Motor and health insurance is likely to cost more from January 1, with the decontrolling of tariffs in non-life insurance. The industry, which is geared to meet the January one deadline for decontrolled tariffs, however, felt the overall premium in the sector is likely to come down as detariffing would inject competition.
There has been growing recognition in the international community that health should be considered a human right, but much less attention has been paid to the ensuing legal obligation to provide international assistance, says a team of authors from M?decins Sans Fronti?res, led by Gorik Oooms.
Governor George E. Pataki signed legislation to enact Timothy’s Law, which will require insurance companies to provide health insurance coverage for individuals with mental illnesses. The new law is named after Timothy O’Clair, a 12-year old boy from Schenectady County who had an emotional disorder, but was unable to obtain mental health services under his parent’s health insurance coverage. Timothy completed suicide in March 2001.
The belief that mistletoe can help treat cancer is a myth which can cause harm, warn doctors in this week’s Christmas issue of the BMJ. The warning follows the case of a cancer patient who attended hospital with a tumour-like growth under the skin induced by mistletoe.
The surge of baby boomers now entering their 60s means more drivers on the road who may be impaired by dementia or other cognitive impairments linked to aging. Researchers at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and elsewhere have developed a three-hour workshop that trains health care providers to identify potentially unsafe drivers with dementia and to encourage appropriate retirement from driving.
A study reveals that differences in utilization of screening tests and surgical treatment may contribute to poorer colorectal cancer survival rates in African-Americans.
Since Medicare raised the amount it will reimburse for colon cancer screening in 1998, there has been an increase in use of colonoscopies by Medicare beneficiaries, and a rise in the proportion of patients being diagnosed with colon cancer at an early stage, according to a study in the Dec. 20 issue of JAMA.
HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell announced a new Web site that will make it easier for consumers to get the information they need to plan for long-term care. The National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information Web site provides comprehensive information about long-term care planning, services and financing options, along with tools to help people begin the planning process.
The U. S. Department of Labor?s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Internal Revenue Service and Department of Health and Human Services today announced the publication of final rules that provide guidance in complying with the nondiscrimination provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The final rules also provide guidance on the implementation of wellness programs.
Both men and women with schizophrenia are significantly more likely to have one or more of 46 common chronic health conditions than individuals without mental illness, according to study led by Caroline Carney Doebbeling, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc.