Category: Resources (Page 17 of 32)

Insurers Don’t Like the Big Business of Sleep Apnea

January 22, 2012 / Staff

Sleep apnea is proving to be a drain on insurance companies.

Snoring was once considered an annoyance, however, research has shown that complications can increase the risk of several serious illnesses, including heart disease, stroke and dementia.

Testing can be a lucrative business, and labs have popped up in free-standing clinics and hospitals across the country. Over the past decade, the number of accredited sleep labs that test for the disorder has quadrupled, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
At the same time, insurer spending on the procedure has skyrocketed. Medicare payments for sleep testing increased from $62 million in 2001 to $235 million in 2009, according to the Office of the Inspector General.

Although the initial cost may be a burden on insurers the hope lies in the prevention of more serious and costly ailments in the future.

Health Insurance, Medicare, Research, Resources, Wellness

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Alzheimer’s Treatment By 2025

January 21, 2012 / Staff

Finding an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s has become a priority for the U.S. government.

Regardless, an estimated 5.4 million Americans already have Alzheimer’s or similar dementias — and how to help their families cope with day-to-day care is a priority, the advisory committee made clear Tuesday.
The disease is growing steadily as the population ages: By 2050, 13 million to 16 million Americans are projected to have Alzheimer’s, costing $1 trillion in medical and nursing home expenditures. That doesn’t count the billions of dollars in unpaid care provided by relatives and friends.

Among the goals being debated for the national plan:

—Begin a national public awareness campaign of dementia’s early warning signs, to improve timely diagnosis.

—Give primary care doctors the tools to assess signs of dementia as part of Medicare’s annual check-up.

—Have caregivers’ health, physical and mental, regularly checked.

—Improve care-planning and training for families so they know what resources are available for their loved one and themselves.

Health Care Policy, Research, Resources, Wellness

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Paula Deen Has Diabetes

January 21, 2012 / Staff

Paula Deen announces she has diabetes and has no plans to change her cooking.

Deen, who is famous for her use of copious amounts of fat, butter and sugar, encourages moderation in her defense.

Deen has also signed on as a paid spokesperson for Novo Nordisk proving that she is more interested in being part of the problem than a part of the solution to the diabetes epidemic.

While Deen’s recipes — which promote prodigious amounts of butter and fried foods — may not specifically cause diabetes, eating that kind of high fat and high sugar food regularly can make it very difficult to maintain a healthy weight.
And for people who did inherit a susceptibility, lifestyle can make a difference. That means they may stave off diabetes by maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly.

Nutrition, Quality Control, Resources, Wellness

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Very Few Are Spending the Most Health Care Dollars

January 20, 2012 / Staff

White, elderly, women with private health insurance are spending the most health care dollars, the federal government reported.

$2.6 trillion the nation spent on health care in 2010 translated into just over $8,400 per person.

But that is not the whole story.

A different study just released by a separate federal agency shows that second number doesn’t actually mean very much.

Specifically, in 2009, just 1 percent of the non-institutionalized population accounted for 21.8 percent of all U.S. health spending. And just 5 percent accounted for half the total spending.
Meanwhile, the bottom half of the population accounted for a mere 2.9 percent of total health spending in 2009.

Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Medicare, Research, Resources

Care for the elderly Health Care health insurance health insurance cost insurance premiums National health care

Death By Soda?

January 16, 2012 / Staff

Could more than 2,600 deaths a year be prevented by taxing soda?

Some analysts think, yes.

In general, they assume that if the price of soda rises, people will buy less of it. “We assume that 40 percent of the calories saved by forgoing a sugary drink are replaced with other calories,” she says, meaning either calories from drinks such as milk or fruit juice or from food. “So for every 100 calories in soda avoided, only 60 calories are actually lost in the diet.”
This is not the first study to predict that a soda tax would be effective in reducing consumption. Yale University researchers concluded in this report that taxing sugary drinks would lead to economic benefits as well.

Using the funds that come from taxing unhealthy foods could be the answer to a host of health cost issues.