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L.A. Times - Health: U.S. healthcare costs projected to continue to climb

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

By covering more Americans under the healthcare overhaul, costs will increase over the next decade, but not substantially more than if the law had not been enacted, an independent government analysis finds.

Pushed by a dramatic increase in the number of Americans who will get insurance under the new healthcare law, total U.S. medical spending will continue to gallop upward, consuming nearly 20% of the economy by 2019, according to a new government estimate.

L.A. Times - Health: FDA warns green tea makers against health claims

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

Canada Dry and Lipton drinks are both described in misleading terms, the agency contends in part of an ongoing clampdown on labels.

The Food and Drug Administration has warned producers of two popular brands of green tea drinks not to make unauthorized nutrient claims, continuing its clampdown on misleading food labeling.

L.A. Times - Health: California regulators seek up to $9.9 billion in fines from PacifiCare

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:16:00 -0400

The health insurer violated state law nearly 1 million times from 2006 to 2008 after it was bought by UnitedHealth Group, the Department of Insurance says. The fine, if there is one, is likely to be much less than the maximum allowed.

California regulators are seeking fines of up to $9.9 billion from health insurer PacifiCare over allegations that it repeatedly mismanaged medical claims, lost thousands of patient documents, failed to pay doctors what they were owed and ignored calls to fix the problems.

L.A. Times - Health: Electrodes translate brain waves into words

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 21:42:00 -0400

The Utah study reported in the Journal of Neuroengineering shows promise for helping severely paralyzed patients communicate. A grid of microelectrodes was placed directly on a patient's brain.

In a first step toward helping severely paralyzed people communicate more easily, Utah researchers have shown that it is possible to translate recorded brain waves into words, using a grid of electrodes placed directly on the brain.

L.A. Times - Health: 'Magic mushrooms' ingredient beneficial to cancer patients, report says

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

Researchers find psilocybin improved the anxiety and depression of terminal cancer patients for up to six months. The study is considered a first step in restoring the hallucinogen's respectability.

The psychedelic drug psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," can improve mood and reduce anxiety and depression in terminal cancer patients, Los Angeles researchers reported Monday.

L.A. Times - Health: Whooping cough diagnoses lagged in eight California deaths, analysis shows

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

All eight of the infants who have died in the current epidemic had been taken to clinics and hospitals multiple times before an accurate diagnosis was made, a state review shows.

A disturbing theme has emerged in an analysis of all eight cases of California infants who died from whooping cough this year: Despite the patients' multiple visits to clinics and hospitals, doctors typically failed to make a swift, accurate diagnosis.

L.A. Times - Health: Cancer educates a med student

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

Joshua Lilienstein is uninsured, battling to regain his health and learning to become a doctor at USC. The experience 'has been fascinating.'

Joshua Lilienstein lined up for treatment this summer at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center's general oncology clinic. A medical student who'd been battling cancer for four years, Lilienstein had little choice. In June 2009, he lost his insurance after maxing out on the lifetime benefit.

L.A. Times - Health: Scribes are doctors' tech support

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

The workers, often young pre-med students, enter information into computers as physicians examine patients. Complex electronic medical record systems are mastered, and doctors are able to focus.

Melissa Genove has dreamed of becoming a physician since childhood. To help her prepare, she spends as many as 35 hours each week shadowing emergency room doctors at Loma Linda University Medical Center. The 23-year-old listens intently as they examine patients, records their treatment plans in a laptop computer, and follows up on prescriptions, lab tests, consultations with specialists and anything else the doctors order.

L.A. Times - Health: Scribes are doctors' tech support

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

L.A. Times - Health: Mental health parity act may affect your medical benefits

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 03:00:00 -0400

Employees of larger companies will see mental coverage given equal treatment with medical coverage. The effect on out-of-pocket costs is unclear.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, by some estimates, could affect the health coverage of approximately 113 million Americans. Exactly how it will affect them, though, will vary widely.