Regence BlueShield boosts premiums 17 percent Regence BlueShield will raise premiums for 135,000 individual health-plan members in Washington by an average 17 percent on Aug. 1, Seattle Times health reporter Kyung Song writes in today’s paper. “It is the third consecutive year that the state’s largest provider of individual coverage has boosted rates by double [...]
A man in his 70s has become the first King County resident to die from H1N1 “swine” flu, health officials said today. The man, who had been hospitalized, died on June 11th, but it was only today that the state laboratory was able to confirm that he did, indeed, have H1N1 influenza. To date, 47 [...]
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Washington must cut 36,000 from its basic health plan Seattle Times health reporter Kyung Song writes in today’s paper about options state officials are considering on how to cut 36,000 enrollees from the state’s Basic Health Plan. Currently, the plan provides health coverage to 100,000 low-income state residents, but because of the state’s revenue shortfall, [...]
The battle over health-care reform has taken to the airwaves, reporters at New York Times and the Wall Street Journal write in today’s papers. Health Care for America Now, a group that wants Congress to pass comprehensive health reform that guarantees universal coverage, is running ads that push for a public insurance plan to compete [...]
Stay out of King County’s “dangerously deep, cold, and swift rivers and lakes” this Memorial Day weekend, King County health officials warned today. Since 2001, one in three of those who drown in King County have drown in May and June, when icy mountain snow melt swells the County’s rivers. “This is a risky time [...]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 3,352 cases of H1N1 “swine” flu have now been confirmed in the U.S. in 45 states, including the District of Columbia. Washington has 176 confirmed cases as of today, the CDC reports. King County reports 120 confirmed cases and 10 probable as of Tuesday afternoon. [...]
The number of laboratory confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu in the U.S. has reached 2,618, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC reports. To date, there have been three deaths, two in Texas and one in Washington State, the CDC said. The death of a 30-year-old Washington state man due to [...]
A Snohomish County man died last week due to what health officials believe were complications of influenza H1N1 (swine flu) infection. This is the first case in Washington State to be linked to the new flu strain. The 30-year-old had an underlying heart condition, the Washington State Department of Health Reports.
As of Friday, 56 cases of H1N1 swine flu have been confirmed in Seattle and King County and another 10 suspected cases have been identified. To date, most of the cases have been mild to moderate in severity. Only two cases are known to have required hospitalization. Washington State now has had 83 confirmed cases [...]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that nine people who came down with flu-like illnesses in Washington state did, indeed, have influenza A (H1N1) or “swine flu”. Seven of the cases were identified in King County, one in Snohomish County and one in Spokane County. Washington State Secretary of Health Mary [...]
The number of confirmed cases of influenza H1N1 or “swine flu” in the U.S. now stands at 403, and health officials have identified another 700 “probable” cases, which await laboratory confirmation, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today. In King County, seven cases have now been confirmed and 21 suspected cases [...]
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
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Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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