More than 90 percent of US nursing homes were cited for violation of federal health and safety standards last year, according to a new report. Among the violations identified were medication errors, poor nutrition, inadequate staffing, and abuse and neglect.
Seattle supermarkets and other food retailers are now required to label certain food products so that customers can tell which country their food comes from. Under the new federal regulations that go into effect today (Sept. 30), retailers must provide “Country of Origin Labeling” for beef, lamb, pork, chicken, goat, wild and farm-raised fish and [...]
Insurance companies must protect their financial reserves to guarantee they will be able to cover their members’ health costs, writes Regence BlueShield President Jonathan Hensley in an op-ed piece in the Sept. 30 issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hensley was writing in reply to an earlier op-ed piece that questioned why Regence was raising rates [...]
Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance are now $12,680 a year, more than double what the coverage cost in 1999, according to a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust. The doubling of health-care premiums outstripped general inflation, which only rose 29 percent over the same period. Workers wages [...]
The Kaiser Family Foundation has created a website where you can compare the presidential candidates’ health-care proposals side-by-side.
The US Veterans Affairs Administration will now consider amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS or “Lou Gehrig’s disease”, a compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more of continuous active service.
Lab tests on a dead crow found in Kirkland last week indicate the bird had been infected with the West Nile virus, King County health officials announced today. West Nile virus is carried by mosquitoes that feed on birds, which can then become infected and die. The same mosquitos can spread the infection to humans. [...]
Seattle Post-Intelligencer guest columnists Martha Scoville and Nate Rozeboom tear in Jonathan Hensley, the new president of the Washington health insurance company Regence BlueShield. Scoville, a Regence policy holder, and Rozeboom, a registered nurse at Harborview Medical Center, want to know why the insurer, which they say has a surplus close to $1 billion, continues [...]
US News & World Report has placed Issaquah on its list of the 10 “Best Healthy Places to Retire” in the USA. The magazine’s profile calls Issaquah a “gem of a city” and gives much of the credit for the ranking to the amenities available in the Issaquah Highlands development.
The website Walkscore has ranked 77 Seattle neighborhoods by how walkable they are. The score is based on such factors as the availability of stores, restaurants, parks and schools within walking distance of a particular address.
Seattle was just edged out by San Francisco as the most “fit” city in the US in a 16-city study, conducted by the American College of Sports Medicine. The study ranked the city using an index that reflects such health indicators as the health behaviors of city residents, levels of chronic disease, access to health care, [...]
The Seattle Times has run a two-article series on the debate over Initiative 1000, which, if passed by voters this Nov. 4, will allow doctors to write prescriptions for a lethal dose of medication to competent adults with a terminal illnesses so they can end their lives if they wish.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
Out-of-network care is expensive — but a couple of new options help
A new database lets you find out the prevailing rates for medical procedures in your area, and the 2010 health-care reform law provides better protection when people receive out-of-network emergency care.
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