| New Boston University Study Links Repetitive Hits to Head, Not Concussions, to CTE |
 |
A Boston University study published Thursday detailed the strongest link yet that repetitive hits to the head -- not just those that produce a concussion -- can lead to the debilitating brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The new research highlights the risks of younger athletes playing contact sports and could lead to questions about the effectiveness of current concussion protocols.
A.J. Perez, USA Today 01/18/2018    |
| Read Article: USA Today |
Editorials/Columns/Letters
|
|
| Miller: Nursing Home Study Raises Questions on Medicare Managed Care Networks |
|
Researchers at Brown University's School of Public Health examined Medicare beneficiaries entering skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) from 2012 to 2014. The yardsticks for quality were Nursing Home Compare - Medicare's own database of nursing home quality ratings - and rates of hospital readmission for those admitted to SNFs. Their key finding: Medicare Advantage enrollees appear more likely to enter lower-quality skilled nursing facilities than people enrolled in traditional fee-for-service Medicare. Medicare Advantage plans also are subject to a quality rating system, but the researchers found that enrollees in both lower- and higher-quality plans were admitted to SNFs with significantly lower quality ratings.
Mark Miller (columnist), Reuters 01/18/2018 |
| Read Article: Reuters |
| Health Insurance Provider Centene Faces Lawsuit Alleging Lack of Coverage |
|
Health insurance company Centene is facing a lawsuit alleging that it failed to provide adequate access to doctors in 15 states. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington State, alleges that the large for-profit health insurance company leaves members without access to doctors who accept their insurance. "Members have difficulty finding ' and in many cases cannot find ' medical providers," states the lawsuit. As alleged in the complaint, many doctors won't accept patients covered by Centene because of the company's refusal to pay legitimate claims. A spokeswoman for Centene says that the company has not yet seen the lawsuit.
Reed Abelson, The New York Times 01/11/2018 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Lawsuit: Army Corps knew for decades about Katy flooding risks |
|
Not long after the government erected two earthen dams on an empty patch of Katy prairie west of Houston, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicted that thousands of acres of private property could be consumed by lakes that would form upstream in a big storm, according to documents described in a federal lawsuit. That was in 1962. Yet neither then, nor later when hundreds of subdivisions were built upstream from those reservoirs, did the federal government buy additional land to make room for emergency lakebeds that ultimately flooded 14,000 properties during Hurricane Harvey. More than a half century of the Corps' own reports are being presented as the strongest evidence to support homeowners seeking compensation from the government because of the water that flowed into their property, according to new filings in a federal lawsuit pending in the Washington, D.C.-based Court of Federal Claims.
Lise Olsen, Houston Chronicle 01/18/2018 |
| Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Lawyer: Woman Was Having Psychotic Episode When Left in Cold |
|
An attorney for a woman who was left outside a Baltimore hospital wearing a patient gown and socks on a frigid night says she was having a psychotic episode when the institution turned its back on her. The Baltimore Sun reports that the attorney says the woman named Rebecca is now at an undisclosed inpatient facility undergoing mental health treatment. He said Wednesday he was hired to represent the patient on behalf of her family. He says the actions of the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown employees were "cruel and inhumane."
Associated Press, The New York Times 01/18/2018 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
|
|
