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Uninsured ranks rise in state
Los Angeles Daily News - 12-15-2008 - One-fifth of all Californians under age 65 were without health insurance for all or some of 2007, according to a survey released Monday by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. While that was down slightly from 2005, health-care officials aren't celebrating the news because they fear the numbers will rise this year and next due to the weakening economy.
Colonoscopies Miss Many Cancers, Study Finds
New York Times - 12-16-2008 - For years, many doctors and patients thought colonoscopies, the popular screening test for colorectal cancer, were all but infallible. Have a colonoscopy, get any precancerous polyps removed, and you should almost never get colon cancer.
Death rates for heart disease and stroke drop significantly
Los Angeles Times - 12-16-2008 - The death rates for heart disease and stroke each dropped by about 30% between 1999 and 2006, allowing the American Heart Assn. to reach its 2010 goal of a 25% reduction in deaths four years early, researchers said Monday. "It's one of the most remarkable achievements of modern medicine to have this kind of decline," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a cardiologist at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine who was not involved in the research.
State's Healthy Families program gets a last-minute lifeline
Los Angeles Times - 12-15-2008 - The program was threatened with severe budget cuts, but a $16.8-million check should keep enrollment open through June. GOP leaders today suggest $15.6 billion in cuts to school, healthcare, welfare.
Racial gap in colon cancer deaths is widening
(AP) - 12-15-2008 - The racial gap in colon cancer death rates is widening, a new report says, and experts partly blame blacks' lower screening rates and poor access to quality care. Colon and rectal cancer death rates are now nearly 50% higher in blacks than in whites, according to American Cancer Society research.
UCSF's cooling method a first for at-risk babies
San Francisco Chronicle - 12-16-2008 - A hypothermia treatment is part of a groundbreaking infant-care unit that recently opened at University of California-San Francisco's Children's Hospital. The nation's first neuro-intensive care nursery, it offers specialized treatment for infants who show indications of brain damage at birth. The unit represents a new concept: to identify brain issues in newborns at a time when their medical conditions might still be reversed.
FDA Commissioner Eschenbach to Resign
Wall Street Journal - 12-15-2008 - Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach has told his staff that he plans to resign effective Jan. 20, 2009. In an internal message sent Monday to FDA officials, Dr. von Eschenbach said he would work closely with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team "to ensure a seamless change in political leadership at the agency. As with any transition, there will likely be changes for other senior managers as well, although all current Deputy Commissioners and the Chief of Staff are career civil servants who have served me and FDA well."
Medicare Plans Draw Criticism on Drug Pricing
Wall Street Journal - 12-15-2008 - Figuring out which Medicare drug-insurance plan is right for you is confusing enough. Now, complaints are mounting about an obscure drug-pricing system that can force many older Americans to pay stiff penalties when they opt for brand-name drugs instead of a generic.
