Medicaid – MedClient.com

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Affordable Care Act

Staff — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 00:11:54 +0000

A victory today for President Obama as the supreme court rules in favor of health care for everyone.

The mandate would require all Americans to purchase health insurance and those who don’t will be penalized with a tax, which in effect, would be the cost of a years worth of coverage.

The court ruled that congress has the right to levy a tax on the citizens of the United States.

The dissenters including Anthony M. Kennedy, contend that the law is overreaching.

The majority, lead Chief Justice Roberts, agree that the Affordable Care Act is Constitutional but did substantially limit the law requiring the expansion of Medicaid by the states.

The court’s ruling, seen as one of the most significant in decades, is a crucial milestone for the law, allowing almost all of its far-reaching changes to roll forward. Several of its notable provisions have already been put in place in the past two years, and more are imminent. Ultimately, it is intended to end the United States’ status as the only rich country with large numbers of uninsured people, by expanding both the private market and Medicaid.

President Obama spoke from the White House shortly after the decision was handed down. “Whatever the politics, today’s decision was a victory for people all over this country whose lives are more secure because of this law,” he said.

Donna Shalala Discuses A Major Threat To Our National Security

Staff — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:12:52 +0000

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obesity takes a huge financial toll on the nation.

Chronic illnesses caused by obesity are crippling our healthcare system.

How can we turn this around?

Generic Or Not Generic?

Staff — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:07:06 +0000

Whether choosing generics because of cost or availability you would think that their safety and efficacy would be guaranteed by the maker, much like brand name products.

It seems like this is not the case.

Across the country, dozens of lawsuits against generic pharmaceutical companies are being dismissed because of a Supreme Court decision last year that said the companies did not have control over what their labels said and therefore could not be sued for failing to alert patients about the risks of taking their drugs.

Now, what once seemed like a trivial detail — whether to take a generic or brand-name drug — has become the deciding factor in whether a patient can seek legal recourse from a drug company. The cases range from that of Ms. Schork, who wasn’t told which type of drug she had been given when she visited the hospital, to people like Camille Baruch, who developed a gastrointestinal disease after taking a generic form of the drug Accutane, as required by her health care plan.

Emergency Rooms Across The Country Being Used For Dental Visits

Staff — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:42:51 +0000

Seeking primary dental care in the ER is a new phenomenon facing medicine today.

Lack of access in rural areas, and little or no emphasis on preventive care have contributed to a gross misuse of medical resources.

Too few dentist participating in Medicaid has also contributed to the problem.

Using emergency rooms for dental treatment “is incredibly expensive and incredibly inefficient,” said Dr. Frank Catalanotto, a professor at the University of Florida’s College of Dentistry who reviewed the report.
Preventive dental care such as routine teeth cleaning can cost $50 to $100, versus $1,000 for emergency room treatment that may include painkillers for aching cavities and antibiotics from resulting infections, Catalanotto said.

The Battle Begins Over Birth Control Coverage

Staff — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:22:37 +0000

The gauntlet has been thrown down as House Speaker, John Boehner R-Ohio, lets the president know that he is in for a fight over a bill that would allow for mandatory coverage of birth control by private insurance.

“If the president does not reverse the (Health and Human Services) department’s attack on religious freedom, then the Congress, acting on behalf of the American people, and the Constitution that we’re sworn to uphold and defend, must,” House Speaker John Boehner, R- Ohio, said in a speech on the House floor Wednesday.

In a society where Viagra is covered but not birth control one has to wonder about the priorities and the logic.

Health Care Reform Battle Begins

Staff — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:54:12 +0000

Health Care reform has been sparking rather heated debates from both sides of the aisle and from every other possible direction, it seems.

There has been no consensus on a number of key topics; cancer screening and cell phone dangers and mandatory compliance is set to be enforced by 2014.

There is a lot of work to be done and special interests will have their hands full lobbying for their stake in the game.

Supporters of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2010, claim the legislation will extend coverage to 30 million Americans. But opponents labeled it an unconstitutional intrusion of government upon personal rights, especially the “individual mandate” clause that requires Americans to purchase health insurance or face fines.

America’s Growing Waistline and Health Care Woes

Staff — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:37:36 +0000

Americans are getting fatter.

At the rate we’re going 83 percent of American men will be overweight or obese by 2020 followed by women at 72 percent projected to be overweight or obese by then, as well.

The implications go far beyond tight pants and groaning sofas. Obesity is a big risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Imagining an America of overweight, unhealthy people gives public health officials the willies. And it should be frightening to us civilians, too.

A Fertilized Egg is a Person?

Staff — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 22:25:46 +0000

If the 26th amendment in Mississippi passes it is.

The beginning of personhood?

Because the amendment would define a fertilized egg as a person with full legal rights, it could have an impact on a woman’s ability to get the morning-after pill or birth control pills that destroy fertilized eggs, and it could make in vitro fertilization treatments more difficult because it could become illegal to dispose of unused fertilized eggs. This could lead to a nationwide debate about women’s rights and abortion while setting up a possible challenge to the landmark Roe v. Wade case, which makes abortion legal.

The vote is upcoming in Mississippi to declare a fertilized ovum; human egg, a person.

The implications are vast and the arguments many, but in a state with the highest teenage pregnancy and STD rates it looks like the amendment will pass.

Physicians, scientists, women and hospital staff will face a host challenges to deal with the care of patients if this amendment passes.

There are great arguments on both sides.

Considering all the possibilities a new branch of legal practice may be necessary.

Obesity Hurts Everyone

Staff — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:30:29 +0000

If you think that being overweight effects only the obese then think again.

Obesity is fast replacing tobacco as the single most important preventable cause of chronic non-communicable diseases, and will add an extra 7.8 million cases of diabetes, 6.8 million cases of heart disease and stroke, and 539,000 cases of cancer in the United States by 2030.

Some 32 percent of men and 35 percent of women are now obese in the United States, according to a research team led by Claire Wang at the Mailman School of Public Health in Columbia University in New York. They published their findings in a special series of four papers on obesity in The Lancet.

Circumcision Debate Goes On

Staff — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:48:52 +0000

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend routine neonatal circumcision the debate wages on with little definitive information from either side.

Parents can feel coerced into making a quick decision with little information.

With changes in health care policy it may become a matter of cost for a medically unnecessary procedure which can cost $400; quite a lot of money for many families.

More and more parents are starting to think seriously about whether to circumcise their newborn boys. And many of them are finding that it’s a question without easy answers, not least because guidance from many leading medical organizations has been equivocal. Although rates have declined in recent years, well over half of all boys born in American hospitals undergo the procedure.