive care provision. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 150 million people in private health plans have benefited from the no-cost preventive services. A number of other states have codified Affordable Care Act provisions into state law.

Persons: Gretchen Whitmer, Obamacare, Whitmer Organizations: —, Democratic, “, U.S, Supreme, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Michigan House, Republicans, Democrats Locations: LANSING, Mich, Michigan, ”

Andreswd | E+ | Getty ImagesMedicare beneficiaries have until Dec. 7 to change their Medicare health and prescription drug coverage for the coming year through open annual enrollment. Starting in 2024, people who face high prescription drug costs will not have to pay anything out of pocket once they hit the catastrophic phase of their benefits, she noted, thanks to new prescription drug legislation. Notably, Medicare beneficiaries who take insulin currently do not have to pay more than $35 per month for covered prescriptions. There are other reasons why Medicare beneficiaries should pay attention to the annual enrollment period this year. Medicare open enrollment is when beneficiaries can shop around for health plans or prescription drug coverage that better meet their needs.

Persons: Meena Seshamani, Seshamani, Darren Hotton, Hotton, that's, Catherine, There's Organizations: Getty, Center, Medicare, Centers, Services, National Council, Aging, Insurance, State Health Insurance Locations: Catherine Falls, Medicare.gov, ShipHelp.org, Utah

But Mintz also acknowledges that having more places to access PrEP likely will not be enough to substantially increase its use in more vulnerable communities. “There needs to be a couple of levers that need to be pulled for everybody to access PrEP who are eligible to access PrEP,” Mintz says. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Meanwhile, a pending ruling in a federal appellate court looms as a threat that could more broadly undermine PrEP coverage. “We don’t know what the 5th Circuit could do.”In the wake of the March court ruling, insurers expressed support for preventive services. “Right now, PrEP uptake is quite good among gay white men, but among people of color and among women PrEP access is quite limited,” Dawson says.

Persons: Apretude, ”, Omar Martinez Gonzalez, Sean Bland, we’re, ” Bland, Truvada, ” Martinez Gonzalez, Laura Mintz, Mintz, ” Mintz, Truvada –, AIDSVu, Joe Raedle, Laurie Sobel, “, ” Sobel, Lindsey Dawson, ” Dawson, Torrian Baskerville, Baskerville, ” Baskerville, who’d, Biden, Bland Organizations: U.S . Preventive Services Task Force, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Affordable, AIDS Foundation Chicago, “, Centers for Disease Control, Santa Clara University School of Law, Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National, Global Health, Blacks, PrEP, Emory University, Gilead Sciences, Black PrEP, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Pride Network of, ViiV Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, U.S, Circuit, Appeals, Supreme, Human Rights, Navigators, Department of Health, Human Services Locations: U.S, Black, Cleveland, Gilead, –, Miami, Texas, Ohio

☆ These 5 strategies can help you avoid surprise medical bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Unitedhealthcare S Surest With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Other recent regulations require hospitals to post prices online, and while these efforts offer important protections for people, there are various other ways to help avoid an unexpected medical bill. To help avoid that, confirm with your health plan that any services or tests are covered under your benefits. Negotiate surprise billsIn the event of a surprise bill, there are several steps to pursue. No one wants a surprise medical bill. Learn more about how to avoid surprise medical bills at surest.com.

Persons: Donna O'Shea, — Organizations: Population Health, Insider Studios Locations: surest.com

☆ Expert Panel Recommends New Options for H.I.V. Prevention
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | More About Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

An influential expert panel has given its highest recommendation to an expanded menu of H.I.V. prevention strategies for adults and adolescents, a move that will require private insurers to cover the drugs without a co-pay or deductible under the Affordable Care Act. The recommendation arrives as the Biden administration is fighting to preserve no-cost coverage of all preventive services under the A.C.A., after a Texas judge ruled the mandate to be unconstitutional. The ruling was aimed in particular at medications approved for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) to prevent H.I.V., arguing that requiring its coverage violated the religious rights of employers. In the new recommendations, published on Tuesday in JAMA, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force gave its highest or “grade A” recommendation to three medications approved for PrEP.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Affordable, U.S . Preventive Services Task Force, PrEP Locations: Texas, U.S

☆ A Number That Should Guide Your Health Choices (It’s Not Your Age)
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Paula Span | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At her annual visit, the patient’s doctor asks if she plans to continue having regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer, and then reminds her that it’s been almost 10 years since her last colonoscopy. The patient’s age alone may be an argument against further mammogram appointments. The task force gives it a C grade for those 76 to 85, meaning there’s “at least moderate certainty that the net benefit is small.” It should only be offered selectively, the guidelines say. Does she have heart disease? Does she smoke?

Persons: it’s Organizations: . Preventive Services Task Force

☆ When Does Anxiety Become a Problem?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Christina Caron | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Tuesday, a panel of influential medical experts recommended for the first time that doctors screen all adult patients under 65 for symptoms of anxiety. There are millions of Americans who struggle with anxiety: About 1 in 5 adults in the United States has an anxiety disorder, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Having some anxiety isn’t necessarily a problem: Experts say an internal alarm system benefits us in different ways, helping to improve our performance or recognition of danger and encouraging us to be more conscientious. How do you distinguish the protective anxiety from the more problematic anxiety? And, given that the panel did not recommend screenings for older adults, what do you do if you’re 65 or older and have been feeling anxious?

Persons: we’re Organizations: U.S . Preventive Services Task Force, National Alliance, Mental Locations: United States

☆ Obamacare Mandate for Preventive Care Is Restored, for Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Sarah Kliff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lawyers reached a deal on Monday to keep the Affordable Care Act’s mandate requiring health plans to cover preventive care at no cost to patients. A district court in Texas ruled in March that part of the requirement was unconstitutional. The decision took effect immediately, meaning insurers no longer had to cover certain types of preventive care, including a pill to prevent the spread of H.I.V. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stayed the ruling last month, bringing the health law’s provision back into effect. The deal they reached leaves the provision almost fully in tact, requiring a vast majority of health plans to continue providing preventive care at no charge.

Persons: —, Biden Organizations: Fifth Circuit Locations: Texas

The deal would preserve the mandate nationwide while appeals play out, but allow the employer challenging the mandate, Texas-based Braidwood Management, to stop covering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV and other preventive services without co-pays for its employees for now. The preventive care mandate, part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) often referred to as Obamacare, covers services recommended by a federal task force. The ruling does not apply to services the task force recommended before the ACA was enacted in 2010, including breast cancer screening. More than 150 million people were eligible for preventive care free of charge as of 2020 under the ACA, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Biden administration has said O'Connor's ruling threatens public health.

Persons: Biden, District Judge Reed O'Connor, O'Connor, Brendan Pierson, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: U.S, Circuit, Appeals, Braidwood Management, Affordable, PrEP, HIV, District, . Constitution, U.S . Senate, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, Major, Thomson Locations: Texas, Braidwood, U.S, Fort Worth , Texas, ., New York

☆ HIV alarm in Uganda as anti-gay law forces LGBT 'lockdown'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaKAMPALA, June 8 (Reuters) - The HIV/AIDS treatment centre in Kampala is almost empty, days after Uganda enacted one of the most draconian anti-gay laws on Earth. "The LGBT community in Uganda is on lockdown now," he said. 'AFRAID TO LEAVE HOME'A rare patient visiting the Kampala clinic said he despaired at the new legislation. In the 2021/2022 fiscal year, PEPFAR provided $418.4 million in funding to Uganda, more than half of the country's HIV/AIDS treatment budget. The Ugandan bill toughened up an existing British colonial-era law, under which gay sex was already illegal.

Persons: Andrew Tendo, Yoweri Museveni, it's, Mary Borgman, Museveni, Joe Biden, PEPFAR, Borgman, Lillian Mworeko, Ugandans, Museveni didn't criminalise, Tendo, Aaron Ross, Pravin Organizations: Ice Breakers Uganda, REUTERS, Uganda AIDS Commission, US, AIDS Relief, National Security Council, East African, International, Thomson Locations: Makindye, Salaama, Kampala, Uganda, Abubaker, KAMPALA

☆ Appeals court pauses ruling that could end Obamacare's preventative care mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Circuit Court of Appeals issued an "administrative stay" of the March 30 ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor of Texas. Administration lawyers said in court filings that O'Connor's decision would affect preventive care for 150 million people. In his March ruling, O'Conner blocked only the requirement that most insurers cover a range of preventive care. The appeal is in the early stages and the appeals court has not yet set a date for arguments. O'Connor ruled that enforcing the recommendations violated constitutional language on how government officials can be appointed.

☆ Appeals Court Pauses Ruling That Threatened Free Preventive Health Care
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Emily Baumgaertner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The NewsA federal appeals court on Monday temporarily blocked a lower court decision that overturned the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that all health plans fully cover certain preventive health services. The Justice Department had appealed the decision, and the appeals court’s stay will stand while the appeals process plays out. Why It Matters: Preventive health services are popular. While the case is under review, full coverage for preventive services will be legally required. For now, employers will still be required to provide no-cost coverage for preventive services.

☆ Women Should Be Screened for Breast Cancer 10 Years Earlier, Guidelines Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of women’s cancer death in the U.S. Photo: Torin Halsey/Times Record News/Associated PressWomen as young as 40 should get checked for breast cancer every two years, a government-backed panel of experts recommended, lowering the starting age by a decade but stopping short of the annual screening some doctors recommend. Women 40 to 74 should get screened every other year, the United States Preventive Services Task Force said on Tuesday. It previously recommended that women in their 40s decide when to start screening in consultation with doctors. The task force said its draft guidance could save about 20% more lives than its previous recommendation.

☆ Breast-Cancer Screening From Age 40 Would Save More Lives, Experts Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ New Mammogram Advice: What to Know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Roni Caryn Rabin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel of experts that issues guidelines about preventive care, has recommended all women start routine breast cancer screening at 40, instead of at 50, the previous recommendation. The panel continues to advise spacing the screenings at two-year intervals, although some other medical organizations endorse annual mammograms. The advice applies to all “cisgender women and other people assigned female at birth” who are at average risk for breast cancer and do not have any troubling symptoms that might indicate breast cancer. This group includes women with dense breast tissue and a family history of breast cancer. The recommendation does not apply to anyone who has already had breast cancer, has genetic mutations that increase breast cancer risk, has received high-dose radiation to the chest, or has had breast lesions identified in previous biopsies.

☆ Breast cancer screenings should start at age 40 instead of 50, U.S. panel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Breast cancer screenings typically involve a mammogram, which is an X-ray of the breast. It does not apply to people at high risk of breast cancer, including those who have a family history of the disease. The rate of breast cancer among women ages 40 to 49 increased by 2% each year on average from 2015 to 2019, according to the National Cancer Institute. The panel said the new guidance also aims to ease the disparities in breast cancer death rates between Black women and white women. Other medical groups, including the American College of Radiology and the American Cancer Society, already recommend annual breast cancer screenings before age 50.

☆ Most Major Insurers to Continue Preventive Care Services
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Stephanie Armour | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Preventive healthcare services include mammograms and cancer screenings. Photo: Heather Charles/Chicago Tribune/Getty ImagesThe majority of insurers in the U.S. don’t expect to drop no-cost preventive healthcare services as a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act requirement works its way through the courts, according to a letter to lawmakers from the six trade groups representing the insurance industry. Their decision was outlined Wednesday in a letter by trade groups to House and Senate Democratic health committee leaders, who on April 12 wrote to a dozen of the nation’s largest health insurers and trade associations asking whether they intend to cover all recommended preventive services without cost-sharing until all appellate review in the case is concluded.

☆ New study suggests Black women should be screened earlier for breast cancer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —A new study on breast cancer deaths raises questions around whether Black women should screen at earlier ages. Even though Black women have a 4% lower incidence rate of breast cancer than White women, they have a 40% higher breast cancer death rate. “When the breast cancer mortality rate for Black women in their 40s is 27 deaths per 100,000 person-years, this means 27 out of every 100,000 Black women aged 40-49 in the US die of breast cancer during one year of follow-up. They also wrote that health policy makers should pursue equity, not just equality, when it comes to breast cancer screening as a tool to help reduce breast cancer death rates. Having dense tissue in the breast can make it more difficult for radiologists to identify breast cancer on a mammogram, and women with dense breast tissue have a higher risk of breast cancer.

☆ Health plans could soon reduce coverage for preventive care. Here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Around 100 million people with private insurance got preventive care required under the ACA in 2018, one estimate found, making it the provision with the widest reach. Insurers generally must not impose copays or deductibles on the recommended preventive care. "Many preventive care services are not covered by this decision," Simon said. Health plans will still be required to ensure no copays for many preventive services, including birth control and mammograms, Simon said. Some states have their own mandates, meanwhile, around free preventive care.

☆ US Justice Dept appeals Obamacare ruling blocking coverage mandate- White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is appealing a decision by a Texas judge that blocked Obamacare's mandate that health insurance plans cover preventive care at no cost to patients, the White House said on Friday. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday blocked the federal government from enforcing requirements that insurance plans cover preventive care, including screenings for certain cancers and pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV (PrEP). If O'Connor's ruling is not paused or overturned on appeal, insurers will be able to charge patients copays and deductibles for such services in new insurance plans. "The president is glad to see the Department of Justice is appealing the judge's decision," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. "Preventive care saves lives, saves families money, and protects and improves our health," she said.

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