Year: 2014

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) – People seeking urgent medical could face longer wait times and other challenges as demand increases under Obamacare, U.S. emergency doctors said in a report on Thursday that gives the nation’s emergency infrastructure a near failing grade. In its latest “report card,” the American College of Emergency Physicians said such reduced access earned the nation a “D+” — that’s down from the overall “C-” grade from the group’s last report in 2009. Shortages and reduced hospital capacity make it more difficult to access emergency care, the group said. It also warned about the impact on disaster preparedness.

Twice a month, high school math teacher Kelly Muscolino and her husband, an inmate serving 20 years for armed robbery, get to share one hour together away from the watchful eyes of guards at the Mississippi prison where he is locked up. The couple's last visit alone might have been their last until Mike Muscolino is free. The Mississippi corrections department announced it will no longer allow conjugal visits as of February 1, ending a century-old program in the first U.S. state to sanction sex for prisoners. Corrections commissioner Christopher Epps said a practice that began as a strategy to control inmates in the early 1900s would cease in Mississippi due to concerns about costs and the number of children possibly being conceived during the visits.

UnitedHealth Group Inc said on Thursday implementing Obamacare and private Medicare funding cuts will eat into 2014 profit but the government-paid insurance business will drive growth as more people sign up. UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. health insurer, reported fourth-quarter profit a beat higher than analyst expectations, but its shares and those of major competitors fell anyway as investors focused on costs. UnitedHealth shares fell 2.5 percent to $73.05 while WellPoint, Aetna, Cigna and Humana also fell. UnitedHealth said that funding cuts for private Medicare would negatively effect 2014 and that it was still in discussions with the government on the 2015 funding levels.

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – A man convicted of the 1989 rape and murder of a pregnant woman was executed Thursday in Ohio using a two-drug method never applied before in the United States, the state corrections department said. Dennis McGuire, 53, was pronounced dead at 10:53 a.m. ET (1553 GMT) at a state prison, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said in a statement. He received a combination of the sedative midazolam and pain killer hydromorphone. (Reporting by Kim Palmer in Cleveland; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Scott Malone)

Recent studies suggesting that heavier people with diabetes have lower death rates than normal weight patients may be a myth. A strong body of research shows that being overweight or obese puts people at risk for chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and even early death. A 2012 study published in the journal JAMA, for example, studied 2,625 people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, of which only 12% were normal weight. But the larger people with diabetes lived longer than their thinner peers.

In a story Jan. 15 about obesity and diabetes, The Associated Press misspelled the first name of one study leader from the Harvard School of Public Health. Her name is Deirdre Tobias, not Diedre.

(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson said it would sell its ortho clinical diagnostics unit to private equity firm Carlyle Group for $4.15 billion, shedding a slow-growing business to focus on more lucrative products. The deal is Carlyle's biggest healthcare investment since it bought nursing, hospice and home health services provider Manor Care Inc in 2007. "Now with this divestiture nearly complete, we're inclined to believe (J&J) will continue to strategically prune its business segments and use the proceeds to return cash to shareholders or invest in higher-growth assets," Leerink analyst Danielle Antalffy wrote in a note. J&J's diabetes business, which includes LifeScan blood glucose meters and Animas pumps, could be the next business to go, given slowing sales growth and weak margins, Antalffy said.

The "obesity paradox" — the controversial notion that being overweight might actually be healthier for some people with diabetes — seems to be a myth, researchers report. A major study finds there's no survival advantage to being large, and a disadvantage to being very large.

Beijing's mayor pledged on Thursday to cut coal use by 2.6 million tonnes and set aside 15 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) to improve air quality this year as part of the city's "all-out effort" to tackle air pollution, state news agency Xinhua said. The announcement by Wang Anshun came as the capital was blanketed in its worst smog in months. A level above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20. Coal-burning boilers inside Beijing's fifth ring road – covering the built-up area of the city – will be eliminated and measures taken against coal burning in the capital's periphery, Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.