For the 25 million people in the United States with limited English proficiency, the potential for medical mishaps is multiplied. But a trained medical interpreter can make all the difference.... Read more»
Higher prices charged by hospitals, outpatient centers and other providers drove up health care spending at double the rate of inflation during the economic downturn– even as patients consumed less medical care overall.... Read more»
Although professional medical societies have said for years that physicians should monitor patients’ body mass index, most doctors fail to do so. But that may soon change.... Read more»
We’ll be hearing a lot from politicians this summer and fall about the urgency of dealing with Medicare spending. If we’re fortunate, some courageous candidates will call for renewed debate on a provision of the health care reform bill that had once enjoyed bipartisan support.... Read more»
The Pentagon’s personnel budget is composed of three major items: pay, retirement, and health care. These costs have nearly doubled in the past 10 years and now consume one-third of the baseline defense budget. If they continue growing, these costs will begin to divert funds from other critical national security initiatives such as training and modernization.... Read more»
Mitt Romney claims government will “constitute … almost 50 percent” of the U.S. economy when the new federal health care law takes full effect. That’s nonsense.... Read more»
Military personnel costs have nearly doubled since fiscal year 2001. If these costs are allowed to continue rising at their current rate, they will eat through the entire defense budget by FY 2039.... Read more»
Republicans are right: The White House is greatly exaggerating when it says that “women, in particular,” benefit from a prevention fund that the House GOP proposes to repeal.... Read more»
Looking at Paul Ryan and Barack Obama’s plans in detail shows that practical effects are likely to be very different when it comes to restraining federal spending and impact on seniors.... Read more»
The Rockefeller provision of President Obama’s health care reform law will require consumer rebates from insurers who didn’t spend enough on care.... Read more»
Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio, has sued nearly 1,600 people in county court between 2009 and 2011. Most of them were patients who were unable to pay their medical bills.... Read more»
A national survey suggests that more young women in Arizona are getting tested for the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia, but data for the latest year available showed that fewer than half of those in this group were tested.... Read more»
Even though we are serious-minded fact-checkers, we are not completely without humor, and MoveOn.org’s latest TV ad on “fat cats” and the “Buffett Rule” is pretty funny, but the ad is off by more than a whisker.... Read more»
While violence presents a serious threat to human security, there is an equally pressing issue at hand that is rarely discussed: the health and well-being of Latin America’s youth.... Read more»
A proposed Treasury Department rule says workers and their families cannot qualify for those subsidies unless their employer’s plan is unaffordable because it exceeds 9.5 percent of their household income.... Read more»1
Minorities are less likely than their white counterparts to enjoy the opportunities that come from having a good job, owning a home and having a financial safety cushion.... Read more»
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