News
Minnesota WIC program offers healthier choices to women, infants and children
The Minnesota Department of Health Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program today announced it will begin offering new, healthy food choices on August 1. The 141,000 women, infants and young children participating in the program will be able to receive a variety of healthier foods, including fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables; whole grain products such as bread, tortillas, brown rice and oatmeal; jarred baby foods and soy beverages; and tofu.
Increase in Older Couples Divorcing Due to Medical Bills
A study reported that 62% of American bankruptcies are linked to medical bills. These medical bankruptcies had increased nearly 50% in just six years. 78% of these people actually had health insurance, but the gaps and inadequacies left them unprotected. Lack of health insurance causes 18,000 unnecessary deaths a year. That’s one person slipping through the cracks and dying every half an hour.
Rare but severe tick-borne illnesses found in Minnesota
Two more diseases from ticks have been found in Minnesota. Powassan encephalitis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, two serious tick-borne diseases, have been identified in Minnesota residents, state health officials said today. More commonly occurring tick-borne diseases in Minnesota include Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis.
How Obesity Policies are Failing in America
Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, a report released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). In addition, the percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.
Klobuchar's plan provides incentive for high quality rather than high quantity health care
Minnesota already provides high-quality, low-cost health care. We hope that new reforms will reward the kind of accountability and innovation that our providers exemplify. Sen. Amy Klobuchar recently introduced legislation aimed at changing the way Medicare pays physicians across the country by creating incentives for providing the right care for patients, not just more care.
Health officials remind Minnesotans to practice healthy swimming behaviors
Germs on and in swimmers' bodies can make people sick. In this article, Health officials shed light on how we can help prevent the spread of illnesses in swimming pools.
Japanese rock pool mosquitoes become established in MN
Faced with a new mosquito species that could transmit disease in Minnesota, state health and mosquito control officials are urging residents to rid their property of water-holding containers.
Letting the patient call the shots
The New York Times interviews Dr. Berwick, a Harvard pediatrician and president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Mass., about his definition of patient-centered health care, the effect of such a system on doctors, and actions patients could take now to improve their care.
Slump pushing the cost of drugs out of reach
Even with the Medicare drug benefit, even with the prevalence of low-cost generics, even with loss-leader discounting by big chains, many Americans still find themselves unable to afford the prescription medications that manage their life-threatening conditions.
Nearly 1 in 4 Minnesotans without health insurance in 2007-08
Nearly one in four Minnesotans went without health insurance for some period during 2007-2008, a national advocacy group said Tuesday, a sign that rising costs are putting medical coverage beyond the reach of more consumers and employers.
Clinics fall short in treatment of transgender patients, doctors
Only 10 in 166 outpatient clinics and hospitals got a perfect score on a set of model equal-treatment policies for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients and health professionals, according to a May report released by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Assn. and the Human Rights Campaign advocacy group.
Weight watching on the web
Users of social media find that they're more successful in reaching their health and fitness goals when they are supported and held accountable.
Curbing health bills brings different costs
Five years after their introduction, high-deductible insurance policies linked to health savings accounts have delivered on their promise. People are thinking twice before seeing a doctor. They're asking about prices and shopping around. As a result, growth in medical spending in Minnesota has slowed dramatically and, in some cases, stalled. But one important question remains unanswered: Are people cutting essential care as well as unnecessary treatment?
