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☆ U.S. experts recommend weight-loss drugs for obese children
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Metformin has been used off label to achieve weight loss in children. Of the 27 randomized trials of metformin for weight loss in children reviewed by the guidelines panel, 74% showed some positive effect of the medication. Wegovy last month won U.S. approval for chronic weight management in children ages 12 and older. For children ages 2 to 12 years, AAP said there was not currently enough evidence to recommend use of these medications. They also include recommendations for diagnosing obesity annually in children ages 6 years and older, through checks on BMI, and practices such as motivational interviewing.

☆ Successfully applying for Social Security disability is difficult. Applying as a long Covid patient is even trickier
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Social Security disability benefits are generally available to workers who have earned enough credits through payroll taxes — typically 40 credits, though younger workers may qualify with less. Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is a federal benefit available to disabled individuals who may not qualify for Social Security disability based on their work records. Allsup, which works with NASA, helped Perry get his Social Security disability benefits application approved. "That can really make or break a Social Security disability case," he said. Social Security disability benefits are aimed at long-term conditions.

Around 67% of people who took the experimental pill, called VV116, reported side effects, compared to to 77% who took Paxlovid. In the trial of VV116, more than 380 people took the experimental drug, while a similarly sized group took Paxlovid. The median time to recovery — defined as no Covid symptoms for two consecutive days — was four days for VV116 recipients and five days for those who took Paxlovid. Three-quarters of the trial participants were vaccinated, though the study found consistent results regardless of vaccine status. The National Institutes of Health recommends Paxlovid, with molnupiravir as an alternative in situations when neither Paxlovid nor remdesivir is available or appropriate.

☆ During the holidays, the ER does far more than what it is meant to do
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Dr. Owais Durrani | Dr. Owais Durrani Is An Emergency Medicine Physician In Houston | Tx. Dr. Durrani Has A Background In Political Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Patients’ ER experiences typically consist of long wait times, and that naturally leads to frustration and a frequent misunderstanding that nothing is being done or that they are being diagnosed improperly. The truth is our emergency departments have had to take on a lot more than that, serving as the safety net of the country’s entire health care system. You’ve heard this over and over — our health care system is broken. We have lost valuable physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and other vital members of the health care system. We have a very different health care system and training of physicians than those countries.

☆ Department of Veterans Affairs sued over decision to offer abortion counseling and certain abortions to veterans
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in Texas sued the department Tuesday over its decision to offer abortions services in certain cases and abortion counseling to veterans, claiming the new rules violate her religious beliefs. Though the lawsuit is reportedly one of the first challenges to the new rule, it is not seeking to block the department from enforcing the policy nationwide. Instead, it asks the court to rule that the policy is illegal and unconstitutional and block the department from enforcing the policy at the facility in Temple. The state additionally has a civil enforcement law – authorizing private citizens to bring lawsuits against alleged violators in state court – for abortions performed after around six weeks into the pregnancy. These services are also offered to Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiaries.

☆ Buzzy startups failed to fix mental-health care. Now their mistakes are fueling the space's next generation.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

In the past two years, highly funded startups have tried to disrupt mental-health care. The startups said they wanted to help solve the industry's biggest problems: Mental-health care is too expensive, and there isn't enough of it to go around. Talkspace's priority is now its division that sells mental-health care to employers, which pay recurring fees for employee access. Startups tackling more serious mental-health conditions are working with health plansThere's also a rising crop of mental-health companies tackling the costliest mental-health conditions, something the direct-to-consumer firms tend to shy away from. About half of Bicycle's patients pay with their insurance, a number he's looking to increase.

☆ E. Jean Carroll, writer who accused Trump of 1990s rape, files new lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK — A writer who accused former President Donald Trump of rape filed an upgraded lawsuit against him Thursday in New York, minutes after a new state law took effect allowing victims of sexual violence to sue over attacks that occurred decades ago. Previously, Carroll had been barred by state law from suing over the alleged rape because too many years had passed since the incident. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presides over the defamation lawsuit Carroll filed three years ago, may decide to include the new claims in a trial likely to occur in the spring. Trump and Carroll also have already been deposed. Attorney Michael Madaio, a lawyer for Trump, said at the hearing that the new allegations are significantly different than the original defamation lawsuit and would require “an entirely new set” of evidence gathering.

☆ Writer who accused Trump of 1990s rape files new lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Larry Neumeister | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Carroll claims that Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a dressing room at a Manhattan department store in the mid-1990s. Trump denies knowing Carroll. Trump responded to the book's allegations by saying it could never have happened because Carroll was "not my type." Previously, Carroll had been barred by state law from suing over the alleged rape because too many years had passed since the incident. In her new claims, Carroll maintains that Trump committed battery "when he forcibly raped and groped her" and that he defamed her when he denied raping her last month.

☆ US home births reached highest level in 30 years in 2021
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Carma Hassan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

This follows a 22% increase in home births between 2019 and 2020, “corresponding with the initial surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States,” the report says. Home births increased 21% for Black women, 15% for Hispanic women and 10% for White women in 2021. Among the 30 states that reported more births at home, West Virginia had the highest increase: 49% between 2020 and 2021. Despite the rise, home births still remain rare, accounting for 1.26% of all births in the US, according to the report. The pediatrician group generally doesn’t recommend planned home births, but it does recognize a woman’s right to choose one.

☆ CVS Has Little Time to Waste as Amazon, Walgreens Ink Doctor Deals
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( David Wainer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Most Americans still think of Walgreens and CVS as a place to pick up a prescription and maybe some Hallmark cards. Both companies want to become their medical providers, too. That explains why earlier this week a unit of Walgreens Boots Alliance pushed deeper into medical practices, just two months after CVS Health Corp. agreed to buy home-healthcare company Signify Health for $8 billion. For CVS, which already owns a pharmacy-benefits manager and insurance giant Aetna, now isn’t the time to take its foot off the accelerator, despite pressure to focus on buying back shares.

☆ Midterm elections live updates: Pennsylvania races, New Hampshire Senate race too early to call
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brandy Zadrozny | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +109 min

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate and governor's races too early to call It is too early to call the Senate and gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedNew Hampshire Senate race too early to call The Senate race in New Hampshire is too early to call, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedPennsylvania Senate and governor races are too early to call After polls closed at 8 p.m. While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. According to the poll, 46% of voters said their family’s financial situation is worse than it was two years ago. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

☆ Proposition 29: California could soon pass controversial new dialysis requirements
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Proposition 29 would require medical providers to be on-site while a patient is undergoing dialysis. Proposition 29 would mandate that physicians report dialysis-related infections and specify whether or not the physician has a financial stake in the clinic. They also argue that for-profit dialysis clinics are opposed to these rules because it would cut into their billion-dollar profits. No Prop 29, which is against the amendment, includes Fresenius and DaVita, two of the largest dialysis providers in the state. The state's Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that Proposition 29 will increase costs for dialysis clinics.

☆ As election nears, some conservative groups have ramped up anti-trans campaign ads
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

In the last leg of what has been a heated midterm election cycle, some conservative groups have ramped up misleading or inflammatory campaign ads targeting transgender rights, which have become an increasingly partisan and divisive issue. Within the last several weeks, the American Principles Project aired campaign ads in six battleground states, the group wrote on Twitter. Justin Unga, the director of strategic initiatives for the Human Rights Campaign, said ads targeting transgender rights can have real-world ramifications. A record 346 anti-LGBTQ bills have been filed in state legislatures around the country this year, including 145 that restrict transgender rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Many of the recent campaign ads targeting transgender rights were directed at Black and Latino voters, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

In reversing the half-century precedent, the court left the power to limit or grant abortion rights to the states. In August, a judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the anti-abortion law, which had been inactive in the decades that Roe v. Wade stood. Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic incumbent, has been a champion for abortion rights, but she is fending off a challenge from Republican candidate Tudor Dixon, who called the abortion ballot proposition “radical” in a debate with her. Voters will determine whether to alter the state constitution to explicitly say it does not protect a right to abortion or abortion funding. Abortion rights advocates are challenging those laws.

☆ Mother convicted in Qanon kidnapping plot sentenced to 60 days in jail
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

DENVER — A Colorado woman convicted of plotting to kidnap her son from foster care after associating with supporters of the Qanon conspiracy theory was sentenced Thursday to 60 days in jail and two years of supervised probation, after being reprimanded by the judge for a lack of remorse. In her testimony, Abcug denied she was involved in planning a raid on the foster home where her then 7-year-old son lived in the fall of 2019. A jury convicted her of misdemeanor child abuse because of those allegations as well as conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping. She did not describe the group as being involved with QAnon but said she heard references to the conspiracy theory by people she met through her activism online. The conspiracy theory was not a main issue in the trial, which focused more on detailed testimony from medical providers and educators about Abcug son’s medical history.

☆ Red Cross Wants Digital Symbols to Deter Hackers From Healthcare Institutions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Catherine Stupp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The International Committee of the Red Cross proposed creating a digital equivalent to its distinctive red symbol to warn off hackers who attempt to break into medical institutions’ networks. Such a digital emblem would deter some but not all hackers, Red Cross advisers say, at a time when hospitals are frequently hit with cyberattacks. The Red Cross and its cyber advisers worked for more than two years on the project. Whatever option governments choose would need to be simple to install, said Matthew Smith, a professor of computer science at the University of Bonn in Germany, speaking at the Red Cross event. “As easy as placing a red cross on a building,” he said.

☆ Employers’ Family Health Insurance Holds at About $22,000 in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Anna Wilde Mathews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The average cost of employer health coverage for a family this year is about $22,000, a figure similar to last year’s total, according to a new survey that shows upward pressure on healthcare costs hasn’t yet broadly translated into higher premiums. That will likely change next year, as insurers renegotiate contracts with hospitals and other medical providers that are seeking higher reimbursements to cover their own rising expenses for labor and other supplies.

☆ Americans have largely avoided health care inflation so far – but that’s about to change
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

About 155 million Americans have work-based health insurance, the largest source of coverage by far, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Delayed impact of inflation on health careWhile the cost of gas, food and other essentials can change quickly based on inflation and market conditions, health care operates differently. In fact, health care costs are bucking their own typical trend. Workers are projected to shell out an average of 2.6% more for health care this year, compared to 2021, Aon calculated. Increases expected to continueNext year will only be the start of an extended period of increased health care costs, experts said.

Law enforcement in Ohio was aware of the case, Trick added, and they had to go to Indianapolis to retrieve tissue to be tested as part of a sexual assault investigation. In a prior statement regarding the initial lawsuit, Yost disagreed that the right to an abortion is protected under state law. “Aside from filing the wrong action in the wrong court, they are wrong as well on Ohio law. Abortion is not in the Ohio Constitution.”In the wake of the overturning of Roe, 13 states have put laws in place restricting most abortions. “Many patients broke down in tears in our office,” Sharon Liner, the medical director of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, said in the affidavit.

☆ See the 11-slide presentation that got General Catalyst to back Oscar Health alums building a better system to track medical providers' information
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A group of Oscar Health alums aims to create tech to tame the chaos of healthcare-provider data. When Anshul Rathi joined Oscar Health in 2017, the health-insurance upstart didn't have a system to verify the credentials of medical providers covered by the insurer's health plans. General Catalyst led the startup's $14.5 million Series A in September, bringing CertifyOS's total funding to $20 million. Existing investors Upfront Ventures, Max Ventures, and Arkitekt Ventures also contributed to the Series A. The startup removed information about its financial growth and private client details from the pitch deck before sharing it with Insider.

☆ How to ask for health accommodations at your job, according to 5 workers who have
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Fiona Lowenstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Resources like the Job Accommodation Network may be helpful in navigating this process, and Insider recently asked five people to share advice on how they successfully accessed accommodations at work. Gibson recommends that other disabled people navigating similar needs ask for professional dress-code guidelines in writing, and seek advice from peers at work and in chronic illness communities. When she applied for her current job, Thompson decided to disclose her illness during the interview. At Miller's last job, she wasn't allowed time off for her chronic illness. Because of that, Miller was initially nervous to request accommodations at her new job.

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