Thursday, 28 March 2024

Health

Twenty percent of U.S. women (18.7 million) ages 19-64 were uninsured in 2010, up from 15 percent (12.8 million) in 2000, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report on women’s health care.

An additional 16.7 million women were underinsured in 2010, compared with 10.3 million in 2003.

The report estimates that once fully implemented, the Affordable Care Act will cover nearly all women, reducing the uninsured rate among women from 20 percent to 8 percent.

“Women, particularly those in their childbearing years, are uniquely at risk for being unable to afford the care they need, having trouble with medical bills, and having high out-of-pocket costs,” said Commonwealth Fund Vice President and report co-author Sara Collins. “The Affordable Care Act will ensure that U.S. women have affordable, comprehensive health insurance that covers the services they need, including maternity care. And women will no longer have to worry about being denied coverage for a preexisting condition or that they will have to pay higher premiums because of their gender or health.”

In “Oceans Apart: The Higher Health Costs of Women in the U.S. Compared to Other Nations, and How Reform Is Helping,” Commonwealth Fund researchers examine differences in how women fare in the U.S. compared to women in 10 other countries – Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. – all of which have universal health insurance coverage.

The report finds that while uninsured women in the U.S. were most likely to face problems with medical bills and getting needed health care, even insured U.S. women were more likely to face these problems compared to women in other countries.

Women in the U.S. said they have problems paying medical bills at double the rate of women in any of the other countries. One-fourth (26 percent) of women in the U.S. ages 19 to– 64 had medical bill problems, compared to 13 percent in Australia, 12 percent in France, and 4 percent in Germany.

About two of five (39 percent) women in the U.S. spent $1,000 or more on out-of-pocket medical costs over 2009-2010, compared to one-fourth (24 percent) in Switzerland, 1 percent in Sweden and 0 percent in the U.K.

More than two of five (43 percent) women in the U.S. said that over 2009-2010 they went without recommended care, skipped seeing a doctor when they were sick, or failed to fill prescriptions because of cost, compared to 28 percent in Germany and Australia, 8 percent in the Netherlands, and 7 percent in the U.K.

Half (52 percent) of women in the U.S. said they were confident that they would be able to afford the health care they need if they became seriously ill. In contrast, nearly all women in the U.K. (91 percent) and three-fourths (77 percent) in the Netherlands and Switzerland (76 percent) were confident they could afford needed care.

Uninsured U.S. women struggle most

When looking just at uninsured U.S. women, the report finds even more substantial differences compared to women in other countries: 51 percent of uninsured U.S. women had a problem paying medical bills and 77 percent went without needed health care due to costs, more than double the rates reported by women in other nations.

Within the U.S., there are strong geographic differences when it comes to women’s health insurance, with 30 percent of women in Texas uninsured, compared to only 5 percent of women in Massachusetts, which enacted a universal health insurance law in 2006 that is similar to the Affordable Care Act.

The Affordable Care Act is helping women

According to the report, The Affordable Care Act is already making health insurance and needed health care more affordable and available to women:

  • In 2011, an estimated 20.4 million women benefitted from provisions requiring all private insurance plans in existence when the law passed in March 2010 to provide preventive services like screening for cervical, breast, and colon cancer, cholesterol checks, and osteoporosis and chlamydia screening without cost sharing.
  • Beginning in August 2012, private insurance plans will cover an additional set of preventive services tailored specifically for women, including family planning services, without cost sharing.
  • According to a recent Commonwealth Fund survey, in 2011 an estimated 3.1 million young women stayed on or joined their parents’ health plans likely because of The Affordable Care Act provision requiring insurers that offer dependent coverage to let young adults enroll in their parents’ health insurance until they are 26.
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has estimated that 39.5 million women no longer have lifetime limits on what their health insurance plans cover because of the Affordable Care Act provision requiring insurers to remove them.
  • Preexisting Condition Insurance Plans are available in all 50 states for people with health problems who have been uninsured for at least six months. Nearly 62,000 people have enrolled in the plans, more than half of whom are women.
  • The Medicaid program now covers more services for women including smoking cessation support for pregnant women and care from free standing birth centers.

Moving forward

According to the report, new subsidized insurance options, including a substantial expansion in eligibility for Medicaid and premium tax credits for people with incomes up to $92,200 for a family of four, will help ensure that nearly all women will have access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance.

Among the five states where more than one quarter of women lacked coverage in 2009-10, uninsured rates are estimated to fall below 14 percent when the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented: in Texas, the uninsured rate is expected to drop from 30.3 percent in 2009-10 to 11.6 percent; in Florida from 26.2 percent to 9.9 percent; in Arkansas from 25.3 percent to 6.8 percent; in New Mexico from 25.3 percent to 13.3 percent; and in Nevada from 25.2 percent to 13.1 percent.

The report finds that women will also benefit from provisions in the law that will prevent insurers from charging women higher premiums because of their gender or health. More affordable reproductive and preventive health care and a strengthening of primary care services will also benefit women.

The report’s authors note that continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act reforms will be essential to ensuring the future affordability of health care for women and households.

“We are on the cusp of a remarkable feat – providing comprehensive, affordable health insurance to almost all American women,” said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. “It is crucial that states actively work to implement the reform law and take full advantage of all the benefits the Affordable Care Act stands to offer to their residents so that all American families are able to benefit from the law’s potential.”

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is the third leading cause of death and yet millions of Americans do not even know what it is.

COPD will be the topic of the American Lung Association Better Breathers Club in Clearlake on Wednesday, July 18, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, 15250 Lakeshore Drive.

Entrance is at lowest level parking area at St Helena Hospital Clear Lake in building F.

Facilitator Nancy Perrin, RCP, will explain the disease, the disease process and invite questions and answers. There will be a video and interactive discussion.

Sponsored by the American Lung Association and St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, Better Breathers Club meetings are free and open to anyone interested in learning more about chronic lung disease or breathing disorders. Caregivers are also welcome.

More than 24 million Americans are estimated to have COPD, and yet only half have been diagnosed.

COPD is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Most people who have COPD smoke or used to smoke.

Long-term exposure to other lung irritants – such as air pollution, chemical fumes or dust – also may contribute to COPD.

For more information about chronic lung disease, please call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA.

You also may speak to a respiratory therapist through the free Lung HelpLine.

For more information about COPD and resources to help you, visit the lung association Web site at  www.lung.org .

For further information on the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake or for specific directions on the Better Breathers new location, call Donna at 707-995-5624.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake Development Office recently received a big check as part of its “A Little change makes a Big change” campaign to raise money for the hospital’s emergency department expansion project.

In May, with the help of Clearlake Grocery Outlet, $4,000 was raised for the effort.
 
The store owners, Mitch and Carol Beare, matched the $2,000 that was raised by the staff at the cash registers in May for the emergency room expansion.

In a recent Journal of Biological Chemistry “Paper of the Week,” research led by Ayae Kinoshita at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan reveals the benefits of exercise in combating Alzheimer’s disease.

The most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease results in the loss of cognitive faculty. In the majority of cases, Alzheimer’s disease occurs after age 65, and factors such as diet and exercise appear to play a role in its development, with high-fat diets as a risk factor.

Kinoshita’s research compared the effects of 1) diet control, 2) voluntary exercise and 3) diet control plus exercise in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model.

The results showed that exercise was more beneficial than diet control in reducing β-amyloid formation (a defining characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease) and restoring memory loss induced by a high-fat diet in these mice.

Moreover, Kinoshita’s team found that the effect of diet control plus exercise was not significantly different than exercise alone.

They attribute the positive effects of exercise to increased degradation of β-amyloid deposits in the brain.

“Based on the results in this research,” Kinoshita suggests, “exercise should be given priority to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.”

From the article: “Exercise is more effective than diet control in preventing high fat diet-induced β-amyloid deposition and memory deficit in amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice.”

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Beginning Wednesday, July 18, Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation will offer the fourth session of Weigh to Go Challenge at Lakeside Wellness Center.

The Weigh to Go Challenge is a 16-week program that includes many support modalities to assist with positive lifestyle changes on the road to better health and weight loss.

This challenge is open to the public, includes gym membership, nutritional consultation, fitness room orientation and guidance, wellness coaching, monthly education classes and weekly weigh-ins.  

Also offered are exclusive fitness classes for class participants only and personal one-on-one trainings.  

The cost of this program is $95 for the program and is limited to the first 15 participants.  

Please call today to reserve your space. Sign ups are happening now until July 16.

Call the Wellness Center office for more details at 707-262-5171 or find them on Facebook at Sutter Lakeside Wellness Center.

A new study to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on June 30 June has shown that caffeine boosts power in older muscles, suggesting the stimulant could aid elderly people to maintain their strength, reducing the incidence of falls and injuries.

For adults in their prime, caffeine helps muscles to produce more force. But as we age, our muscles naturally change and become weaker.

Sports scientists at Coventry University looked for the first time at whether these age-related changes in muscle would alter the effect of caffeine.

They found that caffeine continued to enhance muscle performance in two different muscles from mice, although it was less effective in older muscles.

Jason Tallis, the study’s primary author, said: “Despite a reduced effect in the elderly, caffeine may still provide performance-enhancing benefits.”

For adults in their prime, caffeine helps muscles to produce more force. But as we age, our muscles naturally change and become weaker.

So, sports scientists at Coventry University looked for the first time at whether these age-related changes in muscle would alter the effect of caffeine.

Caffeine’s effect was smallest for juvenile muscles, suggesting caffeine may not have an enhancing effect in developing muscles.

The decline in muscle strength that occurs as we age contributes to injuries and reduces quality of life. The process is not well understood, but it is clear that preserving muscle tone is key.

“With the importance of maintaining a physically active lifestyle to preserve health and functional capacity, the performance-enhancing benefit of caffeine could prove beneficial in the aging population,” Tallis said.

The researchers isolated muscles from mice ranging in age from juvenile to elderly, then tested their performance before and after caffeine treatment.

They looked at two different skeletal muscles, which are the muscles we can control voluntarily. The first was the diaphragm, a core muscle used for respiration; the second was a leg muscle called the extensor digitorum longus (EDL), used for locomotion.

Upcoming Calendar

28Mar
03.28.2024 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Vision resource group
30Mar
03.30.2024 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Second annual Bunny Brunch
30Mar
03.30.2024 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Lakeport Community Cleanup Day
30Mar
03.30.2024 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Lake County poet laureate inauguration
31Mar
03.31.2024
Easter Sunday
31Mar
03.31.2024 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm
Lakeport Rotary Club Easter Egg Hunt
1Apr
04.01.2024
Easter Monday
1Apr
10Apr
15Apr
04.15.2024
Tax Day

Mini Calendar

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