Month: July 2014

An experiment changing how U.S. cancer doctors are compensated cut healthcare costs by a third, with no discernible decline in patient health, according to a three-year study by insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc and five medical oncology groups. Cancer treatment is one of the most expensive and fastest growing categories of care in the United States. Oncologists and insurers have been devising new incentives for doctors to improve patient care while lowering costs. In the latest experiment, UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. health insurer, gave participating doctors an upfront payment to cover a patient’s full course of treatment, rather than reimburse them for each individual medical service such as chemotherapy.

This past June, my boyfriend and I ventured into deep-Brooklyn to get down and dirty at the Rugged Maniac, a 5K-obstacles race with feats like climbing over a wooden wall, crawling through the mud-filled tunnels, and rocketing down a 50-feet water slide.

When I was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes more than 25 years ago, I had no health insurance. And due to my young adult perspective and extreme naiveté about managing my diabetes condition, I believed that very little about my personal life would change with my diagnosis. I guess ignorance is bliss, but ignorance can also cause the eventual reality to be that much more painful.

A mold outbreak last year in some US containers of Chobani yogurt may have been more dangerous than the company initially acknowledged, according to a scientific study out Tuesday. The yogurt company issued a voluntary recall of certain products with "best by" dates between September and October 2013 from its Idaho plant. More than 300 consumers reported bloating, diarrhea and vomiting. Researchers at Duke University reported in the journal mBio that the mold was actually a type that has been shown to be potentially fatal in people, and when injected into mice it killed some of them and sickened others.

Melissa's experience compels her to now speak candidly to the public. She offers this frank advice and reassurance to grievers.

Hidden Samples Violate International Agreement, Raise Security Questions

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) – That obesity can cut life short by causing strokes and other illnesses comes as no surprise, but a study reported on Tuesday quantifies the toll: The most extreme cases cut a person’s lifespan more than cigarettes. The analysis, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, is the largest-ever study of the effect of extreme obesity on mortality. It found that people who are extremely obese — for someone of average height, carrying an extra 100 lb (45 kg) or more — die 6.5 to 13.7 years earlier than peers with a healthy weight. The study, based on data from 20 large studies of people in the United States, Sweden and Australia, comes as rates of obesity have soared.