Health stories in the news

Hospitals lobby against proposed charity care rules

The American Hospital Association has sent out a bulletin urging its members to press Congress not to pass legislation that would require hospitals to provide a minimal level of charitable care as a condition for keeping their tax-exempt status, New York Times reporter Robert Pear writes.

“A formulaic, one-size-fits-all charity care standard will hamstring hospitals’ efforts to respond to the unique needs of their communities,” the bulletin said. “It would penalize children’s, teaching and research hospitals and those in rural areas because they provide community benefit in a variety of forms other than just charity care.”

But critics charge hospitals often fail to provide charity care while enjoying tax-exempt status, Pear writes:

“Consumer groups say it is often difficult to tell the difference between for-profit and nonprofit hospitals. Nonprofit hospitals have denied care to some uninsured patients and used aggressive tactics to collect bills owed by low-income people, they say.”

To learn more:

• Read Robert Pear’s article: Hospitals Mobilizing to Fight Proposed Charity Care Rules.
• Visit the American Hospital Association’s Web site.
• Visit the Washington State Hospital Association’s Web site, which has extensive material on the effects of the state’s current budget cuts.
• Visit our Resources & Support pages for a listing of organizations working on health care reform and policy.

Walk don’t run, or rather run and then walk

New York Times health columnist Tara Parker-Pope is training for the New York City marathon using the “run-walk” method.

Runners using the method, popularized by running guru and 1972 Olympian Jeff Galloway, take brief walking breaks during their runs to allow their muscles to recover.

Parker-Pope writes:

“Depending on one’s fitness level, a walk-break runner might run for a minute and walk for a minute, whether on a 5-mile training run or the 26.2-mile course on race day. A more experienced runner might incorporate a one-minute walk break for every mile of running.”

Run-walk advocates say the approach provides a good way for people who are not fit to gradually ease their way into running and helps them avoid injury as they build up their mileage. 

Starting this week Parker-Pope’s “Well” blog will feature a “Run Well marathon training tool” where readers can find information a variety of training routines and then track their progress. 

By the way, the Seattle Marathon is November 29th — plenty of time to get ready.

To learn more:

• Read Parker-Pope’s article: Improving Running Through Walking.
• Visit the Seattle Marathon Web site.

How safe, effective are smokeless electronic cigarettes?

Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal today have articles about battery-powered smokeless cigarettes that deliver a dose of nicotine without the dangerous tars and other additives found in cigarette smoke.

In the New York Times, Katie Zezima writes:

That electronic cigarettes are unapproved by the government and virtually unstudied has not deterred thousands of smokers from flocking to mall kiosks and the Internet to buy them. And because they produce no smoke, they can be used in workplaces, restaurants and airports. One distributor is aptly named Smoking Everywhere.

The reaction of medical authorities and antismoking groups has ranged from calls for testing to skepticism to outright hostility. Opponents say the safety claims are more rumor than anything else, since the components of e-cigarettes have never been tested for safety.

The American Lung Association, along with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids have called for “e-cigarettes” to be removed from the market, writes Lauren Etten in the Wall Street Journal.

“The groups say e-cigarettes have yet to be proven safe and that kids may be attracted to the products, some of which come in flavors like chocolate and strawberry. “Nobody knows what the consumers are actually inhaling,” says Erika Sward, director of national advocacy at the American Lung Association.”

To learn more:

• Lauren Etten’s article: Controversy Swirls Around E-Cigarettes.
• Read Katie Zezima article: Cigarettes Without Smoke, or Regulation.
• Visit King County’s Tobacco Prevention Web page.
• Read LocalHealthGuide’s coverage of Washington’s Tobacco Quit Line and other free services that can help you quit smoking.

Other resources:

• Washington State Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.
• Washington’s Tobacco Quite Line: Free Help for Tobacco Users.
• American Lung Association of Washington.
• American Cancer Society.

Tags: Fitness, Health Insurance, Health-care Reform, Healthcare Policy, Insurance, Marathons, Running, Smoking, Tobacco

Category: Fitness & Exercise, Health-care Policy, Insurance, Smoking