Liposuction Patients Donate Fat to Stem Cell Research at UCLA

This is a good idea, donate the fat for research, why not, as otherwise it’s just disposed of.  The fat is anonymous when donated, in other words there’s nothing that ties a donor to any type of recognition.  BD 

Dr. David Stoker is offering Los Angeles liposuction patients the opportunity to be a part of a ground-breaking research opportunity through the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Women and men who have liposuction can choose to donate their excess fat to UCLA's stem cell research center, and help scientists develop a range of treatments for conditions such as diabetes and cancer.

"This is an excellent opportunity for women and men to reuse their fat to benefit medical research," notes Dr. Stoker. "Typically, when patients have liposuction, excess fat is disposed of as medical waste. Now, scientists from UCLA can use this fat to advance their stem cell research. After a patient has surgery, our services will anonymously donate the excess fat. Patients can benefit with the knowledge that they can both enhance their physical appearance and potentially help others lead healthy and active lives.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/10/prweb8916203.htm

Technorati Tags: stem cells,UCLA,fat,liposuction,donate,research and development,diabetes,cancer,surgery,Los Angeles

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For All The Protein The Body Needs - Eat Organic Electron Rich Green Kale

Jill Ettinnger - Author

www.oranicauthority.com

OrganicAuthority.com

The only thing in life that is constant is change. We may resist it all we want, but time and its inevitable evolution of everything in its path is unaffected by our attempts to stop it. The resulting trajectory of humanity's nascent ascent appears to be positioning itself to sweep us into progressive new times, especially where our food choices are concerned, as nearly 7 billion people are now standing on the little scraps of land that we share with some 55 billion rather large animals raised for food each year. (As another famous saying goes: This town ain't big enough for the both of us.) So, beef (and all factory-farmed meat) may be going from rib-eye to relic as we transition to a more greener alkaline world… literally—as in leafy, green electron rich alkaline vegetables.

Environmentalists cite meat production as one of the biggest contributors to global acid warming, and the USDA's new food pyramid (MyPlate) suggests the healthiest choice is making vegetables and fruit the biggest part of every meal by reducing consumption of highly acidic constipating animal proteins. Kale is far more nutritious than other leafy greens, but these seven reasons why it is such an important futurefood may just surprise you.

1. Anti-acid and therefore Anti-inflammatory: Metabolic and dietary acids causes Inflammation leading to the number one cause of arthritis, heart disease and a number of autoimmune diseases, and is triggered by the consumption of highly acid animal products which release toxic chemicals of sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphuric acid and uric acid making us sick, tired and fat. Kale is an incredibly effective anti-acid anti-inflammatory food, potentially preventing and even reversing these illnesses.

2. Iron: Despite the myth that vegetarians are anemic, the number of non-vegetarians with iron-deficiencies is on the rise. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef.

3. Calcium: Dairy and beef both contain calcium, but the U.S. still has some of the highest rates of bone loss and osteoporosis in the world. Why? Because dairy contains acids of lactose and lactice acid which strips calcium from the bones and magnesium from the muscles. Kale contains more calcium per calorie than milk (90 grams per serving) without the toxic acids and is also better absorbed by the body than dairy. Dairy and the acids lactose and lactic acid are the number one and number two acids that cause protstate, ovarian, uterine and breast cancers.

4. Fiber: Like protein, fiber is a macronutrient, which means we need it every day to adsorb and absorb metabolic and dietary acid. But many Americans don't eat nearly enough and the deficiency is linked to heart disease, digestive disorders and cancer. Protein-rich foods, like meat, contain little to no fiber and destroy the intestinal villi or root system of the body leading to the inability to manufacture stem cells and then new blood. One serving of kale not only contains 5 percent of the recommended daily intake of fiber, but it also provides 2 grams of non-acidifying protein.

5. Omega fatty acids: Essential Omega fats play an important role in our health to help build the membranes of stem cells that make up all blood and body cells, unlike the saturated fats in meat which congest and gum up the crypts of the small intestines where stem cells are manufactures. A serving of kale contains 121 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and 92.4 mg of omega-6 fatty acids for helping to build the membranes of embryonic cells.

6. Immunity: Because meat is highly acidic this gives rise to the biological transformations of bacteria, yeast and mold which can be a serious risk to our health. Many of these come as a result of factory farm highly acidic meat, eggs and dairy products which contain millions of biological transformations of bacteria and yeast. Kale is an incredibly rich source of immune-boosting carotenoid and flavanoid antioxidants including vitamins A which help to buffer the toxic affects of metabolic and dietary acids.

7. Sustainable: Kale grows to maturity in 55 to 60 days versus a cow raised for beef for an average of 18-24 months. Kale can grow in most climates and is relatively easy and low impact to grow at home or on a farm. To raise one pound of beef requires 16 pounds of grain, 11 times as much fossil fuel and more than 2,400 gallons of water.

Chef Shelley has solved the problem by creating in her laboratory kitchen tasty healthful kale chips. To learn more about kale and Shelley's incredible tasty kale chips go to:

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/p-583-kale-chips.aspx

*pH Miracle Citrus Koko Nut Kale Chips and Organic Veggie pHlakes

Sources:

OrganicAuthority.com

http://www.organicauthority.com/sp/newsletter/?utm_campaign=subscribebox&utm_source=OA&utm_medium=OAutm_content=&utm_term=

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/meat-wastes-natural-resources.aspx

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2461/2

http://www.irondisorders.org/iron-deficiency-anemia

http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html

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Dr. Oz Says “Enough is Enough” As He Volunteered at the CareNow Free Clinic In Los Angeles “Failure of Basic Morality in the US”

The CareNow Free Clinic got off to a rocky start but it looks like Dr. Oz had to be here as a consultant as California did not get the provisions implemented to allow doctors to travel over state lines to volunteer here.  The Medical Board messed up and had over a year to get this set up.  At any rate Dr. Oz was there and he wrote about his experiences with a couple of patients. 

“After more than 6,600 people overwhelmed volunteers at a free mobile health clinic in Los Angeles last year, California legislators passed a law making it easier for out-of-state medical personnel to assist with future events.
But just over a week before the massive clinic returns, the state has failed to adopt regulations needed for the additional volunteers to participate. As a result, only medical personnel licensed in California will be able to treat patients and some people could be turned away. It also means Mehmet Oz of "The Dr. Oz Show" won't be able to see patients at the clinic as planned, though he can serve as a consultant.”

Dr. Oz and the Uninsured Lose Again–Free Clinic Coming Next Week to Los Angeles–State Board Has Had Since September of 2010 To Implement Law To Allow Doctors To Cross State Borders to California to Volunteer-Failed

Dr. Oz concludes his comments making a couple good points, dignity and the chance to be healthy are vanishing in the US and it’s time to do something about it.  He also states his lack of confidence and disappointment in the politics and how it’s killing people like the woman he counseled with late stage breast cancer who had lost her job and had not been able to see a doctor for a couple of years.  What if this had been caught sooner? 

The insurance industry and the ability to cover and pay gets worse every day and I report it here on the Quack and do have to agree, time for single payor system as enough is enough.  BD 

The smell was unmistakable. I recognized it immediately – a fungating infection. It’s what happens when a cancer breaks through the skin and the puss oozes out and aerosolizes, producing an unsurprisingly foul odor. This is what late-stage cancer looks like if left unchecked, like many cancers were 100 years ago and still are today in the developing world. But I encountered this case this month, and Yvonne, the woman who sat crying before me, lives in Los Angeles. She lost her job two years ago, and when her insurance expired, she was too ashamed to seek help for a mass she felt in her right breast. Now the tumor had replaced her entire breast and blasted through the skin. Being cared for now — so late in her illness — was surely not what she would have wanted; and just as surely, it could have been avoided. How did we let this happen in America?

I was volunteering at the CareNow Free Clinic in the Los Angeles Sports Arena, where more than 700 doctors, nurses and health professionals had turned out to serve the local community. CareNow is a nonprofit founded to bring medical care to underserved communities, and the Los Angeles event was organized by Don Manelli, the indefatigable president of the group. He was aware of what we would see that day, as was I, having volunteered at similar clinics in Little Rock, Ark., and Moorsville, N.C. We also conducted our own clinic for The Dr. Oz Show in Houston in 2009 and saw more than 1,800 patients in one day. But simply having been down this road before does not mean you’re ever fully prepared for it.

It’s this tide of disease and despair that CareNow exists to fix. The group was informally established by a team of first responders who’d learned the art of swooping in to help after hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires and tsunamis. In May 2009, they held the largest free clinic ever, also in Los Angeles, and a breathtaking 8,000 people showed up. After that, CareNow was formally founded, with the goal of providing care when there is no natural disaster. And on an otherwise unremarkable Friday afternoon in the fall, I was a small part of that effort, gently offering what encouragement I could to a weeping Yvonne.

But we’re not perfecting the law; we’re fighting over it. Politicians dither and people die. Lawyers argue the merits of this or that technical point, and more blameless Americans grow sick and slip away. This isn’t just a failure of politics and policy; it’s a failure of basic morality.

http://ideas.time.com/2011/10/31/enough-is-enough/

Technorati Tags: CareNow,free clinic,healthcare,Los Angeles,doctors,nurses,drugs,food,water,health insurance,volunteers,uninsured,donations,patients,Dr. Oz

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Microsoft Kinect Effect–Sensors Everywhere Including the Hospital OR- Video

This is a very cool commercial and has a little bit of everything in it with using in many environments.  Earlier this year I met Microsoft/XBOX Corporate VP Ilan Spillinger  at the Israel Conference and heard his fascinating story on how the technology come to Microsoft and how it came across his path a couple of times before it got there.  Check out the part to where the surgeon stop and runs over and looks at his images. 

Physical Virtue Solution To Assess and Train Neck Disorders, Microsoft Kinect And More As Shown This Week at the Israel Conference

The Kinect Effect

Here’s a couple more videos showing Kinect in Healthcare.  We have a very expensive million dollar piece of surgical equipment working with a $150 X-box device, amazing. BD

Kinect And daVinci Surgical Robot Do Simulated Surgery Suturing Together (Video)

Microsoft Kinect Working with a PACS Server-Images on Steroids Via Gestures (Video)

One year ago this week, Xbox 360 set out to change the way we interact with games and entertainment with the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360. Sales immediately soared with more than 10 million Kinect sensors sold, setting the Guinness World Record as the fastest-selling consumer electronics device in 60 days along the way. But people were inspired not just to play; but also to discover, innovate and create. We call this "The Kinect Effect."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diy7rkWkDtU

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Kinect,healthcare,science,commercials,sensors,consumer electronics,surgery,imaging,Health IT

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State's Medicaid program will be handled by managed care companies starting tomorrow

Update, Nov. 1: Kentucky Voices for Health, a coalition of more than 250 health care organizations, individuals and advocates, released its views on the move to managed care, which they said must be as much about improving the quality of health care as it is about saving money. "We want Medicaid managed care to be a positive move for both the fiscal health of Kentucky and the health of Kentuckians, so we must continually strive to ensure that all who are eligible have access to high-quality, affordable, effective health care regardless of poverty status or disability," said Dr. Rev. Marian McClure Taylor, KVH board member and executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches.

The transition must also run smoothly, said Jody Mitchell, KVH executive director. "Our priority is ensuring that the 540,000 Medicaid members affected continue to receive the best health care possible, without interruption." (Read more)

About 560,000 Kentuckians on Medicaid will have a new way of getting health care starting tomorrow when the state switches to managed care.

So far, 68 acute-care hospitals, including some out-of-state facilities, have signed on to at least one of three of the managed care organizations chosen earlier this year by the state to run the program, reports Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Excluding the Louisville area, which has long been and will continue to be served by the Passport managed-care organization, there are 96 acute-care hospitals in Kentucky.

"A significant number of hospitals have signed in the last couple of weeks, and we anticipate that these numbers will continue to grow," said Jill Midkiff, spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The state had delayed the switch to managed care, which had been scheduled to begin Oct. 1, by one month to give providers time to sign contracts.

Gov. Steve Beshear said today the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services have approved the transition. "We have worked hard to make the transition as seamless as possible, and I appreciate the collaborative efforts that allowed us to reach this goal under aggressive deadlines."

Switching to managed care has been Beshear's answer to overcoming a Medicaid budget deficit. The program will be run by four managed care companies, which will be paid a predetermined per-patient, per-month amount regardless of what care is needed. Because they won't be paid using a fee-for-service model — believed to be more costly — and will try to streamline care, Beshear (right, photo by H-L's Pablo Alcala) said the move will save $1.3 billion in the next three years.

Delaying the move by another month could have cost the state $9.2 million in savings, Musgrave reports. (Read more)

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Most beverage companies targeting kids, teens even more to sell sugary drinks, despite pledges; Pepsi an exception

A study analyzing the marketing practices for 600 products made by 14 companies found there is more advertising of sugary drinks to children, despite industry pledges to the contrary.

Child and teen exposure to TV ads for full-calorie soda doubled from 2008 to 2010. "This increase was driven by Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. Children were exposed to nearly twice as many TV ads for sugary drinks from these companies," the report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity reads. "In contrast, children were exposed to 22 percent fewer ads for PepsiCo sugary drink products." PepsiCo makes Mountain Dew, so sugary and popular among youth in Eastern Kentucky that dentists have identified a tooth-decay syndrome of "Mountain Dew mouth."

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and Kraft Foods produce two-thirds of the 900 products analyzed.

Coca-Cola accounted for three out of four brand appearances seen by children and teens. Nearly two-thirds of all full-calorie soda or energy drink ads on TV included sponsorship of an athlete, sports league or teams, or an event or cause.

In 2010, black children and Hispanic teens saw 80 to 90 percent more TV ads than white children. Marketing on Spanish-language TV is also growing. In 2010, Hispanic children and teens saw nearly twice the number of sugary drink and energy drink ads as in 2008.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says highly caffeinated energy drinks "have no place in the diet of children and adolescents." But in 2010, teenagers saw 18 percent more TV ads and heard nearly twice as many radio ads for energy drinks than adults did. (Read more)

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Occupy San Francisco Participant - Denied Coverage for Life Saving Procedure for Cancer–Insurer Said It Was Pre-Existing When She Was 14 Years Old Now Is 18

This is very sad as she is not 18 years old and imagine if she could have had that bone marrow transplant 4 years ago!  This is why the the Occupy movements are there with corporate greed alive and well.  This is a big ethics problem by all means. 

ALGORITHM SAYS YOU HAVE A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION

She at least has care from the San Francisco Hospital who monitor and give her pain pills.  You may get tired of that word, but I’m here to drill it into your head as to how these decisions are made.  I have written 3 posts about the Killer Algorithms and here’s one that is currently killing a person.  I really didn’t mean it to actually be killing but rather denying care, but I guess you can wrap the two together and that is what you have.  At 14 years old this is sad as now she is 18 and considered an adult. 

“Attack of the Killer Algorithms” Part 3–Vatican Doesn’t Like It Either–Occupy Wall Street Belongs in New York As They Don’t Do Code or Algorithms in Washington–Only Find time To Talk Abortions

Here’s an example of a state governor who is so digitally illiterate that she let people die who needed organ transplants. This is cold and you know what goes around someday comes around I think.  You have to know how to work with reports and analytics and use them wisely and we don’t seem to see this at all. We have some horrible folks out there who completely lack ethics and the smarts to do anything about doing a better job too.  No that I expect elected officials to be the great while hope but we have today is pathetic and this is how they get grouped as cold and greedy when making decisions as such.  BD 

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer-Rootin’ Tootin’ IT Illiteracy Riding High Lacking Digital Literacy With Budget Algorithmic Solutions to Find Funding for Transplant Patients

As Miran Istina puts it, she has been living on borrowed time since she was 14. Diagnosed with cancer, she was given just months to live after her health insurer refused to provide her with life-saving surgery.

Now 18, Istina, from the city of Sisters in Oregon, has spent the past three weeks living in a tent at the Occupy San Francisco protest and says she will stay there indefinitely, despite her illness.

She was inspired to take part in the protest by the refusal of her insurance company to pay for treatment for her chronic myelogenous leukaemia.

She said: “They denied me on the terms of a pre-existing condition. Seeing as I had only had that insurance for a few months, and I was in early stage two which meant I had to have had it for at least a year, they determined it was a pre-existing condition and denied me healthcare.”

Treatment would require a bone marrow transplant and extensive radiation therapy and chemotherapy, at a cost of several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Coming from an ordinary middle-class background, her family has no way of paying for the surgery that would save her life.

Following her insurer’s refusal, she spent three years travelling the US looking for a healthcare provider who would give her a chance at life.

Health professionals from the San Francisco General Hospital are providing round-the-clock care for Istina, who needs strong pain killers and constant monitoring of her condition. Earlier in the month she suffered a kidney malfunction which required urgent hospital treatment.

http://www.healthcare-now.org/occupy-san-francisco-the-teenager-who-was-refused-cancer-treatment/

Technorati Tags: Occupy,health insurance,pre-existing conditions,cancer,surgery,bone marrow,chemotherapy,San Francisco General,pain,healthcare,illness

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Prime Healthcare Responds to Billing Practices–Flawed Data and Algorithms Once Again-Who Got Sold a Bill of Goods as Kaiser, Stanford & Other Hospitals Had a Ton of Kwashiorkor Malnutrition Billings

I kind of like stories like this as it’s yet one more reminder to clean up the math we use today and a good reason to check out the bill software that is sold to both doctors and hospitals.  I’m not a big fan of Prime Healthcare as they buy hospitals on their last leg with no money and cut out a ton of services and create “Cadillac ER” rooms but on this one I think they made their point.  What are these hospital buying today for risk assessments?  The EHR gets certified but not the rest of it.

Bad Algorithms in Healthcare Payment Systems and Risk Assessments–Did the Hospital Bill Fraudulently or Were They Sold Formulas That Did Not Conform

Kwashiorkor is the big diagnosis case here and heck even Kaiser and Stanford had a bunch of these at one of their facilities.

Prime Healthcare Billing Processes Under Question as 25% of Medicare Patients are Showing Malnutrition- Profit Algorithms?

It’s the software and the algorithms that do this based on matching clinical input, but duh folks!    Nobody wants to talk math and algorithms and instead we get stories as such in the news that “dances” around math and tries to tell a story, pathetic by all means but it starts in Congress with the digital illiterate pace they set.  You can read on to where a hospital had the same issue with too many of these types of diagnoses in Maryland…If we had just a few more folks that would entertain math we would be miles ahead! 

Duh!  It’s the software and the algorithms folks…want me to repeat this one more time???  In this case it appears to be the software from 3M at the heart of most of the issues.  Here’s another good example, rely on those Doctor rating sites…well look again at the flawed data…

HealthGrades And Other MD Rating and Referral Sites List “Dead Doctors” on Their MD Information Pages And Even Include the Insurance Plans the “Dead Doctors” Honor

I’m not going to fault California Watch as they are just using flawed information given to them as they are here to watch out for us over all, but I bet they might just join in on this issue of “flawed data” as it creates conflict where it should not exist. As a matter of fact if you are still one of those naïve folks out there that believes every report and all the statistics today, listen in to the audio below and get up to snuff here as marketing and algorithms for profit have diluted using math for being 100% available to prove accuracy.  There’s a ton of healthcare addressed here.

“Numbers Don’t Lie, But People Do”–Radio Interview from Charles Siefe–Journalists Take Note, He Addresses How Marketing And Bogus Statistics Are Sources of Problems That Mislead the Public & Government

Actually this was a good response for Prime Healthcare in bringing this out into the open as it seems like of late the Medical Quack is doing a lot of talking about “flawed and unethical use of data and the algorithms” out there today.  Somebody needs to do it so I guess this blog is the place.  I just keep seeing it so that is why of late it’s in the headlines here a lot as we don’t live in denial around this blog and those who do will not feel comfortable reading for long sadly as they will miss the education process.  BD 

ONTARIO, Calif., Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- California Watch has once again relied on faulty data, illogical comparisons, and baseless conclusions in its attempt to smear Prime Healthcare by comparing certain billing practices at Kernan Hospital, alleged (but not proven) in United States v. Kernan Hospital, to the billing practices of Prime Healthcare's hospitals.

There is no logical basis for any claim that the billing practices of Kernan Hospital parallel Prime Healthcare's billing practices. For example, the lawsuit alleges that Kernan put in place its own computer system. Prime Healthcare's hospitals utilize coding software developed by 3M, which is widely used across the United States and accepted by Medicare, and have not modified this software in any way. Likewise, Prime Healthcare's hospitals utilize practices that are consistent with the principles adopted by AHIMA including those related to physician queries.

Comparing billing practices of Maryland hospitals and California hospitals compares apples to oranges because Maryland relies on a different reimbursement methodology system than utilized in California (i.e., APR-DRG versus MS-DRG). Also, Maryland's APR-DRG methodology applies to both Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement in Maryland. Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program) does not utilize a DRG reimbursement methodology.

In addition, as Prime Healthcare advised California Watch on March 3, 2011, the publicly available data for California tells a much different story:

• According to the 2009 OSHPD Data, Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California (an area with an average age of 56) reported 240 cases of Kwashiorkor in 2009 with 89.58% of the cases occurring in patients 35 years old or older and 62.1% (or 149 out of 240) of the cases occurring in patients 65 years old or older.
• According to the 2009 OSHPD Data, Kaiser Foundation Hospital – Anaheim reported 146 cases of Kwashiorkor with 96.58% of the cases occurring in patients 35 years old or older and 58.2% (or 85 out of 146) of the cases occurring in patients 65 years old or older.
• According to the 2009 OSHPD Data, St. Joseph's Hospital – Orange reported 138 cases of Kwashiorkor with 89.86% of the cases occurring in patients 35 years old or older and 61.6% (or 85 out of 138) of the cases occurring in patients 65 years old or older.
• According to the 2009 OSHPD Data, Stanford University Hospital reported 70 cases of Kwashiorkor with no less than 87.14% (61 out of 70) of the cases occurring in patients 35 years old or older and 34.3% of the cases occurring in patients 65 years old or older.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/prime-healthcare-responds-to-california-watch-legal-comparison-132488353.html

Technorati Tags: Prime Healthcare,hospitals,billing,fraud,balance billing,Kwashiorkor,sickness,malnutrition,seniors,Medicare,data,Health IT

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Cyber predators have easier access to children because of phones, video games

Child predators have it easier than ever to entice their young victims, due to the ever-growing accessibility of the Internet. "It's a lot easier now than everybody has the Internet in their pocket," Lexington Police Detective David Flannery told Karla Ward of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Every day that we think of a way to combat it, people are thinking of a way to get around us," Flannery said. "It changes every day, and you have to keep up with it."

Using the World Wide Web to lure children for sex acts has skyrocketed since 1998, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 707 reports of people trying to entice children via the Internet. In 2008, there were 8,787 reports.

"Computers and cell phones remain the primary means of communication, but game systems including Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii also can be connected to the Internet, giving predators another way to gain access to children," Ward reports.

Though parents are becoming more aware, more education is needed, said Erin May Roth, an assistant U.S. attorney and the Project Safe Childhood coordinator for the Eastern District of Kentucky. "What they don't really think about is the fact that their kids are going to sleep with their phone," she said.

Flannery is the only police officer in Lexington assigned full-time to investigate Internet crimes against children. While he does not go into detail about his methods to track down predators, the concept involves pretending. "Anything that a kid can do, we can do," Flannery said.

Sometimes officers from several agencies and departments work together. The Kentucky State Police administers an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the state attorney general's office has a similar unit, and, because cases can involve a number of jurisdictions, sometimes the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the U.S. Postal Service, the Secret Service and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement are involved.

Mother Frieda Curry, right, discovered her 14-year-old daughter was entangled with a 38-year-old man who initially pretended to be 16. She contacted the Richmond Police Department and found more than 40 text messages and 10,000 pages of messages and videos on the computer. "I was frantic," she said. "I was in the worst state I've ever been in." (Photo by H-L's David Perry)

But Curry, whose daughter is now in college, dealt with the problem and the predator was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 10 years in prison. Thinking about the crimes can be difficult, but "only by shining a light on the problem will we ever hope to find a solution for it," said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Lou Anna Red Corn. (Read more)

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Brain-injured man disappeared when home staff wasn't looking

On the day of his disappearance, a resident of a personal-care home who was found dead four weeks later had not been checked on by staff for nearly three hours, reports Valarie Honeycutt Spears of the Lexington Herald-Leader, citing documents from a state investigation.

Additionally, Falmouth Nursing Home did not have a policy to make sure residents were under constant supervision and "the facility failed to establish" one, investigators found.

Larry Joe Lee, right, was a ward of the state and had a brain injury stemming from a childhood accident. He was "schizophrenic, bipolar and diabetic," Spears writes. He disappeared from the nursing home Aug. 4. His body was found Sept. 3 near the Licking River by bow hunters. The cause of his death has not yet been determined.

Spears' calls to the  home were not returned. It has since submitted a plan of correction to the state, which includes professional development for staff and new policies to keep track of patients' whereabouts.

"Since Lee's death, advocates and state lawmakers have been questioning whether personal care homes are the appropriate plate for people with brain injuries," Spears reports. Republican Sen. Jimmy Higdon, who comes from Lee's hometown of Lebanon, said he is on a fact-finding mission to see what changes need to be made to prevent a similar occurrence from happening. (Read more)

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The Dr Robert O Young Italiano New Biology/pH Miracle Tour Schedule

The following is Dr. Robert O. Young's Italiano New Biology/pH Miracle Tour Conference schedule - The Science of the New Biology in Achieving Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Health and Vitality with a pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet.

The science of The New Biology by Dr Robert O Young states that "Over- Acidification of the body (latent tissue acidosis) is the single underlying cause of ALL sickness and disease." Sickness and disease is not about the body cells or tissues or organs, its is ALL about the hydration and the quality of the fluids of the body that surround the cells that make up our tissues and organs. Simply put . . . the cell is only as healthy as the fluids it is bathed in. Viruses, bacteria, yeast and mold are not the cause of disease; they are the expression of tissue acidosis. Cells are not attacked by viruses, bacteria, yeast or mold; they become yeasty or moldy, ferment and break down because of their own unhealth acidic environment. The following schedule of Conferences will explore how you can reclaim the proper alkaline pH balance of your own environment and thereby ensure a natural improvement in your health and vitality by starting an alkaline lifestyle and diet. Dr. Young's foundational hypotheisis is that the human organism is alkaline by design and acidic by function.

Schedule of Conferences Throughout Italy October 30th through November 12th, 2011

October 30th, 2011

Location: Ti-sana - Via Parrocchiale, 2 (Ariate-Calco - Prov. di Lecco)

Sponsored by: Erica d'Angelo

Contact Number: 347/5014866

Conference Time: 16:00

October 31st, 2011

Location: Punto Sereno A.S.D. - Viale degli Alpini, 15 (Vigonza)

Sponsored by: Sicor - Moviment sereno - Association Vita Piu

Contact Number: 049/8097237 - 329/5912770

Conference Time: 21:00

November 2nd, 2011

Location: il Centro Olistico - via Ca' Blanca, 34 bis (Busto Arstizio)

Sponsored by: Meglioinsalute.com

Contact Number: 0331/622170 - info@ilcentrolistico.com

Conference Time: 20:30

November 3rd, 2011

Location: CNR - Via Pierro Gobetti, 101 - Aula 216 (Area della ricerca, Bologna)

Sponsored by: Lipinutragen - IMO - Meglioinsulute.com - Laboratorio Analisi Balsambro - Royal Green

Contact Number: 051/6398298 - 051/240218

Conference Time: 20:30

November 4th, 2011

Location: Paduca Universita - departimento di Chimica Biologica

Sponsored by: Professor Fabio Vianello

Contact Number: 02/45076876

Conference Time: 20:30

November 4th, 2011

Location: Centro Asiagem di Rimini - via Marecchiese, 41 (Rimini)

Sponsored by: BIS/Macro - Asiagem

Contact Number: 366/1680617 - 0547/347633

Conference Time: 14:00

November 5th, 2011

Location: Victo ia Residence Palace - Via Rossetti, 24 (Latina)

Sponsored by: Agrilatina - Papero Verde - Mosaico della Vita

Contact Number: 348/9164051 - 393/3329700

Conference Time: 16:30

November 6th, 2011

Location: Hotel Tiberio - Via Lattanzio, 51 (Roma)

Sponsored by: NBBF

Contact Number: 06/97840043

Conference Time: 10:00

November 6th, 2011

Location: Casa del'Aviatore - Viale del'Universita, 20 (Roma)

Sponsored by: Raffasia Rosa, freebioenergy it, Ass. European Consumers

Contact Number: 327/0497859

Conference Time: 16:30

November 7th, 2011

Location: Agriturisamo tonuta di Fassia - Loc S.M. Maddalana, 46 (Gubbio)

Sponsored by: Pero Senatore Musini - Roberta Caspani

Contact Number: 348/7424289 - 075/9279275

Conference Time: 16:00

November 8th, 2011

Location: Park Hotel Villa Cesi - Via delle Terre Bianche, 1 (Impruneta)

Sponsored by: Meglioinsalute.com e NA ME.

Contact Number: 02/450768767

Conference Time: 20:30

November 9th, 2011

Location: Istituto Superiore di Sonita - Viale Regina Elena, 299 (Roma)

Sponsored by: Dr. Stefano Fais

Contact Number: 06/49903195

Conference Time: 12:00

November 10th, 2011

Location: Via Nazionale dei Trulli (Fasano)

Sponsored by: Liouis de Fasano, Ostuni, Marina Franca

Contact Number: 380/4308741

Conference Time: 17:30

November 11th, 2011

Location: Universita di Bail - Aula 1 - Departimento di chinica (Campus Universitario)

Sponsored by: Ecobiotecnica

Contact Number: 380/5822587

Conference Time: 17:00

November 12th, 2011

Location: Una Hotel Regina - Strada Provinciale 57 Torre a Mare (Bari)

Sponsored by: Asiagem

Contact Number: 0833/861070

Conference Time: 17:00

The public is welcome at any Dr. Young Events as scheduled above. Please contact the above sponosr references to register for each event.

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Arizona Pain Specialists First US Pain Clinic To Begin Stem Cell Clinical Trials To Regenerate Deteriorating Discs To Reverse Damage to the Spine & Relieve Back Pain

Back in June of this year the FDA approved the trial to treat chronic lower back pain with stem cells.  Mesoblast is sponsoring the trial and the company is located in Australia.  

Mesoblast Gets FDA Approval to Begin Advanced Clinical Trials Using Stem Cells to Treat Chronic Lower Back Pain 

Mesoblast in September was given European approval for another clinical trial for treating major heart attack victims.

Europe Gives Mesoblast Approval for Clinical Trials of “Off the Shelf” Stem Cell Treatments for Major Heart Attack Victims

The team at Arizona Pain Specialists (http://www.arizonapain.com) has been selected for an FDA-cleared adult stem cell study on advanced treatment for chronic low back pain. The study will offer this promising alternative to patients at the Arizona Pain Specialist’s clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The treatment offered through the trial study may unlock a vital solution for many people suffering from debilitating pain. Approximately 15% of people in industrialized countries have chronic back pain lasting more than six months. Patients with pain from degenerative discs may now be able to avoid major back surgery. This new treatment involves a single stem cell injection administered into a degenerative disc through the use of adult donor bone marrow stem cells (not derived from embryos).

The selection of Arizona Pain Specialists for this study strengthens the organization’s reputation as leaders in pain management. Physicians at the practice are thrilled to have been chosen to research this innovative biotech treatment.

A global regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast Limited will sponsor the trial study.
Mesoblast’s recent preclinical results indicated that their technology reverses the degenerative process and regenerates disc materials. Mesoblast is world renowned for developing novel regenerative medicine therapies with the aim of improving quality of life and increasing survival of patients with major, unmet clinical needs.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/10/prweb8917784.htm

Technorati Tags: Arizona Pain Specialists,Mesoblast,healthcare,clinical trials,stem cells,pain management,back pain

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Hawaii Medical Center Searching for Buyers–If Not Center Could Close As Early as November-Only Hospital in the State Capable of Performing Transplant Surgeries

The center is aggressively looking for a buyer to keep the doors open.  If a buyer is not found they could begin moving patients to other facilities in November.  The hospital is also turning to the government for potential help with emergency actions. 

The hospital has already gone bankrupt and there is too much debt so the reorganization won’t work.  BD

HONOLULU -- Hawaii Medical Center West treats a population stretching across Leeward Oahu and the Ewa plain, with patients also traveling to HMC East in Liliha. The financially ailing hospitals are aggressively looking for a buyer to take over from Saint Francis Healthcare System. Sen. Will Espero said if the hospital isn't sold by early November, it is in jeopardy of shutting down.

Jerry Correa, chief operating officer of St. Francis Health Care System released this statement to KITV4, saying:

“This was one of the most difficult decisions we’ve had to make. We were all hoping for a better outcome, but taking on these financial responsibilities would put our current programs and services at risk and become a burden on our mission of creating healthy communities in the Spirit of Christ’s healing ministry.”

http://www.kitv.com/news/29607115/detail.html

Technorati Tags: Hospital,reorganization,medical school,government,healthcare,hospital,debt,buyers,medical,patients

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Kentucky court hearing more than 100 cases about drug that caused heart arrhythmia

More than 100 lawsuits filed by people who say they or their family members were hurt by Darvon, Darvocet or other drugs that contain the ingredient propoxyphene have been heard in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky since August. So far, none of the cases originated in Kentucky, but stem from people living in other parts of the country.

The effort is the result of U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves being selected by a federal panel to handle all cases pertaining to the subject, reports Jennifer Hewlett of the Lexington Herald-Leader. "It's basically in the interest of judicial economy so that multiple judges aren't handling the same issue," said deputy U.S. District Clerk Susan Baker.

Last last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals to withdraw Darvon and Darvocet from the market after receiving evidence propoxyphene can cause serious or fatal heart rhythm abnormalities. Now, thousands of suits are being filed by people who took the drug. "Our issue is people took a bad drug that hurt people and they want to have their day in court," said attorney Richard Schulte of Dayton, Ohio, whose firm is dealing with 2,000 cases or potential cases. "We're looking for justice for our clients. You're not supposed to die when you take a pill for mild pain." (Read more)

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The Brain Controls Insulin Action

Insulin regulates blood glucose primarily by two mechanisms:

1. Suppressing glucose production by the liver
2. Enhancing glucose uptake by other tissues, particularly muscle and liver

Since the cells contained in liver, muscle and other tissues respond directly to insulin stimulation, most people don't think about the role of the brain in this process.  An interesting paper just published in Diabetes reminds us of the central role of the brain in glucose metabolism as well as body fat regulation (1).  Investigators showed that by inhibiting insulin signaling in the brains of mice, they could diminish insulin's ability to suppress liver glucose production by 20%, and its ability to promote glucose uptake by muscle tissue by 59%.  In other words, the majority of insulin's ability to cause muscle to take up glucose is mediated by its effect on the brain. 

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Magnotherapy is yet another natural cure

Magnotherapy is yet another natural cure.Magnets placed in the correct way could help to cure many diseases and illnesses and ailments are caused by electrical imbalance within the body. When magnets are worn close to the pulse they react to the 4% iron content within the blood, triggering tiny electrical impulses, similar to the body's own natural repair signals.
This magnetism also attracts blood directly to the areas within the body that need healing, and carrying away damaged and toxic material which cause pain or distress to the patient.

It also helps to stimulate the production of the body's own natural painkiller, endorphine, which not only relieves pain, relaxes the body's stimuli, thus negating the effects of stress, migraine and other pressure induced ailments.

Magnotherapy can treat the following conditions  : Hey fever, Insomnia, Stress, Anxiety, Neck Pains, Tachycardia, Tennis elbow, Morning sickness, High cholesterol, Digestive problems, Pain, Arthritis, Painful periods, Rheumatism, Joint pain, Phlebitis, Ankle pains, Gout, Varicose veins, Knee pain, Poor circulation, Lack of mobility, Sciatica, Wrist pain, Back Pains, High blood pressure, Muscular pains, Respiration problems, Frozen shoulder, Migraine headaches, Unexplained tiredness, Asthma.

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United HealthCare in New York to Disclose More Data Used to Justify Premium Increases–But You Can Almost Bet We Won’t See the Algorithms That Create the Data

This is getting to be such a hot topic today as you can no longer 100% rely on math to prove accuracy as with algorithmic formulas it can be marketed, flawed, you name it.  This is great that consumers will have additional access but think of the marketing too, it’s done to help them have consumers feel that they somehow deserve and needs these increases.  The marketeers of the web are getting smarter all the time. 

Even in the financial industry, people want to see those algorithms to find out how reports and analytics are calculated and this for good reason as you can’t touch, see or feel one of them, much less talk to one and the algorithms work on servers 24/7 every day making decisions and providing information on your computer screen.  Most of them are good guidance for decision making processes but again we have those created for profit and it’s hard sometimes to tell the difference.  This brings me around once again to my favorite NYU professor and his talk about “Numbers don’t lie, but people do”. Not saying that anyone is lying here but when you look back at the 15 year lawsuit to where doctors were paid less based on the United data base for out of networks services, this tells us to ask questions and to not assume when it comes to math and algorithms, in other words ask questions and ask about the math as 15 years of payments on flawed data was a long time before the math issues were finally resolved with the low balling rates that were used and that the other insurers also subscribed to.

“Numbers Don’t Lie, But People Do”–Radio Interview from Charles Siefe–Journalists Take Note, He Addresses How Marketing And Bogus Statistics Are Sources of Problems That Mislead the Public & Government

If you need a reminder on skewed numbers and algorithms, here’s the case that was settled in 2010 due to the work of Andrew Cuomo.  He found the flawed data so when more information comes available we need to ask questions and not be naïve and gullible.  BD

AMA Announced Settlement of Class Action Suit of $350 Million with Ingenix (United Healthcare)

Ingenix Data Base Has Some Long Reaching Legal Tentacles with Aetna, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Humana

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York's largest health insurance company agreed Tuesday to publicly disclose more data used to justify premium increases.

The agreement with UnitedHealth Group is part of a statewide effort by state Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky to make rate increase filings public for review by policy holders and consumer advocates. That could result in reducing the number of requested hikes and provide a better chance for consumers to challenge the requests.

Lawsky is now seeking greater disclosure from all companies operating in the state.

"We got here and said, 'This is crazy,'" Lawsky told The Associated Press. "We are supposed to be getting comment from consumers and they don't understand what's in the filing.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP1f19c82204f44201bab80ad73fdc8933.html

Technorati Tags: health insurance,healthcare,healthcare reform,House subcommittee,rescission,cancellations,Health Net,UnitedHealthCare,Ingenix,algorithms,transparancyAMA

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Brooklyn Hospital Sells Off Its HMO To Amerigroup –They Need the Money for Health IT Updates and Pensions–All Four Brooklyn Hospitals Could Face Bankruptcy

Is this Health IT expense going to burst one day?  Time will tell but we have the sale again of yet another HMO and they need the money to keep the doors open so the Medicaid HMO was sold for $85 million.  In addition the state is looking to figure out how to handle the 4 Brooklyn hospitals that are in the red, fix the finances somehow or let all go bankrupts. 

Smaller HMOs are being acquired by larger HMOs in the US, either than or they are being bought by insurance companies.  We had one large purchase as such in Orange county California not too long ago.  It’s funny how we keep hearing on the other side of the coin that Health IT companies can grow rich quickly, but look at the clients, doctors and hospitals who’s incomes are shrinking so is this possible?  How long will the money last?  BD 

United Healthcare To Buy Huge Chunk of Orange County, California Managed Care Business with the Purchase of Monarch Healthcare–Subsidiary Watch

Some of the insurance companies now have a large number of Health IT subsidiaries and so with one company they cut compensation and then march in with the Health IT subsidiary to sell them more software to keep what business they have left.  United with all the various subsidiaries is one carrier that fits into that scheme in many areas as they own so many Health IT firms.  BD 

Subsidiary Watch-Corporate Conglomerate Insurers Reduce Compensation Contracts Using One Subsidiary Then Market Same MDs With Another Subsidiary in Health IT

A Brooklyn charitable hospital that's also one of New York's largest Medicaid HMO's is selling off its managed care business to a for-profit company.

Pending state approval, Lutheran Medical Center will get $85 million from the sale of Health Plus, which serves 320,000 patients on Medicaid and Medicare. CEO Wendy Goldstein said the hospital needs the money for workers' pensions, technology updates and the overall balance sheet.

"We very much needed an infusion of capital to stabilize the medical center and the whole system," Goldstein said, "and capital is very difficult to come by for safety net providers."

Lutheran is selling Health Plus to Amerigroup, a publicly traded company from Virginia that already has a small presence here. New York State Health officials regularly score Amerigroup "below average" in various categories — such as "Adults Access to Preventive Care" — often several points below Health Plus, the HMO AmeriGroup is acquiring.

Lutheran is one of several Brooklyn hospitals that is struggling to keep its doors open — though at least it’s slightly in the black.

http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/oct/25/brooklyn-hospital-sells-hmo/

Technorati Tags: hospital,HMO,Brooklyn,money,Heatlh IT,cash flow,providers technology,Amerigroup,managed care

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California Stem Cell Company in Irvine Takes Over Cancer Program Developed at Hoag Hospital in Orange County For Treating Skin Cancer

The company is focused on working with stem cells and also has another division that creates tools for predictive toxicology screening, in other words drug screening.  The company also has partnerships with Johns Hopkins, UC Irvine and a few other healthcare organizations. 

“California Stem Cell (CSC) is a privately held company focused on the manufacture of high-purity human cells for therapeutic development and clinical application.  CSC is currently developing stem cell based therapies for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease).”

This particular treatment seeks out the the worst type of melanoma and destroy the cells that break away from the initial tumor and are found elsewhere in the body.  This is the first time the company has acquired a treatment program that was developed at a hospital.  BD 

An Irvine stem-cell company is taking charge of a Hoag Hospital cancer program that trains its patients' own immune systems to attack tumors.

The program, acquired by California Stem Cell Inc., specializes in treating malignant skin cancer by targeting the stem cells of the cancer itself -- that is, the part of a cancerous tumor that is active and growing.

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has been developing the treatment over the past 20 years.

The patient's own tumor stem cells, as well as immune cells, are purified from their blood.

The immune cells are then "taught" to recognize the cancer stem cells, and injected back into the patient's body.

The treatment targets the worst type of skin cancer, malignant melanoma. And it can seek out and destroy "seed" cells that break away from the initial tumor and lie dormant elsewhere in the body -- out of reach of traditional cancer treatments.

UC Irvine researcher Hans Keirstead, who developed the first human embryonic stem-cell treatment for spinal cord injuries to be tested on patients, is chairman of the company's science advisory board, Airress said.

The company also has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, a disease that typically kills its victims in their first years of life.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/stem-323592-cells-cancer.html

Technorati Tags: stem cells,Hoag Hospital,healthcare,cancer,skin cancer,UC Irvine,science,tumors,biotech

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Xigris Drug for Treatment of Sepsis Being Withdrawn the Market–Failure to Show Survival Benefits

The results of a clinical trial showed the results compared to the use of a placebo and benefits were not attained.  It is the only drug on the market to treat Sepsis in this manner.  The drug was approved back in 2001 so it has been around for a while and thus I’m sure many were given the drug.

All treatments currently being given to patients should be halted and the product returned to where it was purchased and no new patients should be given the drug.  I have to agree with another blogger, the Happy Hospitalist on his statement below:  BD

“I would personally like to take this opportunity to request the FDA and Eli Lilly remit payment for all hospital expenses previously incurred by using this apparently worthless $10,000 per 72 hour infusion drug.”

Eli Lilly has announced that the medicine Xigris is being withdrawn from the market because a study conducted showed that, after treatment with Xigris, no statistically significant reduction in mortality among patients with severe septicemia was noted. Xigris is still the only medicine approved for the treatment of severesepticemia. The recently concluded study was launched by Eli Lilly in 2008 andsought to help improve the selection of patients with severe septicemia fortreatment with Xigris; this was not achievable, possibly due to the selectionmethod used. We are not aware of any use of BioPorto's selection method (theAPC-PCI assay) in the study conducted by Eli Lilly.

The results of the published study, and the withdrawal of Xigris from themarket, show there is a very great need for a selection method to selectpatients with severe septicemia for treatment. BioPorto's APC-PCI (ActivatedProtein C/Protein C Inhibitor) test, which in a smaller study was demonstratedto be suitable for the selection of septicemia patients for treatment, willtherefore be even more relevant for the correct selection of patients withsevere septicemia, either in terms of bringing Xigris back to the market orwith a view to developing new methods for the treatment of severe septicemia.Several noteworthy studies are currently in progress with a view to developingnew treatments of severe septicemia, and accurate patient selection will bedecisive in connection with the development of new therapies.

http://www.cisionwire.com/bioporto--a-s-g/r/withdrawal-of-the-medicine-xigris-from-the-market,e268440

Technorati Tags: Xigris,Lilly,FDA,drugs,Sepsis,heatlhcare,hospital,refund,patients,ICU,studies

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Giuliani backs P'Pool, citing attorney general candidate's opposition to health-care reform law

Republican Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City and presidential candidate in 2007-08, has endorsed GOP nominee Todd P'Pool in the race for attorney general, citing the candidate's "eagerness to join the legal fight against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul," reports Bruce Schreiner of The Associated Press.

"You've got to elect Todd as your next attorney general because you want to put Kentucky on the side of those states that say 'enough' with how far left our government has gone ... on health care policy," Giuliani said at a rally.

Twenty-six states are "challenging the law's requirements that people buy health insurance or pay a penalty on their taxes" starting in 2014, Schreiner reports. All of the attorneys general in the case are Republicans, except those in Iowa, Nevada and Wyoming. (In some states, attorneys general are appointed.) The case is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Conway, who is seeking a second term, has defended the basic approach of the law, bringing into coverage most of the uninsured who now use emergency rooms to get care, while saying parts of it need changing. Giuliani said, "Your attorney general has Kentucky in a position, by not opposing it, of supporting Obamacare." (Read more)

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What would solve primary-care crisis, create jobs and help banks? Building community health centers, writer contends

The federal health-care reform law will mean a glut of new patients who will be newly insured and bog down the primary-care system. Thousands of construction workers are out of jobs as the economy remains stagnant. And the banking sector is still reluctant to lend. The answer to all three problems? Build more community health centers, writes Jeffrey Leonard in an opinion piece in The Washington Monthly. (Photo: Vista, Calif., Community Clinic)

"The way to meet the flood of new patients coming down the pike is to expand the nation's existing network of community health centers — nonprofit clinics that offer primary care to the medically under-served, often in rural areas or inner cities," writes Leonard, CEO of the Global Environment Fund and chairman of the magazine's board of directors. "But to get this done, there's no need to appropriate billions more in direct government spending. Rather, there is a way to lure skittish banks in lending private capital to finance a health-center construction boom in all 50 states, simply by tweaking the language of an existing federal lending program."

Though community health centers generally have difficulty raising their own funds to expand or build facilities, in part because they serve uninsured, low-income patients who can't donate to building projects, they are sound investments, Leonard contends, pointing out only "one or two" of the 1,200 community health centers in America today have ever defaulted on a loan.

Still, they have trouble getting loans from banks, even once they have been able to raise a chunk of funds, in large part because centers "in an economically distressed inner-city neighborhood serving a mixture of Medicaid patients and the uninsured, or one in a depressed heartland town where real estate prices are spiraling downward" are seen as a risk, Leonard explains.

Leonard suggests the centers be eligible for the Small Business Administration's 504 loan program, in which a small business asks a non-profit lender to issue "low-interest, fixed-rate, government-backed bonds to finance up to 40 percent of the project," Leonard writes. As of now, the loan program is only open to some for-profit businesses. But Congress could change that, thus opening up possibilities. Moreover, the loan program is "routine and efficient to process" and the "interest rates are among the lowest on the market," Leonard contends.

Another option would be for construction companies and real estate developers to put up the equity themselves, build the facilities and then rent them out to nonprofits "on a long-term lease or through various lease-to-own arrangements." "Indeed, hungry developers and construction firms would find any number of ways to get the hammers swinging," Leonard writes.

Overall, it's a win-win, Leonard argues."It's hard to imagine Congress appropriating any more direct spending to fuel the construction of health centers," he writes. "But there's no good reason why they shouldn't change a few words in a statute to achieve the same end. Not only would it quickly create much-needed jobs in the construction trades, it would also spark economic activity over the long run in some of the places in America that need it most." (Read more)

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Boys should get HPV vaccine to keep from spreading virus

A federal committee has recommended that boys receive the human papilloma virus vaccine, already recommended for girls, to fight the sexually transmitted virus that is known to cause cervical cancer. The vaccine could also protect boys against genital warts and anal cancer.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices released its recommendation Wednesday. It is the first time there has been a public push for boys to receive the vaccine, though it has been licensed for male use for the past two years.

Dr. Baretta Casey, director of Cervical Cancer-Free Kentucky, applauded the move. "To stem the spread of the HPV virus and the many problems it causes is the best thing," she said.

The vaccine is usually given at the age of 11 or 12 and is only effective if it is given before a person becomes sexually active. As many as 80 percent of men and women are infected with HPV during the course of their lives, but most do not develop symptoms or illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

The vaccine has been met with reluctance by parents, some of whom fear it would encourage sexual activity. Last year, just 49 percent of adolescent girls nationwide had received at least the first of its three doses, and only a third had gotten all three. In Kentucky, only 25 percent of adolescent females had received the first dose, and fewer than 11 percent had received all three doses.

Casey attributed parents' hesitation to a fear that the vaccine is harmful, though research shows otherwise. "It's our hope that people understand that this is a vaccine that has been around for quite a while now," she said. "The effects of the immunization are similar to other vaccines that we currently give our children. And if I can give my child a vaccine that would prevent them from ever developing cancer, I'm for it." On average, 391 Kentucky women develop cervical cancer and 66 die.

The cost of the vaccine — about $110 for each of the three doses — is also believed to be a factor in the low vaccination numbers, though Casey said Medicaid covers it, as do major health insurance providers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield and Anthem. Though the numbers are low, Casey said she is seeing some boys being vaccinated in Kentucky "but it's not a widely done practice." (Read more)

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PIkeville Medical Center agrees to pay $36,000 to settle claim that it improperly billed Medicare

Pikeville Medical Center has agreed to pay more than $36,000, but does not have to admit any wrongdoing, to settle a lawsuit that accused it of improperly billing Medicare.

The suit was brought by Dr. Michael Fletcher, director of the pain management clinic from May 2005 to July 2007. "The hospital used improper billing codes for the pain management clinic, which indicated services were provided in a private physician's office, rather than a clinic," reports Brett Barrouquere of The Associated Press.

Fletcher alleged the same was being done at the hospital's radiation oncology and medical oncology units and told hospital administration as much, but nothing was done. Fletcher will receive $7,228 as part of the settlement of the suit, filed under the federal False Claims Act. (Read more)

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