HealthWatch

Your update on developments in medical news and healthcare policy

Medicare: Cost-saving changes coming for diabetics

WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar.

On July 1, Medicare opens a national mail-order program that will dramatically drop the prices the government pays for those products but patients will have to use designated suppliers. The goal is to save taxpayers money but seniors should see their copays drop, too.

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UPDATED 15:24 PM EDT, June 18, 2013

Nonprofit launches campaign to reach uninsured

CHICAGO (AP) — A nonprofit that's helping spread the word about President Barack Obama's health overhaul is launching a campaign that will target states with high numbers of uninsured Americans.

Organizers say the "Get Covered America" campaign will include door-to-door visits by volunteers, brochures handed out at farmers markets and churches and, possibly, partnerships with sports leagues and celebrities.

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UPDATED 6:23 AM EDT, June 18, 2013

Report: Slowdown in health care costs to continue

WASHINGTON (AP) — There's good news for most companies that provide health benefits for their employees: America's slowdown in medical costs may be turning into a trend, rather than a mere pause.

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UPDATED 4:22 AM EDT, June 18, 2013

Deadly year for encephalitis feared in India

GORAKHPUR, India (AP) — A mosquito-borne disease that preys on the young and malnourished is sweeping across poverty-riven northern India again this monsoon season, with officials worried it could be the deadliest outbreak in nearly a decade.

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UPDATED 4:22 AM EDT, June 18, 2013

Gender report of Shah Rukh Khan baby investigated

NEW DELHI (AP) — Health officials in Mumbai are investigating reports that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his wife know the sex of a baby they are having through a surrogate mother.

Sex determination tests are banned in India to stop the practice of aborting female fetuses due to a preference for sons.

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UPDATED 4:22 AM EDT, June 18, 2013

Report: US adult smoking rate dips to 18 percent

ATLANTA (AP) — Fewer U.S. adults are smoking, a new government report says.

Last year, about 18 percent of adults participating in a national health survey described themselves as current smokers.

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UPDATED 4:15 AM EDT, June 17, 2013

To ease shortage of organs, grow them in a lab?

NEW YORK (AP) — By the time 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan finally got a lung transplant last week, she'd been waiting for months, and her parents had sued to give her a better shot at surgery.

Her cystic fibrosis was threatening her life, and her case spurred a debate on how to allocate donor organs. Lungs and other organs for transplant are scarce.

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UPDATED 3:15 AM EDT, June 17, 2013

Boston hospital to offer hand transplants for kids

A Boston hospital is starting the world's first hand transplant program for children, and doctors say it won't be long until face transplants and other radical operations to improve appearance and quality of life are offered to kids, too.

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UPDATED 14:59 PM EDT, June 14, 2013

Court hearing on hold over lung transplant rules

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A court hearing over organ donor matches involving children is on hold after the 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl at the center of the lawsuit received a lung transplant.

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UPDATED 5:58 AM EDT, June 14, 2013

Arizona Gov. Brewer secures Medicaid expansion

PHOENIX (AP) — Ending a six-month legislative session, Arizona lawmakers endorsed a key element of President Barack Obama's health care law in a huge political victory for Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, after a lengthy fight over Medicaid expansion that divided the state's Republican leadership.

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