Category: News and Events

Government’s Role in Health Care Keeps Growing

Posted on by John C. Goodman

This is Brian Blase in Health Affairs:

More than one in four Americans is now enrolled in Medicaid.

Close to 20 percent of all enrollees are only eligible for the program because the Biden administration has extended the COVID public health emergency far past the time of an actual public health emergency.

Only 4.5 million people who are lawfully present in the United States lack health insurance and are not eligible for Medicaid, a subsidized exchange plan, or employer-sponsored insurance. This equals 1.7% of the under-65 population.

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Mosquitoes Have a Plethora of Ways to Hunt Humans

Posted on by Devon Herrick

An article in The Atlantic delivers some bad news. The damage done by mosquitoes is immense and they’re not easy to stop.

The insects’ infatuation with us is costly: By way of the many, many deadly pathogens they carry, mosquitoes kill more people than any other animal on Earth does (except, well, us).

It turns out that mosquitoes are complex creatures that track us in numerous ways.

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Nearly Half of Cancer Deaths Could be Avoided

Posted on by Devon Herrick

Many people worry about cancer in their lifetimes. Mutual of Omaha has even sent my wife and me applications for ‘cancer insurance’ on two separate occasions so cancer is undoubtedly something many Americans fear. A new study suggests there is something better that Americans could do to protect themselves from cancer than enroll in Obamacare or buy Mutual of Omaha’s cancer insurance. Americans who want to avoid cancer can lead healthier lifestyles: don’t smoke, limit drinking and avoid being overweight.

Globally, nearly half of deaths due to cancer can be attributable to preventable risk factors, including the three leading risks of: smoking, drinking too much alcohol or having a high body mass index, a new paper suggests.

The research, published Thursday in the journal The Lancet, finds that 44.4% of all cancer deaths and 42% of healthy years lost could be attributable to preventable risk factors in 2019.

The research was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation.

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Friday Links

Posted on by John C. Goodman
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