By Jeremy Morris, Associate Editor, US Daily Review.

New research reveals that 56 percent of employees estimate they waste up to $750 because of mistakes made with insurance benefits elections, which could represent up to four months of an individual’s critical grocery budget.[1] In fact, nearly 1-in-4 respondents (24 percent) say they chose the wrong level of insurance coverage or benefits options they didn’t need, and only 16 percent of employees feel confident they aren’t making mistakes during the enrollment process. These new findings are part of the 2012 Open Enrollment Survey of the Aflac WorkForces Report (AWR), an online survey of 2,500 U.S. consumers conducted in July 2012 by Research Now and released by Aflac, the No. 1 provider of supplemental and guaranteed-renewable insurance in the United States.

Common Mistakes

The Open Enrollment Survey found that consumers are on auto pilot when it comes to the benefits selection process and aren’t even aware of the options they have. Reported mistakes of American workers include:

• More than 6-in-10 consumers (61 percent) are only sometimes or not at all aware of changes to their policies each year.
• 89 percent say they simply elect the same benefits options every year.
• Almost half (47 percent) rarely or never exceed deductible costs.
• Only 16 percent contribute the right amount to flexible spending accounts.

“Workers cannot afford to be in the dark about benefits options,” said Audrey Boone Tillman, executive vice president of Corporate Services at Aflac. “Consumers today need every dollar they have, with many clipping coupons and looking for ways to save. It’s critical that employees understand their benefits options during open enrollment to ensure that they don’t make mistakes that cost them money.”

Health Care Costs Cause Worry

In addition to confusion related to the open enrollment process, rising health care costs remain top-of-mind among employees. Almost half of American workers (43 percent) identified rising out-of-pocket medical expenses and health insurance costs as the most important issues to them right now. Nearly 4-in-10 workers (38 percent) say they are very or extremely concerned about the possibility of an unanticipated medical expense.

Many Americans have made changes in their everyday lives to meet the high cost of unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenses. Forty percent have had to cut back on social activities, 28 percent say they have not been able to take a vacation and 22 percent have had to work more hours.[2]

By US Daily Review Staff.

Today’s healthcare landscape in the U.S. is fraught with challenges—both to consumers and to practitioners. It’s no secret that many parts of the American healthcare system are struggling, primary care perhaps more than most. As the newly published paper explains, this is not a new situation—it has roots in major, deep trends that have been under way for many years, decades even.

Communications company Havas Health recently undertook a nationwide study in order to better understand the changing conditions for our primary care practitioners (PCPs) and the state of primary care. We surveyed 259 practitioners in 26 states, and used the results to inform our incisive look at the top 10 trends affecting this group, whom we call the “Cinderella of American Medicine.”

“Our deep dive has uncovered a strong sense of ambivalence toward the future of primary care,” says Julie Monroid, chief strategy officer, partner, Havas Health. “As the battle rages over healthcare policy and its rising costs, the looming crisis in primary care is being all but ignored. We at Havas Health, who make it our business to stay on top of where health and wellness is headed, have seen this coming, as primary care continues to be undervalued in the U.S. We hope that our look at the trends that will most affect PCPs will help bring a brighter focus on this important group.”

Highlights of the trends that have been identified include:

• Dwindling attraction of primary care. The decrease in the numbers of primary care physicians shows no signs of reversing. American medical students view primary care as having a heavier workload and more stress than specialties—but with less pay.
• More talking treatment. Patients are less passive, more active and proactive means that increasingly, physicians must address a patient’s self-diagnosis and whether there’s need for treatment the patient is requesting.
• Growing diversity. Among the many consequences of the country’s growing diversity is that PCPs increasingly need more than great medical skills to do their work well.
• Believing the promise of prevention. Though the notion of prevention is growing ever more popular, there isn’t great financial incentive for primary care practices to embrace it—and yet many are.
• Alternative thinking and practice. Patient demand for alternative and complementary medicine is increasingly reflected in the attitudes of PCPs.
• Digital information, just in time. While many physicians have been behind the curve in adopting digital technology to manage their practice (HER/EMR), they’re leveraging digital technology to stay ahead of the curve, often sharing online information with patients in real time.

“Our probe into the mindset of primary care providers revealed a number of emerging concerns,” said Donna Murphy, global CEO, Havas Health. “This is a field that is not attracting new recruits from medical schools, and yet it’s a field that, frankly, is essential for the future of this country. We are seeing the ranks of PCPs shrink, especially in more economically troubled regions—which is precisely where primary care providers are needed the most.”

“Our purpose in creating this white paper is to highlight some of the major trends that are creating or adding to the difficulties primary care providers face—and also to flag opportunities for third-party brands and corporations to help them out,” saidDoug Burcin, global CEO, Havas Health. “We see the health and wellness field holistically, and this survey is just one example of the value we provide for our health and wellness clients—as well as for the entire healthcare community.”

By Jeremy Morris, Associate Editor, US Daily Review.

More employers are offering benefits that encourage employees to improve their health in 2012, according to a survey released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) at its 2012 Annual Conference and Exposition in Atlanta.

Over the last five years, benefits that reward employees for improving their health have jumped – a sign that organizations recognize employees value these benefits and are looking for ways to cut business costs. For example, the percentage of employers offering health and lifestyle coaching jumped from 33 percent in 2008 to 45 percent in 2012, and rewards or bonuses for completing a health and wellness program increased from 23 percent in 2008 to 35 percent in 2012.

“Employers recognize that providing employees with the opportunity to improve their health can increase morale, confidence and productivity,” said Mark J. Schmit, vice president of research at SHRM. “Organizations continue to look for ways to manage costs as the economy slowly improves. Benefits that encourage healthier behavior are a cost effective way to keep up employee morale, while healthier employees also help decrease healthcare costs to employers and employees.”

SHRM’s 2012 Employee Benefits Survey found that, while most employee benefits stabilized this year, 73 percent of HR professionals reported that the economic downtown negatively impacted employee benefit offerings (11 percent to a large extent and 62 percent to some extent). This is more or less the same as in 2011, when 77 percent said the economy negatively affected benefits to some or a large extent.

Because of the economy and recent employment-related legislation, many employers have shifted to benefits that place primary responsibility and control to employees. For example, more employers offer defined contribution retirement-savings plans (92 percent) than defined benefit pension plans (21 percent) in 2012, putting the impetus on employees to manage their own retirement savings instead of relying on employer-provided pensions.

“By shifting primary responsibility in controlling certain healthcare and financial benefits, employers are recognizing a shift in workplace culture,” said Schmit. “The new plans allow employees have more control over how they save for retirement and manage their health, while reducing costs for employers. These plans are also more flexible, and thus more attractive, to employees who will likely not spend an entire career with one organization.”

Employer spending on benefits remained stable this year with organizations spending, on average, 19 percent of an employee’s annual salary on voluntary benefits, 18 percent on mandatory benefits and 10 percent on pay for time employees did not work.

The survey of 550 randomly selected HR professionals examines 297 benefits. Among other findings:

• The five most common benefits in 2012 are: paid holidays (97 percent); prescription drug program coverage (97 percent); dental insurance (96 percent); defined contribution retirement savings plans (92 percent); and mail-order prescription programs (91 percent).
• Paid time off plans have become more popular: More than half of organizations (51 percent) provide paid time off plans, a combination of traditional vacation time, sick leave and personal days in one plan, up from 42 percent in 2009.
• Domestic partner benefits: A third of employers (35 percent) offer health care coverage to same-sex domestic partners, and 32 percent offer it to opposite-sex domestic partners. Fifteen percent provide domestic partner benefits, not including health care coverage, for opposite-sex partners, and the same percent offer the benefit to same-sex partners.
• Health care premium discounts for healthier behavior are on the rise: Health care premiums discounts for getting annual health risk assessments rose from 11 percent in 2008 to 21 percent in 2012, while discounts for not using tobacco products increased to 20 percent this year from 8 percent in 2008.
• Pets at work: Six percent of organizations offer pet health insurance,  5 percent allow pets at work, 1 percent pay for pet care expenses while an employee is traveling for business, and 1 percent have a “Take Your Pet to Work” day.

The annual benefits survey asks HR respondents about their organizations’ employee benefits in 12 sections: business travel, employee programs and services, family-friendly, financial and compensation, flexible working, healthcare and welfare, housing and relocation, leave, preventive health and wellness, professional and career development, retirement savings and planning, and other.

Colonial Life, based in Columbia, S.C., is the exclusive sponsor of the SHRM 2012 Employee Benefits survey report.

By US Daily Review Staff.

Movies are just as powerful as traditional tobacco ads, and it is a known fact – supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the U.S. Surgeon General – that smoking in movies can cause youth to smoke, nearly 180,000 adolescents each year. A new study published in the journal Pediatrics takes a deeper look at movie smoking exposure and the impact of different ratings on smoking onset. The results show that smoking in PG-13 and R movies are equivalent in terms of how they increase risk for smoking. But, because youth viewership of PG-13 movies is higher, smoking in PG-13 films accounts for two thirds of the total movie effect on adolescent smoking.

“PG-13 rated movies account for the most of the salient movie smoking adolescents see,” said Dr. James Sargent, Professor of Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School and lead author of the study. “By eliminating smoking from PG-13 movies, an R-rating for movie smoking would cut youth smoking by one-fifth,” he said.

Smoking has been Glamorized in Films for Years

For this reason, national public health groups like Legacy, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and more have strongly urged the movie industry to respond to this public health crisis by assigning an R rating to all movies with smoking. Since a PG-13 rating allows filmmakers to draw larger audiences, the R rating might in turn decrease the prevalence of onscreen smoking in youth-rated films.

In 2007, under public pressure from health groups and state attorneys general, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) announced that it would “consider” smoking in assigning ratings but it has yet to rate a film R for smoking. The MPAA’s current rating system inconsistently includes smoking in its fine-print ratings “descriptors,” which has been ineffective in providing consistent, accurate or complete information about tobacco in youth-rated films. Simply labeling the smoking is an ineffective and incomplete step in reducing the impact and dangerous correlation of youth exposure and initiation.

Funded by the National Cancer Institute and Legacy®, a national public health organization best known for the truth® youth smoking prevention campaign, the data supports eliminating smoking from PG-13 movies, which would significantly reduce smoking onset by 18 percent. “This new research shows us that ratings do matter,” said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy. “Updating the rating system to assign an R rating for movies with smoking would have an enormous impact in preventing young people from becoming the next replacement smokers in the tobacco epidemic,” she added.

Examining how movie ratings affect behavior has important implications, such as whether the context in which movie smoking is presented affects smoking. In a different study, exposure to movie clips portraying smoking as relaxing was significantly associated with a stronger desire to smoke compared with clips where the motive for smoking was unclear.

To investigate whether it was other elements of the films than the smoking that was stimulating youth smoking, the Dartmouth researchers used the ratings system as a marker for contextual elements on which movies are rated: sexual content, profanity, drug use and violence. The researchers found that smoking in PG-13 movies had essentially the same impact on smoking initiation as R-rated movies, indicating that it is the smoking – not other behaviors – that primarily impacts adolescent behavior.

“This study demonstrates that it is not some unmeasured characteristic of adolescents drawn to edgy, R-rated movies that accounts for the movie effect on behavior. The simplest explanation is best; kids see realistic depictions of smoking on screen and that makes them want to light up,” said Dr. Sargent.

By US Daily Review Staff.

John C. Goodman, Research Fellow with The Independent Institute, President of the National Center for Policy Analysis, and author of Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis, has developed the Healthcare Contract with America.  The Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act (“ObamaCare”) and the House of Representatives has moved to repeal it.  Yet, no one has presented a plausible alternative—until now.  The Healthcare Contract with America includes five themes to ensure that all individuals have access to affordable healthcare and have choices in obtaining coverage.

The key elements of the Healthcare Contract with America include:

• Tax Fairness: Families at the same income level should get the same help from government when they obtain private health insurance, regardless of where they obtain it. The federal government encourages the purchase of private health insurance through the tax system. Yet the current approach is arbitrary, regressive and unfair. Instead of paying taxable wages, employers are able to purchase health insurance for their employees with untaxed dollars.
• Universality: Unclaimed tax relief should be made available to local safety net institutions to be used in case the uninsured cannot pay their own medical bills. If an individual chooses to be uninsured, the unclaimed tax credit should be sent to a safety net agency in the community where the person lives. These funds would provide a source of finance in case the uninsured are unable to pay their medical bills.
• Portability:Employers would be able to purchase personal and portable insurance for their employees. One reason we don’t have portable insurance today is because of the federal tax law. We generously subsidize employer-provided insurance, but offer very little tax relief to those who must purchase insurance on their own.
• Patient Control: Patients should be able to manage more of their own health care dollars. Individuals are able to save for medical expenses in a number of tax-favored accounts. and other types of accounts.
• Real Insurance: Insurance should not just pay for the cost of becoming ill, it should also pay the higher premium required if patients switch health plans. If insurance premiums for people with health problems are artificially low, insurers will run from people such people at the time of enrollment and have no incentive to treat them well after enrollment. Under the proposal made here, the insurer would be fully compensated for the above-average expected costs. As a result, insurers would compete to attract the sick as well as the healthy and would search for ways to better meet their needs.

Goodman’s new book Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis serves as the basis for the Healthcare Contract with America and contains many innovative ideas for freeing patients and caregivers to be empowered to chart their own lives with low-cost, high-quality healthcare. And The Wall Street Journal and the National Journal, among other media, have called him the “Father of Health Savings Accounts.”

By the Price of Business, Radio Partners of US Daily Review. 

By US Daily Review Staff.

Van Andel Institute announces that researchers at Lund University in Sweden have published a study detailing how Parkinson’s disease spreads through the brain. Experiments in rat models uncover a process previously used to explain mad cow disease, in which misfolded proteins travel from sick to healthy cells.

“A major unmet medical need is a therapy that slows disease progression,” said Patrik Brundin M.D., Ph.D., Jay Van Andel Endowed Chair in Parkinson’s Research at Van Andel Research Institute (VARI), Head of the Neuronal Survival Unit at Lund University and senior author of the study. “We aim to better understand how Parkinson’s pathology progresses and thereby uncover novel molecular targets for disease-modifying treatments.”

Previous research demonstrates that a misfolded protein gradually appears in healthy neurons transplanted to the brains of Parkinson’s patients.  In the current study, published this week in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) One, researchers were able to follow events in the recipient cell as it accepts the diseased protein. The experiments also show how the transferred proteins attract proteins in the host cell leading to abnormal folding or “clumping” inside the cells.

“This is a cellular process likely to lead to the disease process as Parkinson’s progresses, and it spreads to an increasing number of brain regions as the patient gets sicker,” said Elodie Angot, Ph.D., of Lund University’s Neuronal Survival Unit, and lead author of the study.

Link to the study here:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0039465

By US Daily Review Staff.

The Supreme Court’s ruling issued on the Affordable Care Act will spur more consolidation in the healthcare industry, according to a recent survey of more than 200 healthcare leaders from across the industry conducted by healthcare public affairs firm Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock.

Conducted under the firm’s trademark Inside Baseball brand, the survey garnered responses from more than 200 healthcare leaders who make organizational, operational and financial decisions at their respective organizations. Although 53 percent of respondents feel that absolute clarity on the law will not arrive until after the November presidential election, a vast
number of respondents feel that the ruling is a strong indicator that consolidation and entrepreneurship will continue to mark the industry moving forward.

“Executives are gearing up for increased M&A activity, both in the Nashville healthcare community and nationally,” says Molly Cate, Partner at Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock. “In Nashville, where healthcare is a $70 billion industry, we’ll see a flood of new ideas and companies flood the market, according to survey results.”

Equally as clear in the survey: healthcare leaders aren’t waiting for the political process to iron out the details of healthcare
reform. When asked how the ruling will change operational or budgetary decisions, 73 percent aren’t making any decisions
based on last week’s ruling, mainly because they’ve already planned for it and are already implementing their strategy.

Survey Highlights

Below are highlights from the survey:

• When asked will the vote bring the clarity and stability that investors, analysts and operators have been looking for in the healthcare industry, 53.1 percent said “No … the presidential election will essentially turn into a referendum on the healthcare law and muddy the waters for months to come.”
• When asked how the ruling impacts hospital M&A activity, 65.7 percent said bigger is better – more consolidation in the industry.
• Looking at that same question, 18.6 percent said investor-owned hospital chains will be flush with cash and an attractive candidate for hospital boards across the country.
• When asked what impact the ruling will have on Nashville’s healthcare industry, 28 percent said entrepreneurs will flood the market with new ideas and companies.
• Looking at that same question, 18.5 percent of respondents predict Nashville’s healthcare IT sector specifically will boom, even more so than in the dot-com era. And close behind, 18 percent predict that all of the medium-sized hospital companies that have been rumored to consolidate for years finally will.
• When asked if making any new operational or budgetary decisions at their company in light of yesterday’s ruling, 72.8 percent said no.7/9/12 Healthcare Leaders Say Supreme Court Ruling Will Spur More Consolidation in the Industry | Business …
• When asked where the law will stand this time next year, 33.6 percent predict it will be stalled in the Senate

By US Daily Review Staff.

A new survey led by Interlex Communications, Inc. (Interlex), in partnership with the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, reveals consumers know ‘sugary drinks’ are not part of a healthy diet – though many are still confused about what constitutes a ‘sugary drink.’

The national effort surveyed 1,894 adults across seven demographic groups and held four focus groups in San Antonio, Texas. The efforts revealed that the majority of respondents (more than 50 percent of each) would like to reduce the amount of sugary drinks consumed; however, respondents who identified as Caucasian and Republican said that they would not like to reduce their intake, 46.5 percent and 48.8 percent respectively.

The survey also tested responses to various messages and found that 57 percent of respondents agreed that sugary drink companies contribute to high rates of obesity in the U.S.  Additionally, 53 percent of respondents felt that sugary drink companies influenced elected officials when they make campaign contributions. One of the most revealing findings is that 51 percent of respondents felt sugary drink companies unfairly target youth and minorities.

“This report’s findings are critical as they, for the first time, show the consumer’s perspective and attitudes on ‘sugary drink’ marketing and messaging. It is critical for us to understand how these messages impact and resonate with the consumer in our efforts to educate them about healthier options,” said Rudy Ruiz, President and CEO, Interlex Communications, Inc.

The survey also found that only 11 percent of respondents believed ‘sugary drink’ companies cared about their health – a telling insight on the perception of ‘sugary drink’ companies.

In addition to the survey, four focus groups identified critical qualitative data about respondents’ perception of ‘sugary drinks’. The most notable finding includes the positive lens through which ‘sugary drinks’ are perceived, as many participants used the terms energy, relaxed, comfortable and friends to describe them. Additionally, many respondents expressed that drinking ‘sugary drinks’ was all-American culture.

Survey findings will be discussed in more detail at today’s National Soda Summit panel titled: The Impact of Sugary Drinks in Communities of Color in Washington, DC.

To download an electronic copy of the full report, please visit: http://www.interlexusa.com/news.html

By US Daily Review Staff.

James R. Goldberg, author of, “The American Medical Money Machine: The Destruction of Healthcare in American and The Rise of Medical Tourism,” is issuing a warning to patients that new regulations under Obamacare will encourage a rise in Medical Tourism or Medical Outsourcing.

In a July 12, 2012 statement released through his publisher, Homonculus Press representative Robert Marshall, Goldberg says, “There is a trending worldwide movement whereby people seeking reduced-cost medical treatments are traveling to countries enthusiastically promoting what they generally refer to as Medical Tourism. These Insurance Exchanges are and will be selling mandatory insurance policies meaning millions of new customers will be forced to buy policies from private insurance companies.”

The author said, “Much can be learned from the Massachusetts model (Romneycare) where at least 100,000 people elected to not participate in the exchanges, and the state government seized money from their bank accounts! Exactly where this money went remains a question, and we can see the same thing happening on a national basis with cases likely to be litigated for decades.”

Marshall added, “Goldberg emphasizes that his primary interest is in assuring patient safety for those now being forced to purchase policies from private organizations. These policies can vastly vary in price and in the benefits they provide.”

“I do not come at this from a political or partisan point of view,” Goldberg remarked. “Obamacare has several features which appear to be in the interest of the public, such as the requirement of insurance organizations to accept all patients, even those with preexisting conditions. But the legislation is totally silent when it comes to just how much the insurance companies can charge! The public must understand that the price to be paid for insurance for preexisting conditions is and will be determined by the insurance industry who have and will, if history teaches us correctly, operate with impunity.”

“With Obamacare, or whatever version of it emerges,” Goldberg remarks, “the insurance industry has never made more money. Right now, premiums, co-pays and deductibles for patients have never been higher never lower reimbursement for doctors. There is ample money in the healthcare system: it simply is being hoarded or converted by the medical insurance cartel.”

As an example, the author points out a 1999 Government Accounting Office (GAO) report titled, “Improprieties by Contractors Compromised Medicare Program Integrity.” This report details the conviction a major insurance company who was subsequently removed for administering Medicare benefits in California. Goldberg went on to say, “But don’t cry for them: Shortly thererafter they were “rewarded” by the Department of Defense with the Federal Tri-Care program for active military health benefits: a multi trillion dollar a year contract. What’s wrong with this picture?” the author asks.

Goldberg answers: “The awarding of this contract by the Federal Government to a firm found guilty of criminal fraud is probably illegal and should be rescinded. Meanwhile, Blue Shield of California has increased premiums by 59% for its individual policies since the passage of Obamacare: this is a precursor of things to come!”

“The insurance cartel will most likely offer a variety of policies in Insurance Exchanges mandated by the Obamacare law, with varying benefits and costs. I predict that they will offer lower cost policies which will require patients to travel overseas for unregulated and cheaper medical care. This is the likely scenario that will fuel the growth Medical Tourism and enrich the insurance industry at the expense of patient safety,” he adds.

“According to a recent report released by the consulting firm Deloitte,” Goldberg said, “Many major insurance companies are currently reimbursing medical costs incurred by their insured for foreign medical treatment, provided the foreign hospital is listed in their hospital network and approved by the Joint Commission International (JCI). I believe this will continue and expand with the implementation of the Insurance Exchange Networks.”

“The JCI,” Goldberg has exposed, “is an offspring of the Joint Commission of Oakbrook, Illinois; the same outfit that was given the exclusive right to accredit hospitals in this country in order that they might receive Medicare benefits. The JCI does not regulate their foreign accreditations and provides no oversight or compliance.”

Goldberg further said, “By offering foreign-based care via the new Obamacare Insurance Exchanges, we’re seeing the prospective engineering of a new means for attracting patients to purchase Medical Tourism based policies. These policies appear to offer safe and vetted benefits but a closer look reveals a very different story.”

Marshall explains the author’s personal interest in the topic saying, “Goldberg’s young son, Joshua, died on February 22, 2006 at the epicenter for Medical Tourism, died at Bumrungrad in Bangkok, Thailand. His death came under highly suspicious circumstances. After having forensic experts examine Joshua’s hospital chart, many non-standard practices and outright fabrications became apparent: the hospital would not cooperate and neither would the JCI.”

Goldberg delves into the activities of the insurance cartel in his book, with an in-depth study. Goldberg asserts, “Major health care companies also convicted of numerous Medicare fraud violations, are actively promoting offshore care and will likely play a key role in the Obama Insurance Exchange programs. I simply point out that the giants will likely dominate the Insurance Exchange concept: that is not a good thing.”

Goldberg is concerned that what is not detailed in the Obamacare legislation will be left open to the discretion of the people behind the Insurance Exchanges. He believes it is simple to see that this will open the doors to new fortunes for the insurance companies.

“Tom Daschle, former Speaker of the House and now chief lobbyist for UnitedHealthcare, was retained by Obama to steer the insurance favored legislation through the Congress and into law. The story is hardly over where a battle is brewing between big money versus morality!” he exclaims.

Goldberg’s explosive book on the corruption of our health care system and his cautionary tale about the evils of Medical Tourism, “The American Medical Money Machine: The Destruction of Healthcare in America and The Rise of Medical Tourism,” is available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle, as well as through bookstores everywhere.

By US Daily Review Staff.

Tampa, FL, is home to the vainest people in America, while the citizens of Des Moines, IA are the least concerned with appearances, according to the July/August issue of Men’s Health, which reports where looks are everything.

By Jeremy Morris, Associate Editor, US Daily Review.

U.S. News & World Report, a leading publisher of quality rankings, and Pharmacy Times, a trade publication for the pharmacy industry, have announced the 2012-2013 list of top pharmacist-recommended over-the-counter (OTC) health products for consumers.

Top Recommended Health Products identifies pharmacists’ go-to brands in approximately 150 categories, from head (migraine, allergy relief, and cough/cold) to toe (joint pain and foot cream).  Some of the No. 1 pharmacist-recommended products include:

See all Top Health Products here: http://usnews.com/tophealthproducts

Why rate health products?  Americans are increasingly relying on the Web–and each other–to make everyday health decisions, such as which headache medication to buy.   But pharmacists possess a wealth of knowledge, largely untapped by consumers, about which over-the-counter products are best suited to a particular health need.  Top Recommended Health Products brings the collective recommendations of thousands of pharmacists directly to consumers.

For example, by visiting the “Cough, Cold, and Allergy Products” page, cold, flu, and allergy sufferers can now use this resource to find the No.1 pharmacist-recommended remedy for their symptoms.

“We hope to make that trip to the drugstore a little more informed and a little less confusing,” says Lindsay Lyon, Senior Editor of Health & Wellness at U.S. News & World Report.

In gathering OTC data, Pharmacy Times conducted a proprietary annual survey that reaches a significant portion of the publication’s 170,000 pharmacist readers to collect feedback about more than 1,000 OTC products.  In addition to publication on the U.S. News website, the list of No. 1 pharmacist-recommended products is published by Pharmacy Times at www.otcguide.net and in the annual OTC Guide print edition available this month.

“Pharmacists are in the unique position to help consumers make educated choices about which over-the-counter products best meet their needs,” said Tighe Blazier, President of Pharmacy Times. “By working with U.S. News & World Report, we’re thrilled to be able to bring this expertise to consumers.”

To learn more, visit www.pharmacytimes.com and www.usnews.com.

By US Daily Review Staff.

The Patient’s Guide, the leading online destination in beauty and skin care, released the top U.S. cities where the average population appears “older than they really are.” To determine these rankings, The Patient’s Guide conducted a study that pulled data from internal analytics (http://www.agespots.net), Google’s Regional Interest, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Houston is one of the Ten Cities

“Up to 90 percent of the visible skin changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun,” says Dr. Eric Bernstein, distinguished practitioner and innovator in the field of dermatology and laser surgery. “Depending on where you live, you may need to adjust your skin care regimen’s level of daily sunscreen and increase treatments such as non-ablative laser skin rejuvenation or citric acid peels to treat the five signs of skin aging.”

People who live or work near to the equator, at higher altitudes, and in locations with many dry, sunny days have a higher risk of UV exposure, skin aging and even cancer. Listed below are the top ten U.S. cities whose residents struggle with physical signs of premature aging including sun spots and wrinkles.

(View infographic: http://www.agespots.net/oldest-cities/)

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. Miami, FL
3. St. Petersburg, FL
4. Phoenix, AZ
5. Houston, TX
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Orlando, FL
8. New Orleans, LA
9. Charleston, SC
10. Jersey City, NJ

Ironically, the leading cities in the study happen to be highly populated, metropolitan areas that are known for their emphasis on beauty and fashion. Jasson Gilmore, The Patient’s Guide’s CEO and co-founder said, “It comes as no surprise that most of the cities in the top ten for aging skin are in the southern portion of the US. The residents of these cities are fortunate to bask in the sun’s rays most days of the year; however this comes at a high price. Risk of skin cancer and premature aging run high in these areas. This study should remind everyone to wear their sunscreen, especially during the summer when we are outdoors more.” With proper protection from UV radiation, many forms of skin cancer and most premature aging of the skin can be avoided.

By US Daily Review Staff.

Summer vacations may be fun, but they can be costly if you fail to prepare your home and property adequately. Burglars see vacations as an opportunity to target empty homes, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

There are more than 2.15 million burglaries each year, over 65 percent of which are residential break-ins. The FBI notes that the summer months of July and August have the highest rates of burglaries, usually about a 10 percent increase over other times of the year.

“Once in your home, a burglar can easily steal computer equipment, televisions, CD and DVD players, as well as jewelry and other valuable items,” said Jeanne M. Salvatore, senior vice president and consumer spokesperson, I.I.I. “In fact, the average dollar loss per burglary is over $1,700.”

However, criminals tend to be opportunists, noted Ms. Salvatore. If you make your home more difficult to break into, the crook will likely target another home. Research shows that if it takes more than four or five minutes to break into a home, the burglar will go elsewhere.

In addition to having the right insurance coverage, the I.I.I. offers these five preventive measures to keep your home safe:

• Make it time-consuming to break into your home. Dead-bolt window and door locks can slow a burglar down. You may also obtain a discount of 2 to 5 percent on your insurance policy for installing these devices.

• Make it noisy to break into your home. Invest in a burglar alarm. The most effective systems ring at an outside service, which alerts the police, fire department and other emergency services. A sophisticated alarm system could result in insurance discounts of 15 to 20 percent.

• Make sure you have strong doors. Outside doors and frames should be made of metal or solid hardwood and be at least 1 3/4-inches thick. Each door must fit its frame securely. Even the best lock will not deter a burglar if it is installed in a weak door. Garage doors also need strong locks. If you have a tool shed, keep it locked since burglars can use the tools to break into your home.

• Turn off your computer and disconnect it from the Internet. If you save personal information on your computer, make sure it is difficult to access. You don’t want a hacker at work while you are on vacation.

• Keep valuables under lock and key and well hidden. Do not leave personal documents in your home office or desk–burglars know to look for them there. Put critical documents in a lock box or safe somewhere else in the house. Keep copies of important documents at another location–a relative’s home, for example. Expensive jewelry should also be hidden somewhere other than the bedroom or left in a safety deposit box at the bank.

As you prepare to leave on vacation follow these additional steps:

• Keep your home well lit. Mount exterior lights out of reach of would-be burglars in your yard or on your house. Put indoor lights on a timer so that they go on and off at appropriate times, making it look as if the house is inhabited.

• Make the house look inhabited. Leave blinds or curtains open in their usual position. Put indoor lights on a timer. If you are going to be away for an extended period, arrange to have your lawn mowed in the summer and your driveway shoveled in the winter.

• Arrange to have mail picked up or held by the post office. Stop newspaper deliveries and ask a neighbor to pick-up “throw-away” circulars.

• Ask a neighbor for help. Ask a neighbor you trust to keep an eye on your home while you are gone. You may also want to tell your local police you will be away.

• Only tell people you know and trust that you are going away. Be careful not to discuss your vacation plans at the supermarket or hairdresser or other public places where you don’t know who may be listening.

Standard homeowners insurance policies provide coverage for theft of personal possessions and damage to the home caused by the break-in. With replacement cost coverage, which is only about 10 percent more than actual cash value coverage, damaged property is replaced without deducting for depreciation.

By US Daily Review Staff.

any parents are overwhelmed by fear for their kids, asking how they can protect their children from people like Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State coach who held a position of respect and power in his community and was recently convicted of 45 counts of child abuse, as reported in the New York Times. A new book from the founder of Kidpower, a nonprofit leader in people safety education, offers five tips for protecting kids from abuse, violence and other dangers.

“Like many sexual predators, Jerry Sandusky developed strong relationships of love and trust with his victims before molesting them,” says van der Zande, child safety expert and the author of The Kidpower Book For Caring Adults, a comprehensive guide on how to protect children from sexual abuse, abduction, bullying and other violence, including clear explanations, inspiring stories, and step-by-step explanations about how to practice skills.

A veteran instructor of self-protection and self-defense workshops to adults as well as children and teens for more than 20 years, van der Zande finds the stories told by Sandusky’s victims in the trial “chillingly similar to the stories we hear from adult survivors of child sexual abuse in our classes.”

After the guilty verdict for Sandusky was announced, van der Zande responded to the latest influx of questions from parents by also publishing an excerpt from The Kidpower Book For Caring Adults on her “Put Safety First” Blog with steps parents can take toprotect kids from abuse:

“As these terrible stories come to light, we need to understand that Sandusky is not unique,” van der Zande writes. “Pedophiles know how to find and manipulate vulnerable kids – and how to put on a great show for everyone else, even members of their family. Almost certainly, as I write this, a child is being abused behind closed doors somewhere in your town – and in mine. And these kids are not speaking up because the person abusing them is someone they love and trust – a member of their family, a mentor, someone they are dependent on.

Here are five steps from Kidpower.org to protect children from being betrayed by someone they love and trust.

1. Accept the reality that many child molesters may seem like wonderful people.  Don’t be fooled by outside appearances. Pay attention to what someone is actually doing with your kids. If someone who is responsible for the care of many kids starts to single your child out for special attention, be careful. Don’t assume that someone is safe just because this person is generous, beloved, charming, and kind.

2. Teach kids about touch in healthy relationships. The Kidpower rules include: “Touch or games for play, teasing, or affection should be the choice of each person, safe, allowed by the grownups in charge, and not a secret.  Other people should not touch your private areas or ask you to touch their private areas. Touch for health and safety is sometimes not a choice but should never be a secret.”  Rehearse with kids how to stop unwanted touch using non-sexual touch, like someone patting their head or holding their hand.  Give kids practice in persisting in setting their boundaries by pretending to act sad or by offering a bribe and having them say “No” again.

3. Teach kids to tell, even if someone they care about will be upset. The Kidpower rule is that “Problems should not be secrets.”  Get kids into the habit of talking to you by listening without lecturing or judging. Ask occasionally, “Is there anything you’ve been wondering or worrying about that you haven’t told me?”  Remind kids that their safety is the most important thing in the world to you and that you want to know if anything happens that is against your safety rules. Rehearse with kids how to interrupt a busy, impatient adult with a safety problem and how to persist in getting help if the adult doesn’t understand or believe them.

4. Take action if someone’s behavior makes you uncomfortable. Speak up about anything someone does with kids that you are not sure is safe. You don’t have to assume child abuse but you do have to be aware of the possibility of someone harming your child either intentionally or accidentally. If this person has good intentions, then you can work out concerns or misunderstandings.  Pay attention to your intuition. Don’t make or accept excuses. Keep supervising to ensure that your child is in safe hands.

5. Understand that Putting Safety First takes an ongoing commitment. Make safety conversations a daily part of your lives. Keep talking to kids and regularly ask, “Is there anything you’ve been wondering about, or worrying about, that you haven’t shared with me?” Keep paying attention and speak up if you see a problem. And keep practicing people safety skills with kids — just like they need to practice anything else, like brushing their teeth, they need to practice boundary setting and self-protection skills like awareness and getting help when they have a problem in order to make it a healthy habit. The Kidpower books provides a fun effective empowering way to do it!

About Irene van der Zande and Kidpower:

Irene van der Zande is the Founder and Executive Director of Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International. Her new book, “The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People,” with a foreword by Gavin de Becker, is the most comprehensive resource available for parents, teachers, and other adults who care about protecting children and teens from bullying, child abuse, abduction, and other violence and want to learn how to empower young people with skills for taking charge of their emotional and physical safety. Van der Zande is available for interviews or to provide guest blog posts. Kidpower services include educational resources, workshops, and consultation on how to create cultures of caring, respect, and safety for everyone, everywhere. Contact safety(at)kidpower(dot)org with requests for interviews, resources or permission to use requirements.

Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International®, known as Kidpower® (http://www.kidpower.org), is highly recommended by experts worldwide for taking a positive, skills-based approach to bullying, violence, abuse and kidnapping prevention. Instead of using fear to teach young people about violence prevention, the Kidpower Method™ makes it fun to learn to be safe, building habits that increase the skills and confidence of kids, parents, teachers and other caring adults that can last a lifetime.

Kidpower has served more than 2 million people of all ages and abilities, since its founding as a nonprofit organization in 1989, offering workshops through more than 20 centers and offices across the US and around the world, as well as an extensive free library of articles, podcasts and blog posts online and affordable publications that are used by hundreds of thousands of people every year. Visit http://www.kidpower.org for more information about people safety for children, teens and adults and training opportunities in your area.

By US Daily Review Staff.

Potential hazards and pollutants may lurk around almost every corner – they may be in a child’s toy, in the air, in the water and food they eat, or in everyday household items.

But armed with information, pregnant women and parents can take steps to limit their children’s exposure to environmental hazards and give them a healthy start in life.

Two leading experts in the field of children’s environmental health separated reality from the myth about health hazards in every day life.

Frederica P. Perera, DrPH, director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health and Maida P. Galvez, MD, MPH, FAAP, director of the Mount Sinai Region 2 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) presented the latest research on long-term health consequences of exposure to plastics, air pollution, lead and pesticides.

“We have learned a lot in recent years about what we can do to protect babies from environmental hazards and there are steps parents can take to lower their children’s exposure to pollutants,” said Dr. Diane Ashton, March of Dimes deputy medical director.

The March of Dimes urges pregnant women avoid known hazards, such as:

• Cigarette smoke, including secondhand smoke by quitting smoking and asking people not to smoke around them.
• Chemicals with strong smells, like turpentine, paint thinner or paint by wearing gloves or a face mask.
• Insecticides and pesticides, such as bug spray and weed killer.
• Plastics with the number 3, 6 or 7 on the bottom which means that they are made with phthalates, polystyrene foam or bisphenol A, which may have a harmful affect on children’s development.
• Let your health care provider or dentist know if you are pregnant before getting an X-ray.

For more information visit: http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/environment.html

According to a statement, “The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. On November 17, 2012, the March of Dimes and its global partners will observe World Prematurity Day to raise awareness that preterm birth is a serious problem worldwide.  For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.”

By US Daily Review Staff.

With outdoor activities in full-swing this summer, it’s important to remember to protect your skin. However, with all the sunscreen products on the market, it can be hard to know how to pick the right one. A new survey also shows that the public is confused about how to apply sunscreen correctly. Tips from a board-certified dermatologist can help clear up the confusion.

“Consumers can be overwhelmed by the large number of sunscreen products available and because of that they avoid using sunscreen all together, resulting in sunburn and overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation,” said board-certified dermatologist Henry W. Lim, M.D., FAAD. “Dermatologists can provide the public with the information they need to make smart choices when it comes to sun protection, which can help reduce their risk for skin cancer, and keep their skin looking healthy and youthful.”

When looking for a sunscreen, the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy) recommends that consumers:

• Read the label on sunscreen products. Use only sunscreen that offers:
  • Broad-spectrum coverage (label may say “broad spectrum,” “protects against UVA/UVB” or “UVA/UVB protection”).
  • SPF 30 or higher.
  • Water resistance.

Dermatologists also recommend that consumers:

• Re-apply the sunscreen every two hours when outdoors.
• Seek shade whenever your shadow appears to be shorter than you are.
• Wear protective clothing, which includes long sleeves, pants, wide-brimmed hat, and sunglasses.

A new online survey of adults nationwide by the Academy found that confusion still exists about SPF numbers and how to use sunscreens correctly.

• Less than one in five respondents (18 percent) knew that a sunscreen with SPF 30 does not provide twice the protection as an SPF 15.
• Among respondents who ‘Sometimes’ or ‘Always’ wear sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun, only 28 percent reapplied sunscreen at least every two hours.

Dr. Lim emphasized that UV protection does not increase proportionately with a designated SPF number. For example, an SPF 30 screens 97 percent of UV rays, while an SPF 15 screens 93 percent of UV rays and an SPF 2 screens out 50 percent of UV rays. However, not applying enough sunscreen or not covering all exposed areas may result in a lower SPF than the product contains.

“For adequate protection, sunscreens are best applied 15 minutes prior to going outside, and re-applied every two hours or immediately after swimming or sweating,” said Dr. Lim. “Research demonstrates that most people only apply 25 to 50 percent of the recommended amount of sunscreen, which is one ounce for the entire body or enough to fill a shot glass. The relationship between SPF and amount applied is not a linear one.  For example, if only half the proper amount of SPF 15 is applied, the actual in-use SPF would be approximately 5, which is then inadequate protection.”

To make it easier for consumers to make informed decisions about choosing sunscreens, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) new sunscreen rules will take effect in December. Manufacturers will be required to follow specific testing and labeling rules. Specifically, labels will detail whether the sunscreen provides broad-spectrum protection (protects against UVB and UVA rays); reduces the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging in addition to helping prevent sunburn, or just protects against sunburn alone; and is water-resistant up to 40 or 80 minutes.

“While the new labels are not required until the end of the year, it’s still important for consumers to select and use sunscreen this summer to protect their skin from UV exposure,” said Dr. Lim. “Making sun protection a habit – like brushing your teeth or buckling your seatbelt – can ultimately reduce early signs of aging and your risk for skin cancer.”

SKIN CANCER FACTS:

• More than 3.5 million skin cancer cases affecting 2 million people are diagnosed annually.
• It is estimated that there will be about 131,810 new cases of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in 2012 – 55,560 noninvasive (in situ) and 76,250 invasive (44,250 men and 32,000 women).
• The major risk factor for melanoma of the skin is exposure to ultraviolet light.
  • In 2010, new research found that daily sunscreen use cut the incidence of melanoma in half.

In an effort to increase the public’s understanding of skin cancer and motivate people to change their behavior to prevent and detect skin cancer, the Academy recently launched the SPOT Skin Cancer™ public awareness initiative. Visit the SPOT Skin Cancer™ website – www.SpotSkinCancer.org – to learn how to perform a skin self-exam, download a body mole map for tracking changes on your skin, and find free skin cancer screenings in your area. Those affected by skin cancer also can share their story via the website and download free materials to educate others in their community.

Headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy), founded in 1938, is the largest, most influential, and most representative of all dermatologic associations. With a membership of more than 17,000 physicians worldwide, the Academy is committed to: advancing the diagnosis and medical, surgical and cosmetic treatment of the skin, hair and nails; advocating high standards in clinical practice, education, and research in dermatology; and supporting and enhancing patient care for a lifetime of healthier skin, hair and nails. For more information, contact the Academy at 1-888-462-DERM (3376) or www.aad.org. Follow the Academy on Facebook (American Academy of Dermatology) or Twitter(@AADskin).

By US Daily Review Staff. 

By Jeremy Morris, Associate Editor, US Daily Review.

Man Therapy, a groundbreaking new approach to suicide prevention and other men’s mental health issues, was launched in Colorado today. Man Therapy™ reshapes the conversation, using humor to cut through stigma and tackle issues like depression, divorce and even suicidal thoughts head on, the way a man would do it.

The campaign is the result of a unique partnership between Cactus, a Denver-based advertising agency, the Office of Suicide Prevention at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Carson J Spencer Foundation, a Colorado suicide prevention nonprofit organization.

“Colorado currently has the 6th highest suicide rate in the nation,” notes Jarrod Hindman, director of Colorado’s Office of Suicide Prevention. “Men between the ages of 25 and 54 represent a significant portion of suicide deaths in the state, and the numbers are on the rise. It is clear that we have to do something to target this difficult to reach audience.”

The purpose of the Man Therapy campaign is to provide men approaching crisis, and their loved ones, a place to go and learn more about men’s mental health, examine their own and consider a wide array of actions that will put them on the path to treatment and recovery. The message is that all men should be aware of their mental health, treat it like they would a broken leg and strive to get better.

“Man Therapy features our hero, the good Dr. Rich Mahogany. He’s a man’s man who is dedicated to cutting through the denial with a fresh approach using his rapier wit, odd sense of humor, no bullshit approach and practical advice for men,” said Joe Conrad, Cactus founder and strategic director. “There exists an age-old stigma that says mental health disorders are unmanly signs of weakness. And our main character and hero, Dr. Rich Mahogany, is dedicated to smashing that.”

The centerpiece of the campaign is the mantherapy.org website, where men and their loved ones will find they have a virtual appointment with Dr. Mahogany. He greets visitors, makes them feel at ease and then provides an overview of what they will find and explore during their visit.

From there, visitors can navigate through Dr. Mahogany’s office where they can find useful information about men’s mental health including a guy’s guide to Gentlemental Health™. Men can choose to take an 18-question quiz to evaluate their own mental health status. They can also access resources and explore a wide range of choices from do-it-yourself tips to professional therapist referrals. Additional resources include links to local support groups as well as a national suicide crisis line that is ever present on the site.

“This campaign goes beyond just awareness to really engage men and draw them into the conversation,” noted Sally Spencer Thomas, psychologist and CEO of Carson J Spencer Foundation. “It teaches them about men’s mental health and encourages them with options ranging from do it yourself techniques all the way to professional therapy and resources.”

Initial funding for the project was provided through a grant from The Anschutz Foundation to help develop the campaign. Promotional partners include Kroenke Sports Charities and their teams including the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rapids and Colorado Mammoth.  Media promotional partners include Altitude Sports and Entertainment, Comcast and Charter Media.

In addition to the engaging experience viewers can find at mantherapy.org, the integrated communications campaign also includes a 30-second TV PSA, three viral videos, social media promotions, outdoor boards and outreach materials including posters, coasters and Dr. Mahogany’s business card for partners who will distribute materials throughout Colorado.

Campaign Assets

High-resolution campaign assets including the PSA, posters, images and videos are available for download at mantherapy.org/mediakit. Interviews with men who have struggled with suicidal thoughts and those who have lost loved ones to suicide, as well as Joe Conrad, founder and CEO of Cactus, Jarrod Hindman from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Office of Suicide Prevention, and Sally Spencer Thomas of Carson J Spencer Foundation, are available upon request.

By US Daily Review Staff.

Through inspirational stories from Road Scholar participants, supported by the latest research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience, author Peter Spiers, senior vice president of Road Scholar, shows how to build an enriching lifestyle on the foundation of favorite activities in the new book “Master Class: Living Longer, Stronger, and Happier” (Center Street,June 2012).

“With most of the 78 million U.S. baby boomers now in their 50s and 60s,” says Spiers, “many in this generation are asking whether they will control their next phase of life or it will control them.  The good news is that they can learn in my book from the pioneers who have gone before them.”

According to Spiers, anyone who follows a few rules gleaned from five years of research can lead rich and active lives in their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. His book, with a foreword by NBC’s Brian Williams, “reverse engineers” the lives of some of the most active, happy and intellectually engaged older Americans who exemplify healthy aging, and offers a structured program that showcases their secrets for successful aging and retirement.

Peter Spiers holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

To learn more, visit www.roadscholar.org/masterclass.

About Road Scholar

Not-for-profit Road Scholar’s mission is to inspire adults to learn, discover and travel. Its learning adventures engage expert instructors, provide extraordinary access, and stimulate discourse and friendship among people for whom learning is the journey of a lifetime. Since inception, more than 5 million people have enrolled in its 6,500 iconic educational adventures offered annually in 50 states and 150 countries around the world.

Road Scholar educational adventures are created by Elderhostel, Inc., the not-for-profit world leader in lifelong learning since 1975. To learn more, please visit  www.roadscholar.org/press.

By US Daily Review Staff. Source: Fraser Institute.

Healthcare may be “free” in Canada, but the lack of access to it makes that point seem moot, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute in Canada. According to the report:

“Among the consequences of poor access to health care in Canada is the reality that some Canadians will ultimately
receive the care they require outside of the country. Some of these patients will have been sent out of country by the public
health care system due to a lack of available resources or the fact that some procedures or equipment are not provided
in their home jurisdiction. Others will have chosen to leave Canada in response to concerns about quality (Walker et al.,
2009); to avoid some of the adverse medical consequences of waiting for care such as worsening of their condition, poorer
outcomes following treatment, disability, or death (Esmail, 2009); or simply to avoid delay.

Understanding how many Canadians receive their health care in another country each year gives some insight into the state of health care in Canada, as well as the state of medical tourism among Canadian residents. Data on this topic are not readily available but an estimation is possible using annual wait times data from the Fraser Institute and the numbers of procedures performed in Canada from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).”

Read that report in its entirety.

By Jeremy Morris, Associate Editor, US Daily Review.

Three quarters of Canadians (74 per cent) admit they have no financial plan to pay for long-term care if they needed it, according to a new poll by Leger Marketing on behalf of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA).

“Canadians have not adequately prepared for their future long-term care needs,” says Frank Swedlove, President of the CLHIA. “Baby boomers are aging and unless action is taken now, they will fall well short in funding their long-term care. Governments and Canadians have to work together to help close the gap by being more effective in how long-term care is provided.”

The CLHIA estimates that it will cost almost $1.2 trillion to provide long-term care to the baby boomer generation as they pass through old age, and that current government programs and funding will only cover about half of this. The resulting $590 billion funding shortfall is the equivalent of about 95 per cent all individual registered savings plans in Canada today.

Most worrisome is that the polling also shows that 55 per cent of Canadians believe government health care programs cover half or more of the cost of their long-term care needs.

Today, the CLHIA released a policy statement setting out a number of recommendations to ensure that Canadians will have access to high quality long-term care services through old age.

Swedlove added, “Not only does the current long-term care system not have adequate capacity for our future needs, but patient care suffers as too often care is provided in inappropriate settings.” The Leger poll showed that 77 per cent would prefer to receive care in their own homes.

To address the funding shortfall, while also enhancing patient care, the CLHIA concludes that:

• Governments can help close the funding gap by being more effective in how long-term care is provided to Canadians;
• Canadians need incentives to take responsibility to protect themselves from the possible high long-term care costs of the future and governments can help; and
• In order to meet the increased demand for resources, including long-term care beds, health care professionals and volunteers, the public and private sectors must work together to find solutions.

The CLHIA’s paper makes a number of detailed recommendations for the consideration of governments, stakeholders and Canadians after significant consultations with academics, professionals and industry experts.

About the Survey

The survey was completed online from June 4th to June 6th, 2012 using Leger Marketing’s online panel, LegerWeb, with a sample of 1501 Canadians.

A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.

According to a statement, “the Canadian life and health insurance industry provides a wide range of financial security products, including life insurance, annuities (including RRSPs, RRIFs and pensions) and supplementary health insurance, to about 26 million Canadians and their dependents.  Established in 1894, the CLHIA is a voluntary association whose member companies account for 99 per cent of Canada’s life and health insurance business.”

By US Daily Review Staff.

The non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) is questioning Medicare’s authority to hand out $8.3 billion in bonuses to Medicare health care plans just before the election while delaying much larger cuts to the popular Medicare Advantage plans directed under the president’s new health care law.

“The White House created this ‘bonus plan’ out of thin air to mask the massive cuts to seniors in their Medicare Advantage plans mandated under ObamaCare. The truth is that more than 90% of the cuts to Medicare will occur after the November election and the president is doing all he can to hide it,” said Texas Republican Kevin Brady, a senior member of the House Ways & Means Committee. “I’m glad this White House Medicare scam was exposed because I predict that due to ObamaCare many of our Texas seniors will eventually be forced out of their Medicare plans or will pay much higher prices to keep what they have.”

Brady confronted Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the bonus program and the future Medicare Advantage cuts in a recent congressional hearing. In a letter GAO General Counsel Lynn Gibson expressed serious concerns with the legal authority of this temporary Medicare scheme and the scheme’s sheer size.

By US Daily Review Staff.

Virtually every interest group in the country has weighed in on the President’s healthcare law. Now you can add retailers to that number.

The National Retail Federation released the following statement from President and CEO Matthew Shay on today’s House vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act:

“At a time when the economy is still struggling to recover, Congress needs to repeal the health care law before it costs millions of Americans their jobs.”

“At a time when the economy is still struggling to recover, Congress needs to repeal the health care law before it costs millions of Americans their jobs.

“Congress set out to make health care more accessible by making it more affordable. Instead, what we may well get is a perfect storm of unintended consequences that drives up costs so high that many companies likely will be forced to cut back their payrolls or discontinue health care coverage even if it means paying fines. Instead of making health care more available, the Affordable Care Act is likely to cost many workers both their jobs and their health insurance.

“It’s time for Congress to go back to work and come up with true bipartisan health care reform that focuses first on reducing costs and addressing the fundamental flaws of our health care system, rather than destroying jobs and penalizing the very employers who today voluntarily pay for health insurance. As an industry that provides health care coverage for millions of American workers and their families, retail will continue to work with lawmakers to achieve that goal.”

As the world’s largest retail trade association and the voice of retail worldwide, NRF represents retailers of all types and sizes, including chain restaurants and industry partners, from the United States and more than 45 countries abroad. Retailers operate more than 3.6 million U.S. establishments that support one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s Retail Means Jobs campaign emphasizes the economic importance of retail and encourages policymakers to support a Jobs, Innovation and Consumer Value Agenda aimed at boosting economic growth and job creation. www.nrf.com |www.retailmeansjobs.com/healthcare

By US Daily Review Staff.

A ground-breaking park rating system developed by The Trust for Public Land ranks San Francisco, Sacramento, Boston and New York as the nation’s top city park systems. Mesa (Arizona), Louisville, Charlotte and Fresno received the lowest ParkScores among the 40 largest U.S. cities.

ParkScore is the most comprehensive park rating system ever developed and was designed to help local communities identify where new parks are needed most and which park improvements can deliver the greatest impact.

ParkScores are based equally on three factors:

• Park access, which measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park (approximately 1/2-mile);
• Park size/acreage, which is based on a city’s median park size and the percentage of total city area dedicated to parks;
• Services and investment, which combines the number of playgrounds per 10,000 city residents and per capita park spending.

ParkScore data and analysis were reviewed by local park system leaders to ensure accuracy.

ParkScore also includes a website that local leaders can use to guide park improvement efforts.  The website, ParkScore.TPL.org, provides extensive data and analysis that pinpoints the neighborhoods where parks are needed most. The site includes interactive maps of each ParkScore city, allowing users to zoom in and study park access on a block-by-block basis. Additional detailed information about each public park in all 40 ParkScore cities is also provided. The website is open to the public.

ParkScore uses advanced GIS (geographic information system) computer mapping technology to create digital maps evaluating park accessibility, making it the most realistic assessment system available. Instead of simply measuring distance to a local park, ParkScore’s GIS technology takes into account the location of park entrances and physical obstacles to access. For example, if residents are separated from a nearby park by a major highway, ParkScore does not count the park as accessible to those residents (unless there is a bridge, underpass or easy access point across the highway).

According to The Trust for Public Land, the 10 highest ranking park systems are:

1. San Francisco
2. Sacramento
3. Boston (tie)
3. New York (tie)
5. Washington, DC
6. Portland, Oregon
7. Virginia Beach
8. San Diego
9. Seattle
10. Philadelphia

The 10 lowest ranking park systems are:

31. Tucson (tie)
31. Memphis (tie)
33. Oklahoma City
34. Jacksonville
35. San Antonio
36. Indianapolis (tie)
36. Mesa, Arizona (tie)
38. Louisville
39. Charlotte
40. Fresno

“You can’t have a great city without a great park system,” said Christopher Kay, chief operating officer of The Trust for Public Land. “Studies show that parks help children and adults get the exercise they need to stay healthy, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity, and help bring neighbors together. The Trust for Public Land hopes that ParkScore inspires cities to focus on parks, and we’re eager to work with municipal leaders and volunteers to help them build the best park systems imaginable,” Kay added.

“No city received a perfect score in this inaugural release of the ParkScore ratings, and that means every city can improve. It’s critical to act now. A concerted effort to improve local park systems not only means a better ParkScore, but also a healthier, more beautiful, and more vibrant city. That’s something all city leaders should strive for,” said Kay.

By Jeremy Morris, Associate Editor, US Daily Review.

If your tummy is going through tumultuous times, it may be of benefit to find a friend in the form of a yeast-based probiotic dietary supplement.  Daily stress, struggles with a poor diet, stomach upsets from travel and illness can leave your digestive system vulnerable and in need of a friend to restore digestive strength.

By US Daily Review Staff.

U.S. News & World Report announced today the launch of a blogging network featuring advice from leading thinkers in diet and fitness. A considerable expansion of U.S. News’s Health and Wellness offerings, “Eat+Run” will provide readers with concrete tips to separate fads from facts and bolster good health.

“In a world increasingly flooded with information, and misinformation, the need for clear and trustworthy insight has never been more important,” says Kimberly Castro, Managing Editor of U.S. News’s Money and Health sections. “We take seriously our historic mission to provide readers with ‘News You Can Use,’ and Eat+Run delivers on our commitment to service journalism and helping our readers thrive.”

With its roster of luminaries in diet and fitness, Eat+Run is poised to inspire readers with pithy and practical guidance and reflects U.S. News’s increasingly robust health coverage. The company recently added Best Diets to its portfolio of rankings, which includes, for example, Best Hospitals and Best Colleges.

Among those who will be blogging for Eat+Run are physicians, academics, registered dietitians, fitness experts, celebrity trainers, and an organic farmer.

For updates and more information, follow Eat+Run on Twitter at @eatandrunUSN and visit the new network at www.health.usnews.com.

According to a statement, U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform, digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. U.S. News & World Report‘s signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its “Best“ series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

By Darcy Kahrloff, Special for US Daily Review.

The leadership in the Republican Party is playing a very dangerous game.  Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Speaker John Boehner, and Senator Mitch McConnell are each singing the same tune regarding ObamaCare – Repeal and Replace!  The American people don’t like the Affordable Care Act, and want it repealed.  However, talking about replacing ObamaCare is disconcerting for a number of reasons.

Romney Needs to Make His Message Simple and Clear

The GOP believes they are reaching out to the moderates and independents when they say they plan to replace ObamaCare.  That is probably true.  Unfortunately it leaves Mitt Romney open for some huge attacks from the Obama campaign.  RomneyCare is as unpopular as ObamaCare, and President Obama could easily use the law against Romney during debates.  The Republicans have not stated what they want to replace the Affordable Care Act with, and need to come up with some talking points quickly.

Another problem with saying “Repeal and Replace” is it could delay the repeal process, while politicians work on replacement legislation.  Some will say that we must replace ObamaCare with something because there is this healthcare crisis in America.  The healthcare crisis was manufactured by the Obama administration, and our conservative legislators should not fall for these talking points.  Although there are definite problems with our healthcare system, including rising costs and and a lack of portability, ObamaCare creates many more problems and needs to be repealed immediately.

Finally, what will the new replacement legislation be?  American citizens should be wary of any new laws that come from either side of the aisle.  If they replace the Affordable Care Act with ObamaCare-lite, only getting rid of the mandate (tax) while leaving in government panels and not increasing competition, then Americans have been misled once again!  The Republicans need to articulate their plan, putting out a point by point declaration.

The GOP need to stop talking about replacing the Affordable Care Act, and stick to promising to repeal it.  While ObamaCare has some popular aspects, the law is moving our country closer to socialism every day.  Americans don’t want the government telling them what treatments are best for them, or whether they are too old to have surgery.  Americans want more choices, increased competition, and the freedom to decide what is best for them.

Darcy Kahrloff is a Tea Party leader.  She has been intensely involved with the Tea Party movement and local area politics since 2009.  She is focused at taking back our country one small victory at a time.  She is involved because she cares about her three children, and their future.  Kahrloff is involved because she is worried and scared that our country is going in the wrong direction.  She is involved because she could no longer sit still, yelling at the politicians on television making all the wrong decisions.

By Jeremy Morris, Associate Editor, US Daily Review.

For the first time, Consumer Reports has rated U.S. hospitals for safety, combining six key measures into one composite Rating. Overall, Consumer Reports rates 1,159 hospitals in 44 states in four special regional editions of its August issue and online at www.ConsumerReports.org.

The safety score gives consumers a way to compare hospitals on patient safety. The six categories that comprise the safety score are: infections, readmissions, overuse of scanning, communication about new medications and discharge, complications, and mortality.  Infections, surgical mistakes, and other medical harm contribute to the deaths of 180,000 hospital patients a year, according to projections based on a 2010 report by the Department of Health and Human Services.  And that figure only applies to Medicare patients.

More than half (51 percent) of the hospitals rated by Consumer Reports received a score below 50 (on a scale of 1-100). “The safety scores provide a window into our nation’s hospitals, exposing worrisome risks that are mostly preventable,” said John Santa, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.  “A consumer who enters a hospital thinking it’s a place to get better deserves to know if that is indeed the case.”  Some highlights:

• Overall Safety Performance:  Even the highest scoring hospitals have room for improvement. Billings Clinic in Montana was at the top of Consumer Reports’ list, but it got a safety score of just 72.   As noted above, 51 percent of hospitals rated by Consumer Reports earned scores below 50 on a scale of 1-100.  Log on to www.ConsumerReports.org to access the Ratings in detail.
• Deadly Infections: About one in 20 hospitalized patients will develop an infection that can be devastating, deadly even. Many can be prevented.  Consumer Reports rates hospitals on surgical-site infections that develop after surgery as well as bloodstream infections caused by central-line catheters in intensive care units.  Of the hospitals rated by Consumer Reports, 202 hospitals reported infections at rates higher than the national benchmark, and only 148 reported zero infections.  CR gleans its data from states that require infection reporting and through the Leapfrog Group, an independent organization that tracks hospital safety and quality.  Some hospitals voluntarily report central-line infection data to Leapfrog.
• Radiation Overload:  CT scans can provide essential diagnostic information. But they pose risks, too.  Radiation from CT scans—which are equivalent to between 100 and 500 chest X-rays—might contribute to an estimated 29,000 future cancers a year, a 2009 study suggests. Consumer Reports’ Ratings report on the percentage of chest and abdominal CT scans that are ordered twice for the same patient, once with contrast, and once without.  According to one doctor interviewed for the report, probably less than 1 percent of patients undergoing chest CT scans should get double scans. Double scans of the abdomen are needed more frequently, often to define abnormalities in the liver, kidney, and pancreas.  Only 28 percent of the hospitals in CR’s Ratings had double-scan rates of 5 percent or less in both categories, the cutoff established by CR to determine a top Rating.  Data about scanning was obtained from Hospital Compare, the online tool from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  This was also the source for scores on readmissions, mortality, and complications.
• Readmissions: Research suggests that up to three-quarters of readmissions may be preventable. Consumer Reports includes readmissions in its safety composite score in part because the more often a patient enters a hospital, the greater the chance something will go wrong. No hospital earned CR’s highest score for readmissions; 166 hospitals received CR’s lowest score.
• Communication: For Communication, again, no hospital earned CR’s top score while almost 500 hospitals earned CR’s lowest score for communication about new medications and discharge plans.  The Communication scores are based on questions answered by millions of discharged patients in a federally mandated survey.
• Some Well Known Hospitals With Less Than Outstanding Scores:  Many hospitals that are well known perform poorly against Consumer Reports’ new safety score, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, with a safety score of 45; Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, 43; Cleveland Clinic, 39; New York Presbyterian, New York, 32; and Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, 30.  However, CR’s safety Ratings do not assess how successful hospitals are at treating medical conditions and are not the only source that should be used to measure hospital safety and quality. The magazine report suggests other sources a consumer can investigate.
• Medical Harm—”Probably One Of Three Leading Causes of Death”:  Peter Pronovost, M.D., senior vice president for patient safety at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, told Consumer Reports: “Medical harm is probably one of the three leading causes of death in the U.S., but the government doesn’t adequately track it as it does deaths from automobiles, plane crashes, and cancer. It’s appalling.”  Pronovost also observes that hospitals have not given safety the attention it merits.

The CR safety score does not look comprehensively at all medical errors.  As noted above, the Consumer Reports Hospital Ratings are derived from several government and independent sources.  Consumer Reports used the most current data available at the time of its analysis, supplementing its Ratings by interviewing patients, physicians, hospital administrators and safety experts. The Ratings include only 18 percent of U.S. hospitals because data on patient safety still isn’t reported fully and consistently nationwide.

For example, only some states (far from all) require that hospitals report data for surgical-site infections, central-line infections, or both. And some hospitals voluntarily report central-line infection data to the Leapfrog Group. As a result, Consumer Reports cannot provide a safety score on every hospital.  ”The fact that consumers can’t get a full picture of most hospitals in the U.S. underscores the need for more public reporting,” said Dr. Santa.

The report outlines steps the government should take to fix the system, including the implementation of a national system for tracking and publicly reporting medical errors, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine more than 10 years ago. “The public assumes that someone keeps track of all that goes wrong, but that is just not the case,” said Lisa McGiffert, director of the Safe Patient Project at Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. For more details about what needs to happen to improve hospital safety, go to www.ConsumerReports.org.

According to the report, “Consumer Reports is the world’s largest independent product-testing organization. Using its more than 50 labs, auto test center, and survey research center, the nonprofit rates thousands of products and services annually. Founded in 1936, Consumer Reports has over 8 million subscribers to its magazine, website and other publications.   Its advocacy division, Consumers Union, works for health reform, food and product safety, financial reform, and other consumer issues in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace.”

By US Daily Review Staff.

For some reason, something as important as fighting breast cancer became a cause of controversy between current Zambia President Sata and former US President, George Bush.  The former president of the African country has chimed in.

Following a controversial debacle on July 4^th in which the current President of Zambia Michael Sata publically attacked former U.S. President George W. Bush, the former President of Zambia Rupiah Banda has sent a letter to Bush’s offices offering an apology on behalf of the Zambian people.

“It is deeply regrettable that such statements were made on the same day as the celebration of your Independence Day, marking the universally shared hope of self-determination and freedom that inspires oppressed people of the world,” President Banda wrote in the letter to President Bush.  “No matter what political views different parties may hold, the people ofZambia are peace loving, welcoming, and focused positively on the future, not the past.  We are especially grateful for your generous contribution to women’s healthcare in our country.”

During a ceremony held at State House, President Sata castigated President Bush in front of the audience as a “colonialist” who had “stolen Africa’s resources” and had returned to pay it back.

“And you have all drifted away; you have abandoned Africa after taking all our raw commodities, our raw materials and build your cities,” President Sata said to President Bush at the press conference.  ”I mean, as far as you are concerned Africa doesn’t exist. And when we have a former colonialist like you coming back to pay back what you took out of this country we are grateful.”

The letter of apology sent by former President Banda to former President Bush recognized the important work of the Pink Ribbon / Red Ribbon charity group.

According to the George W. Bush Presidential Center website, the visit by the former American head of state included the opening of the new African Center of Excellence for Women’s Cancer Control at University Teaching Hospital, the donation of a new electronic hub (e-Hub), and the announcement of aid from from Airborne Lifeline, a nonprofit organization that will provide airfreight services for medical equipment and transport medical personnel and patients.

By US Daily Review Staff.

Governor Rick Scott has already declared he will not implement Obamacare in his state, many other states have already entered bills in their legislatures to nullify the controversial legislation, and one of the leading members of the US Senate is leading the charge.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) came out ready to fight following the Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare and he is calling on the states to do the same thing. Furthemore, he argues that they have the power to do something about it.

To Watch DeMint is to Know the Battle Over Obamacare is not Over

The Senator has released the following statements regarding Obamacare:

“The Supreme Court may have failed to stop this government takeover of health care, but the American people will not.  Since the day this law was rammed through Congress, the American people have demanded repeal, and today’s ruling doesn’t make Obamacare any less dangerous to our nation’s health. Freedom-loving Americans are disappointed, but we cannot be discouraged.

“The President’s health care law must be fully repealed as all of its promises have proven false. We were told it was not a tax hike, but this ruling confirms it is an unprecedented and enormous tax on the poor and middle class Americans. President Obama needs to explain why he is enacting this middle class tax hike over the objections of the American people during the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression.

“We were told it would lower health costs, but health care premiums are exploding. We were told that Americans could keep their personal health plans, but millions will now lose it. We were told it would improve our economy, but it is now the largest obstacle to employers hiring new workers.

“This government takeover of health care remains as destructive, unsustainable, and unconstitutional as it was the day it was passed, unread, by a since-fired congressional majority.  Now as then, our first step toward real health care reform and economic renewal remains Obamacare’s full repeal, down to the last letter and punctuation mark.

“I urge every governor to stop implementing the health care exchanges that would help implement the harmful effects of this misguided law. Americans have loudly rejected this federal takeover of health care, and governors should join with the people and reject its implementation.”

“The President’s health care law will not reform anything, but is already undermining what does still work in America’s health care system.  We cannot build a free market health care system on this flawed structure of centralized government control, we must repeal all of it and start over with commonsense solutions that make health care more affordable and accessible for every American.  We can allow Americans to purchase lower cost plans from other states, support state high-risk pools to cover those with pre-existing conditions, medical-malpractice reform to end frivolous lawsuits, and tax equity so Americans who don’t get their health insurance from an employer are not penalized.”

“Today’s decision, however unfortunate, nonetheless represents an opportunity to all Americans, to claim their right to create a health care system of, for, and by the people, not government or special interests. The American people now have the chance and Congress has the responsibility to fully repeal this Washington takeover and reform health care ourselves, together, around the principles of individual liberty, not government mandates.

“The same freedom that made America strong and prosperous will make us healthier, too, so long as politicians remember that the health care system is supposed to serve our people, and not the other way around.”

By US Daily Review Staff.

Death rates for people with diabetes dropped substantially from 1997 to 2006, especially deaths related to heart disease and stroke, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

Deaths from all causes declined by 23 percent, and deaths related to heart disease and stroke dropped by 40 percent, according to the study published today in the journal Diabetes Care (http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/6/1252.full).  Scientists evaluated 1997-2004 National Health Interview Survey data from nearly 250,000 adults who were linked to the National Death Index. Although adults with diabetes still are more likely to die younger than those who do not have the disease, the gap is narrowing.

Improved medical treatment for cardiovascular disease, better management of diabetes, and some healthy lifestyle changes contributed to the decline. People with diabetes were less likely to smoke and more likely to be physically active than in the past. Better control of high blood pressure and high cholesterol also may have contributed to improved health.  However, obesity levels among people with diabetes continued to increase.

“Taking care of your heart through healthy lifestyle choices is making a difference, but Americans continue to die from a disease that can be prevented,” said Ann Albright, Ph.D., R.D., director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation.  “Although the cardiovascular disease death rate for people with diabetes has dropped, it is still twice as high as for adults without diabetes.”

Previous studies have found that rates of heart disease and stroke are declining for all U.S. adults. Those rates are dropping faster for people with diabetes compared to adults without diabetes.  Recent CDC studies also have found declining rates of kidney failure, amputation of feet and legs, and hospitalization for heart disease and stroke among people with diabetes.

Because people with diabetes are living longer and the rate of new cases being diagnosed is increasing, scientists expect the total number of people with the disease will continue to rise. The number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes has more than tripled since 1980, primarily due to type 2 diabetes, which is closely linked to a rise in obesity, inactivity and older age. CDC estimates that 25.8 million Americans have diabetes, and 7 million of them do not know they have the disease.

CDC and its partners are working on a variety of initiatives to prevent type 2 diabetes and to reduce its complications. CDC leads the National Diabetes Prevention Program, a public-private partnership designed to bring evidence-based programs for preventing type 2 diabetes to communities. The program supports establishing a network of lifestyle-change classes for overweight or obese people at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

“Diabetes carries significant personal and financial costs for individuals, their families, and the health care systems that treat them,” said Edward W. Gregg, Ph.D., the study’s lead author and chief of epidemiology and statistics in CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. “As the number of people with diabetes increases, it will be more important than ever to manage the disease to reduce complications and premature deaths.”

Controlling levels of blood sugar (glucose), cholesterol and blood pressure helps people with diabetes reduce the chance of developing serious complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness and kidney disease.

In 2001, the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), a joint effort of CDC and NIH with the support of more than 200 partners, developed a campaign to raise awareness of the link between diabetes and heart disease and reinforce the importance of a comprehensive diabetes care plan that focuses on the ABCs of diabetes – A1C (a measure of blood glucose control over a two- to three-month period), Blood pressure and Cholesterol.  For more information, visit http://www.yourdiabetesinfo.org/ or call toll-free 1-888-693-NDEP (1-888-693-6337).

Last year CDC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched Million Hearts, an initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years.  The initiative focuses on two main goals: empowering Americans to make healthy choices and improving care for people, focusing on aspirin for people at risk, blood pressure control, cholesterol management and smoking cessation. More than 2 million heart attacks and strokes occur every year, and treatment for these conditions and other vascular diseases account for about 1 of every 6 health care dollars.  Up to 20 percent of deaths from heart attack and 13 percent of deaths from stroke are attributable to diabetes or prediabetes. For more information on Million Hearts, visit http://millionhearts.hhs.gov.

Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in 2009 and is the leading cause of new cases of kidney failure, blindness among adults younger than 75, and amputation of feet and legs not related to injury. People with diagnosed diabetes have medical costs that are more than twice as high as for people without the disease. The total costs of diabetes are an estimated $174 billion annually, including $116 billion in direct medical costs.

By US Daily Review Staff.

The common barnyard chicken could provide some very un-common clues for fighting off diseases and might even offer new ways to attack cancer, according to a team of international researchers that includes a Texas A&M University professor.

James Womack, Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, is co-author of a paper detailing the team’s work that appears in the current issue of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Scientists). Womack was a leader in the international effort to sequence the cattle genome in 2004.

A Face Only a Mother or a Researcher Would Love

Womack and the team, comprised mostly of scientists from the Seoul National University in Korea, examined 62 White Leghorn and 53 Cornish chickens for diversity in NK-lysin, an antibacterial substance that occurs naturally in animals and is used as a method of fighting off diseases.

They were able to obtain two genetic variations of NK-lysin and the results offered two unexpected shockers:  both showed abilities to fight off bacterial infections and other diseases, while one showed it could successfully fight cancer cells as well.

“It took all of us by surprise,” Womack says of the findings.

“One of the genetic variations shows it has the ability to fight against cancer cells much more aggressively than the other variation. We certainly were not looking at the cancer side of this, but there it was.”

Womack says the team selected the two breeds because Cornish and White Leghorn chickens, found throughout most of the world, have relatively diverse genetic origins.

After conducting a DNA sequence of the chickens, the team found two variations of the genes that offered clues as to their protective ability to ward off infections.

“One form appears to be more potent in killing off cancer cells than the other, and that’s the one that naturally caught our eye,” Womack adds.

“This could lead to other steps to fight cancer or in developing ways to prevent certain infections or even diseases. It’s another door that has been opened up. We are looking at similar studies right now to see if this is possible with cattle.

“The next step is to work with other animals and see if similar variants exist. We need to look for any genetic similarities to the chicken variants and then determine if these variants affect the health of the animal, but this is an exciting first step in this direction.”

By BMO Harris Bank, Special for US Daily Review.

When making the decision to get married, couples should take time to discuss their financial future and plans. According to a survey by the Association of Bridal Consultants, more than 67 percent of newlyweds believe the most serious conflict in their first year of marriage is money.

“Getting married means combining two households into one. Your partner’s debt and credit score can have an impact on your financial future,” said Mary Brockhaus, Senior Vice President, M&I, a part of BMO Financial Group. “Before getting married, understand how much your partner owns in assets and how much he or she owes.” M&I offers the following financial advice to those preparing to promise “for richer or poorer.”

• Start Talking: The first step in combining finances is discussing money-spending habits and future financial goals. Getting on the same financial page will make it easier to work as a team to meet goals and save money.
• Manage Debt: It’s important for couples to have full transparency about debt. Put all debt, assets, and income on the table to discuss. This will create a clear picture of where you stand financially as a couple and help set priorities to eliminate debt.
• Create a Budget: Couples should create a tentative budget considering each partner’s income and expenses and revise this plan as priorities and income change.
• Open Joint Accounts: A joint bank account is a wise plan to manage household expenses such as the mortgage, utility bills and groceries. A popular method for many couples is the three-pot system. Couples have his, her and ours account. This allows for each person to use a personal account for discretionary spending while contributing to expenses.
• Start Saving: Make saving a priority from the beginning. A small amount of money in a savings account will grow and will provide a cushion for unexpected expenses.
• Plan for Retirement: Although you may be years away from retirement, saving is key. As a couple, discuss plans for retirement and determine how to get there. Plan early.

Above all, communication is the key to financial success. Money may be a sensitive subject in relationships, but it is wise to discuss small problems as a couple before they become major, financial issues in the future. Visit your local M&I branch for more information or visit www.mibank.com.

About BMO Harris Bank
Based in Chicago, BMO Harris Bank N.A. provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through over 650 branches and approximately 1,350 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. BMO Harris Bank’s commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S. Deposit and loan products and services provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC.
BMO Harris Bank is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial organization with 1,600 branches, and a retail deposit base of approximately $180 billion.

Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1f4bb)

By US Daily Review Staff.

The National Business Group on Health recently honored 66 U.S. employers for their ongoing commitment to promoting healthy work environments and encouraging workers to live healthier lifestyles. The honored employers, including 15 first-time winners, were presented with “2012 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles” awards at the Business Group’s Institute on Innovation in Workforce Well-being Leadership Summit held in Washington, DC.

Now in its eighth year, the Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards annually acknowledge those employers that have responded to the urgent need to improve their employees’ health, productivity and quality of life. The underlying goal of the program is to encourage all employers to take action.

Helen Darling, President and CEO of the National Business Group on Health, commented:  “With health care benefit costs continuing to rise at unacceptable levels, more and more employers are focusing on health improvement programs at the workplace – and with good reason.  One of the keys to controlling costs is to keep employees and their families healthy.  All of the employers we are recognizing this year are fully committed to offering innovative workplace programs that encourage employees and their families to take control of their health and live healthier lifestyles.”

“We are very proud to honor this year’s winning companies for their leadership and innovation in providing workplace well-being programs for their employees and families,” said LuAnn Heinen, Vice President of the National Business Group on Health, who has overseen the awards program since its inception in 2005.  “From offering onsite medical clinics and physical activity initiatives to health advocacy, coaching and weight management programs, these forward-thinking companies are leading the way in promoting healthy lifestyles. These efforts will have long-lasting positive results for employers, employees and their families and can be used as examples by other companies looking to promote healthy lifestyles in workplaces.”

Winners of the 2012 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles awards were honored in one of two categories: Platinum, for established workplace well-being programs with measurable success and documented outcomes; and Gold, for making cultural and environmental changes and developing comprehensive programs that support employees’ healthy lifestyle goals.

The National Business Group on Health also presented inaugural awards to companies in four special areas.  These include:

• Best Stress Management Intervention – Aetna
• Best Communication Tactics – American Express
• Best Family Engagement – Baptist Health South Florida
• Best Community Outreach – Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Additionally, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Hewlett-Packard Company were presented with Global Distinction awards in recognition of their efforts to enhance the physical, psychological and emotional health, well-being and productivity of global employees and their dependents.

The winners in each category are:

PLATINUM

Aetna
Baptist Health South Florida
Campbell Soup Company
Cardinal Health
Carolinas HealthCare System*
Cerner Corporation
Cigna
CVS Caremark
Dell Inc.
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System*
General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church*
Healthways, Inc.
H.J. Heinz Company
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region
Mayo Clinic
Medtronic
Michelin North America, Inc.
NextEra Energy Inc.
PepsiCo
Quest Diagnostics
Texas Instruments
The Boeing Company
Unilever
UnitedHealth Group
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/UPMC Health Plan
Unum
Visant Corporation
WellPoint, Inc.

GOLD

Accenture, LLC
American Airlines*
American Express
ARAMARK
Assurant, Inc.*
BD
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
BP America Inc.*
Chesapeake Energy Corporation*
Chrysler Group LLC
Compass Group
DTE Energy*
Erie Insurance
Geisinger Health System*
General Dynamics Electric Boat
General Mills
Georgia Power/Southern Company
Hewlett-Packard Company **
Ingersoll Rand Company*
KeyBank*
Kimberly-Clark Corporation* **
McKesson Corporation*
Medical Mutual and its Family of Companies
Mercy Health
Paychex, Inc.
Pitney Bowes Inc.
PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.*
Providence Health & Services Alaska*
Saint-Gobain
Sprint
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Texas Health Resources
The Home Depot
Union Pacific Railroad
Verizon Communications

* Denotes first time winner
** Denotes global distinction

About the National Business Group on Health

The National Business Group on Health is the nation’s only non-profit, membership organization of large employers devoted exclusively to finding innovative and forward-thinking solutions to their most important health care and related benefits issues and to being the voice for large employers on national health care issues. The Business Group, whose 343 members include 64 of the Fortune 100, identifies, develops and shares best practices in health benefits, disability, health and productivity, related paid time off and work/life balance issues. Business Group members provide health coverage for more than 55 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.

By My Weight Doctor, Special for US Daily Review. 

Independence Day isn’t complete without a fireworks display and a barbeque with the all-American staple: the hot dog.  This July Fourth, Americans will enjoy approximately 150 million hot dogs, enough to stretch from D.C. to L.A. more than five times.[i]  The Baltimore/Washington area is ranked in the top five hot dog-consuming areas of the country by volume.[ii]  But, as the obesity epidemic soars in the United States, now affecting nearly one in three adult Americans,[iii] more and more barbeque-goers are paying close attention to what they’re eating and how it could impact their weight and their health.

“Summer barbeques can be a sore spot for many local residents struggling to keep the weight off,” said Deborah Gilkey, Registered Dietitian and Patient Care Coordinator at My Weight Doctor®.  ”Given their popularity, chances are many in the area will be enjoying a hot dog, or three, on the Fourth.”

Before digging in, there are a few things to keep in mind.  On average, three all-beef hot dogs on a roll with ketchup can be the equivalent of 945 calories, with 500 calories coming from the 55.5g of fat.[iv]  That’s almost 47 percent of an adult’s recommended daily caloric value and 85 percent of the daily recommended value of fat.

So, what does it take for the average American to burn off these calories?

• Four hours and 22 minutes of walking;
• One hour and 48 minutes of jogging;
• One hour and 19 minutes of swimming; or,
• Two hours and 24 minutes of cycling.[v]

Gilkey continued, “It can be difficult to put in enough exercise to burn the extra calories consumed at the cookout, particularly the high-fat content and calories in hot dogs.  So, unless you’re an active athlete, you may want to consider reading up on some tips for your barbeque intake this season.”

Dietitians and physicians at My Weight Doctor offer the following tips for staying on track at the barbeque:

1.    Don’t leave your house hungry

Attending an event hungry, or worse, famished, makes it more difficult to hold back from diving right into the meat and cheese dip.  Instead, have a healthy, high-protein snack to fend off hunger before the barbeque, such as a handful of walnuts, fat-free Greek yogurt or low-fat cheese with whole grain crackers.  These foods will keep you fuller longer, and help you avoid feeling faint or famished.

2.    Know you’re going to eat … a little bit

It’s not necessary, or realistic, to go to a cookout and deprive yourself of all things food.  Know that you may sample different foods, but do your best to keep track of what you have eaten in your head.  Not sure how many calories are in each dish?  Stick to the 50-calories-per-bite rule, assuming that each bite-size spoon full is worth approximately 50 calories.

3.    Don’t overdo it

If you overindulge and have three hot dogs, don’t use it as an excuse to keep eating because you’ve already “ruined” your diet for the day.  Enjoy the hot dogs and then get back on the program.

4.    Offer to bring a healthy dish

Instead of loading your plate up with all of the unhealthy options on the picnic table, bring a healthy side dish (one that you enjoy) that you can eat and fill up on before surrendering to unhealthy alternatives.

5.    Try a healthy alternative

If you’re going for the hot dog tray, find out if there’s an organic or natural meat alternative on the grill.  Turkey or chicken hot dogs can be just as tasty, but have at least 30 fewer calories and nearly half the fat as an all-beef hot dog.[vi]

6.    Distract your mouth

Sometimes your mouth just needs to feel loved, so chew on a piece of sugar-free gum or snack on low-calorie food items to satisfy your cravings.

7.    Keep vegetables and fruit handy

Vegetables and fruit are great ways to fill your tummy and avoid overeating junk food.  Before resorting to mayo-based pasta and potato salads, or indulging in a brownie, hang out by the veggie tray and fill your plate with healthy foods and a low-fat, yet delicious dip.

8.    Use smaller plates/cups

It gives the appearance of more food and you won’t feel obligated to fill up your plate with every item on the menu.

9.    Stay hydrated

Keeping hydrated in the summer heat is important and can also help you to not feel as hungry.  So drink water – alcohol doesn’t count.  But, if you do decide to have a beverage or two, choose a low-calorie option.

10.  Be careful with condiments

Calories from small food items add up.  Try to limit the unhealthy condiments on your hot dog, such as ketchup, cheese or chili, and be sure to choose healthy low-fat dips for your vegetables.

“Controlling cravings can be a challenge,” said Gilkey.  ”For those who continue to struggle to modify unhealthy eating habits on their own, there is help.”

For more information about My Weight Doctor visit: www.myweightdoctor.com.

About My Weight Doctor

At My Weight Doctor, patient health is a top priority.  Staffed by seasoned medical specialists, the medical weight loss centers located throughout Maryland and Virginia guarantee results through customized treatments, free from popular diets and gimmicks.  For more than 15 years, My Weight Doctor has worked to provide personal medical guidance, nutritional advice, moderate exercise plans and usage of various time-tested prescription diet medications to thousands of satisfied customers, helping patients achieve rapid weight-loss results and maximize long-term health.

[i] National Hot dog & Sausage Council, 2010: http://www.hot-dog.org/ht/d/sp/i/38579/pid/38579

[ii] National Hot dog & Sausage Council, 2010: http://www.hot-dog.org/ht/d/sp/i/38581/pid/38581

[iii] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html/

[iv] CalorieKing.com, 2012: http://www.calorieking.com

[v] CalorieKing.com, 2012: http://www.calorieking.com

[vi] ApplegateFarms.com, 2012: http://www.applegatefarms.com

By US Daily Review Staff.

Using consumer fireworks on our nation’s birthday is as American as apple pie, backyard barbecues and parades on Main Street. And it is equally safe if a few common sense rules are followed, says Nancy Blogin, President of the National Council on Fireworks Safety. Nancy notes that thanks to testing of consumer fireworks in China, through the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory and other testing programs, and rigorous enforcement of federal fireworks regulations by the CPSC, consumer fireworks today are safer than ever before. But Nancy notes that fireworks related accidents do occur each year; however, most could be eliminated if some basic safety steps had been taken.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety offers these common sense safety tips for using consumer fireworks in the hopes that injuries to consumers can be greatly reduced this season:

• Parents and caretakers should always closely supervise teens if they are using fireworks.
• Parents should not allow young children to handle or use fireworks.
• Fireworks should only be used outdoors.
• Always have water ready if you are shooting fireworks.
• Know your fireworks. Read the caution label before igniting.
• Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.
• Alcohol and fireworks do not mix.
• Wear safety glasses whenever using fireworks.
• Never relight a “dud” firework. Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water.
• Soak spent fireworks with water before placing them in an outdoor garbage can.
• Avoid using homemade fireworks or illegal explosives: They can kill you!
• Report illegal explosives, like M-80s and quarter sticks, to the fire or police department.

And note these special safety tips, if using sparklers:

Always remain standing while using sparklers.

• Never hold a child in your arms while using sparklers.
• Never hold, or light, more than one sparkler at a time.
• Never throw sparklers.
• Sparkler wire and stick remain hot long after the flame has gone out. Be sure to drop spent sparklers in a bucket of water.
• Teach children not to wave sparklers, or run, while holding sparklers.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety urges Americans to follow these common sense safety rules this Fourth of July in their holiday celebrations.

By US Daily Review Staff.

According to a survey by StrategyOne, U.S. adults disagree with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Affordable Care Act. While opinion of the decision is generally polarized by party – 66% of Republicans disagree with the ruling; 71% of Democrats agree – Independents are more aligned with Republicans. Fully 46% of Independents disagree with the ruling, while only 35% agree. Intensity among Independents is also strongly against the ruling, with 35% saying they strongly disagree and just 12% strongly agreeing.

Steve Lombardo, global CEO of StrategyOne, believes negative reaction among Independents could assist Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney come Election Day. According to Lombardo, Independent opposition to the Supreme Court decision “suggests that the Roberts ruling has the potential to move swing voters and the GOP base toward Romney.”

Additionally, a majority (52%) of adults say they are more likely to vote in the presidential election as a result of the decision. The Supreme Court’s actions appear to have a greater impact on Romney supporters. Among those voting for Romney, 49% say they are much more likely to vote because of the SCOTUS ruling, compared to 38% of President Obama’s supporters. Those who disagree with the ruling are also more inclined to say the decision makes them much more likely to vote (43%) compared to those who agree with the ruling (35%).

Lombardo sees this enthusiasm gap between those opposing the ruling and those supporting it also benefiting the GOP in the election. “If the electorate looks more like 2010 than 2008, it will be a big boost for Romney,” added Lombardo.

According to the StrategyOne survey, U.S. adults overall are slightly more likely to agree with the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act than disagree. Fully 48% of respondents agree with the decision, while 41% disagree.

By Alexandria Jacobs, Special for US Daily Review.

Budget-friendly vacations are the new normal these days. Between financial uncertainty, pricey hotels and rising travel costs, American families are squeezed when it comes to vacation and travel options. Fortunately, the United States is packed with great budget-friendly vacation destinations. From world-class cities to beautiful beach resorts, there’s no shortage of top vacation spots in the country for those on a tight budget. Here are just four of them.

New York City

New York City, despite its reputation for being expensive, is the perfect place for a budget-friendly vacation thanks to its wealth of free attractions and things to do. One of the top budget hotels in the city is The Sohotel, an affordable boutique hotel located in New York’s bustling SoHo district. New York City real estate is also home to many hostels and affordable rental apartments for vacation stays as well. Great restaurants for those on a budget include the historic Fraunces Tavern and the Gobo Restaurant, home to some of the city’s finest vegetarian cuisine. Free attractions in New York City include Central Park, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, Battery Park and Wall Street. Other top sites and landmarks worth visiting in this world-class city include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the iconic Statue of Liberty.

San Francisco

photo by flickr user Loren Javier

The City by the Bay is home to a plethora of great attractions and landmarks to visit. A top budget hotel in the city is the Super 8 Fisherman’s Wharf, located on the famed Fisherman’s Wharf in the heart of San Francisco’s tourist district. Cheap restaurants in the city range from the casual Italian Pasta Pomodoro to the excellent Asian cuisine of Zao. The city boasts a wealth of world-class attractions and landmarks such as the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the beautiful Golden Gate Park and renowned museums like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Asian Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.

Cape Cod

photo by flickr user elalex2009

Cape Cod boasts a broad collection of beautiful beaches and some of the most idyllic seaside scenery in the entire country. A fantastic budget hotel in Cape Cod is the Cape View Motel in Truro, a quaint motel that boasts stunning waterfront views. Great places to eat on the cheap include fresh seafood eateries like Sir Cricket’s Fish and Chips and the Pancake Man, one of the top breakfast spots on Cape Cod. Attractions in Cape Cod include the eclectic shops and galleries of Provincetown, the breathtaking Cape Cod National Seashore and the region’s wealth of beaches, bike trails and scenic outlooks.

Outer Banks

One of America’s most celebrated beach resorts, the Outer Banks offer plenty for vacationers on a budget. A top place to stay overnight is the Culpepper Inn, charming yet affordable with easy access to the area’s famed beaches. Top restaurants include seafood joints like Basnight’s Lone Cedar café and laid-back, rustic spots like Barefoot Bernie’s Bar and Grill. The Outer Banks offer incredible beaches and nature trails as well as historic sites and fascinating museums to discover.

Alexandra Jacobs is a travel enthusiast who loves to write about tourism, beaches, food, and the wonderful things in the world.  She provides her own insights on vacationing to the blogosphere.  If you would like to learn more about her, follow her @alexsjourneys or visit her blog alexsjourneys.wordpress.com.