Health
Democrats think they’ve got health care votes in hand
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama set his sights on Capitol Hill, to rally House Democrats on Saturday for a final health care push as party leaders seemed confident they had overcome a flare-up within their ranks over abortion funding restrictions in the legislation. Building on Democrats’ momentum, the House Rules Committee worked to set the terms for floor debate and a final vote Sunday on Obama’s top priority and the focus of his first year in office.
Norovirus jumps ships, spreads inland
MIAMI — Norovirus, a miserable bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea, seems to be spreading like bad news. Cleanup crews are scrubbing the Celebrity Mercury from top to bottom this weekend to try to get rid of the nasty virus from the cruise ship, which had outbreaks on three consecutive cruises despite special disinfection efforts.
Chance of a new wave of swine flu declining
LOS ANGELES - The likelihood of a third wave of pandemic H1N1 influenza appears to be declining as all indicators of swine flu activity remain low throughout the bulk of the country, according to new data released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Nobody can say for sure that we are totally out of the woods, but the further we go into spring and summer, the less likely we are to see another wave,” said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner. It would not surprise the agency to see some local activity of the virus “continue to percolate along,” he added.
Obama pulls all stops in push for health care
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — President Barack Obama described the stakes of this weekend’s health care vote in stark terms today, using words uttered so rarely out of the White House that they seem all but banned: “If this vote fails.” What then? “The insurance industry will continue to run amok,” the president declared, pointing to rising rates, denials of coverage and limits on care.
Medical marijuana a frequent target for criminals
SAN FRANCISCO — Patients, growers and clinics in some of the 14 states that allow medical marijuana are falling victim to robberies, home invasions, shootings and even murders at the hands of pot thieves. There have been dozens of cases in recent months alone. The issue received more attention this week after a prominent medical marijuana activist in a Seattle suburb nearly killed a robber in a shootout — the eighth time thieves had targeted his pot-growing operation.
State Walgreens stores to stop accepting new Medicaid patients
Walgreens will no longer accept new Medicaid patients in Washington state as of April 16. The pharmacy company, which operates 121 stores in the state, will continue filling Medicaid prescriptions for current patients.
Idaho will fight health care reform
BOISE — Democrats in Washington, D.C., hope to pass health care reform soon, but Republican state leaders in Idaho are preparing to go to court to fight it. Gov. Butch Otter signed the Idaho Health Freedom Act on Wednesday in his first public bill signing of the 2010 session.
CBO says health care plan could reduce deficit
WASHINGTON — Democratic health care efforts got an important boost today as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that the $940 billion health care package could reduce federal deficits $130 billion over the next 10 years. The preliminary CBO analysis had been stalled for nearly a week, as Democrats scrambled to change their health care plan so that its cost remained under $1 trillion and deficits could be cut.
Health care plan builds momentum — House could vote by weekend
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s much-challenged health care overhaul gained traction today as a liberal lawmaker became the first to switch his opposition and Catholic nuns declared their support in an unusual public break with the bishops. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, long a supporter of Medicare-for-all, voted against the House Democratic bill in November because it did not go far enough in creating a robust government-run plan to compete with private insurance. But Kucinich said this morning that the bill coming before the House represents the best chance to expand coverage to the uninsured, even if it does not include a public plan.
Red Cross blood drive set for Thursday
WENATCHEE - The Apple Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross has scheduled a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at Blossom Valley Assisted Living Community, 1701 Orchard Ave.
Work on Cascade Medical Center is on schedule
LEAVENWORTH — Work currently taking place on Cascade Medical Center is part of a $14.4 million project to expand and remodel the hospital and clinic facility in Leavenworth. Work is on schedule, said project engineer Robert Knowles.
Study touts gastric band surgery for younger teens
Right now the laparoscopic gastric band, or “lap band,” is FDA-approved only for people age 18 and older. But a new study is adding to the medical evidence that it could help much younger teens who have tried and failed to keep off excess weight with diet and exercise. The research, conducted by Dr. Paul E. O’Brien and his colleagues at Monash University and the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, examined severely obese subjects age 14-18. The group that had the lap band surgically implanted had better results than a group that took part in a “lifestyle management program,” which included diet, exercise and other behavior changes.
Obama in Ohio for health care
WASHINGTON — With a fresh sense of urgency, President Barack Obama and congressional Democratic leaders pressed wavering rank-and-file lawmakers to back his health care overhaul, determined to give the party something to show voters in the midterm elections. Obama was set to head to northeast Ohio today with a final sales pitch for health care legislation that the top Democratic vote-counter in the House said still lacked the necessary votes to pass. Obama’s top political adviser, David Axelrod, said he was “absolutely confident” the measure would pass during a make-or-break week that already saw the president delay his trip to Indonesia, Australia and Guam.
CDC uses store-card data to trace salmonella
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — As they scrambled recently to trace the source of a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds around the country, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention successfully used a new tool for the first time — the shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe every time they buy groceries. With permission from the patients, investigators followed the trail of grocery purchases to a Rhode Island company that makes salami, then zeroed in on the pepper on the meat.
Hearts may falter when stocks do
ATLANTA - A study at a major medical center suggests more heart attacks may have occurred as stock prices crashed at the start of the recession. Researchers at Duke University in North Carolina tallied heart attacks treated at their hospital and compared the numbers with the Nasdaq stock index from January 2008 through July 2009, when the economy started to recover. As stocks dipped, heart attacks rose. The trend weakened once they took into account that heart attacks are more common in winter. Experts say the issue is worth studying nationwide because stress can lead to heart attacks.
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