Health stories in the news

Pike Market jewelry artist struggles with medical bills

Seattle Times staff reporter Marnette Federis tells the story of Susan Sauls, a Pike Place Market jewelry maker who is struggling to pay for her cancer treatments.

Sauls, who began selling jewelry and crafts at the Market 30 years ago, is uninsured.

Federis writes:

“As a small-business owner who makes $22,000 to $28,000 a year, her income is too high for her to qualify for any government health plan but too little for her to afford private coverage.”

Medical bills for treatment of the the 60-year-old Kent resident’s lung and liver cancer have topped $100,000. Other Pike Place Market workers have joined together to help Sauls pay for her care.

To learn more:

• Read Federis’ article Ailing Market jeweler struggles without health insurance.
• Visit the Susan Sauls Healthcare Fund Web site.
• Visit the Susan Saul’s Friends Facebook page.

Health concerns raised over two top-selling birth control pills

New York Times reporter Natasha Singer reported over the weekend that questions have been raised about the safety and marketing of the popular contraceptives Yaz and Yasmin.

Singer writes:

But recently, the Yaz line’s image has been clouded by concerns from some researchers, health advocates and plaintiffs’ lawyers. They say that the drugs put women at higher risk for blood clots, strokes and other health problems than some other birth control pills do.

Those critics, though, are up against a large European health study, sponsored by Bayer, the German pharmaceutical giant, that reported the opposite conclusion. The Bayer-financed study said that cardiovascular risks in women taking Bayer products were comparable to those taking an older formula of birth control pills

Federal regulators have also asked the drugs manufacter Bayer Healthcare to correct television commercials the government thought were misleading.

To learn more:

• Read Natasha Singer’s article Health Concerns Over Popular Contraceptives.
• Visit the National Library of Medicine’s information page about oral contraceptives.

Patients flood into community health clinics

Federally-funded community health clinics set up to serve the poor are seeing more and more higher income patients as the economy tumbles and the cost of healthcare soars, reports Jared Favole reports in today’s Wall Street Journal.

The centers are on track to handle more than 20 million patients this year, up by more than two million from last year and twice the figure of a decade ago, according to surveys by the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Many of the new patients had been in the middle class until losing their jobs.

To learn more:

• Read Favole’s article Use of Federal Health Clinics Soars (fee or subscription may be required).

Tags: Contraceptives, Neighborhood Clinics, Pike Market

Category: News