A study led by a Scripps Research Institute scientist describes a new, highly pragmatic approach to the identification of molecules that prevent a specific type of immune cells from attacking their host. The findings add a powerful new tool to the ongoing search for potential treatments for autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), as well as blood cancers, such as myeloid leukemia…
Workers at a Portland, Ore., steel mill soon will be able to pick a new type of insurance that offers free care for some illnesses, such as diabetes or depression, but requires hefty extra fees for treatments deemed overused, including knee replacements, hysterectomies and heart bypass surgery. The insurance, which will be offered by five different insurers in Oregon, is the most far-reaching and potentially controversial step in an effort by employers nationally to rein in medical spending by redesigning health benefits. “We’re trying to make people better consumers,” says John Worcester, head of benefits at Evraz Oregon Steel, the… Continue reading
If you have Crohn’s disease, you probably have found that certain foods trigger your intestinal symptoms, especially when the disease flares. Learning to avoid these food triggers may allow you to self-manage your Crohn’s disease, reduce gastrointestinal symptoms, and promote intestinal healing.
Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Both involve an immune reaction against the intestinal tract.
In ulcerative colitis, the colon is inflamed and the small intestine works normally. With Crohn’s disease, the small intestine can be inflamed, making it hard to digest and absorb key nutrients… Continue reading
The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius spoke earlier today at the America’s Health Insurance Plans’ national policy forum in Washington, D.C. and “warned health insurers Wednesday that opposing President Obama’s health-care agenda and letting premium hikes continue would eventually hurt the health-care industry. … Sebelius cautioned in stark terms that, if insurers opposed Democrats’ health-care legislation, premiums hikes would continue and more small businesses would drop health coverage for their employees” (Yoest, 3/10).
CBS Political Hotsheet: Sebelius delivered the ”toughest message to date” to the insurers, ”demanding they give Americans a break on the cost of… Continue reading
Tampa, Fla. – First, Jeanne and Randal Wills sold one of their cars. Then they sold some property they needed for retirement.
They have to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets to pay their family health insurance premiums, which cost more than $3,000 a month now after going up 250 percent in six years. They can’t afford the policy, but they can’t afford to drop it. The couple is trapped in an unaffordable insurance policy because it covers their 19-year-old daughter, who is in college. She has a serious digestive disease and has been through several surgeries… Continue reading
Richard Doerflinger doesn’t look the part of a high-powered political strategist. Bearded and bespectacled, he works in a small, cluttered office out of one of Washington’s less fashionable neighborhoods, far from the lobbying bastions of K Street.
Yet as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ point man on abortion, Doerflinger has emerged as a major player in the health care debate, one likely to play a pivotal role in the outcome. It was Doerflinger who orchestrated the bishops’ successful campaign late last year to add a tough anti-abortion provision to the House legislation. The Senate adopted less stringent… Continue reading
