“Howard Staab, a 53-year-old North Carolina contractor, was healthy in the summer of 2004–or so he thought, until his doctor found a life-threatening heart condition during a routine physical. Uninsured, Staab had always paid out-of-pocket for medical care. But discussions with the local hospital revealed uninsured patients pay much higher fees than insurers do. Staab […]
“Residents in nursing homes are some of the most vulnerable and helpless citizens in the US, with nearly 1.7 million elderly and disabled persons residing in about 17,000 facilities. And as difficult as it is to believe in this day and age, there is indisputable evidence to show that many nursing home residents are being […]
“Louise Brown was born in July 1978, but the story of how she would recast civilization had been written years before. The first baby born through in vitro fertilization came not as a shock but as an affirmation, exhibit A to the commentariat who had for a decade promised that the day of the test-tube […]
“As we told you yesterday, the fight between advocates of consumer freedom and the nanny state’s henchmen is coming to a head in New York City, as local lawmakers have unanimously voiced their support for an outright ban on a popular culinary bogeyman: trans fat. Knowing full well that the modus operandi of these food […]
“Dust mites, which infest the cleanest homes and thrive in beddings and carpets, disrupt the protective function of the skin, leaving it vulnerable to other allergens and irritants in the environment, a study has found. House dust mites and their droppings have long been linked to attacks of asthma and eczema, and a group of […]
“Emergency rooms at many hospitals are routinely stretched to the breaking point, raising concerns that they would not be able to handle victims during a terrorist attack or natural disaster, according to congressional testimony yesterday and a new federal study. Between 40 percent and 50 percent of emergency departments experienced crowding during 2003 and 2004, […]
“California’s HMOs offer about the same quality of care as health plans nationwide, but that’s not good enough: With few exceptions, they could do better at offering basic services such as cancer screenings, diabetes checks and follow-ups on mental health care, according to a report released Wednesday by the state. In an annual HMO report […]
“Most of the 9 million uninsured children in the U.S. live in homes where at least one parent works full time. In more than one-quarter of the cases, there are two working parents. The advocacy group Families USA, which promotes universal health coverage, says that finding goes against the stereotype that many people have of […]
“We’ve all done a pretty good impression of Inspector Clouseau at one time or another. Knocking over coffee cups, dropping keys, tripping over rugs — sometimes life feels like a slapstick comedy, and you’re the star. Can klutziness be cured? If episodes of clumsiness happen more frequently, how can you tell if it’s something serious […]
“The European Court of Human Rights gave another setback to German homeschoolers by affirming that the interests of the State trump the rights of parents to educate their children. Yesterday, the Court denied a request from the parents of Joshua and Rebekka Konrad to rule Germany’s ban on homeschooling violates their human rights as […]
