In the United States, getting better often comes with an unfortunate and devastating side effect: financial bankruptcy. In fact, a 2009 study in five states found that between 2001 and 2007, medical-related bankruptcies rose by nearly 50 percent. And for those diagnosed with cancer, the risk is even worse.
US Healthcare System
Hefty portion of work-related injury costs not paid for by workers’ comp, others picking up the tab
An analysis of data from U.S. emergency departments reveals that 40 percent of work-related injuries and illnesses cases treated there are not paid for through the workers’ compensation system.
US Healthcare System
Healthcare costs and tradeoffs: Air conditioners and teachers’ salaries edition
Ezra Klein talks to Bill Gates and Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber about investing in disease prevention and the tradeoffs in healthcare spending decisions.
Education
Newborn screening: One of public health’s greatest achievements celebrates 50 years and thousands of lives saved
On Feb. 13, 2012, Honey Stecken gave birth to her daughter Maren. Everything appeared perfectly fine — she ate and slept and did all the things a baby does. Even after a couple weeks at home in South Fork. Colo., with her newborn little girl, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Addiction & Substance Abuse
Study: Banning smoking in subsidized housing could save millions in health care costs
Another day, another study that shows investing in public health interventions can make a serious dent in health care spending. A new study has found that banning smoking in all U.S. subsidized housing could yield cost savings of about $521 million every year.
In California, a minimum wage worker has to work at least 98 hours in a week to afford a two-bedroom unit at fair market rental prices. In Texas, that worker would have to work between 81 and 97 hours in a week, and in North Carolina it’s upward of 80 hours per week.
Education
Study finds high support for public health interventions, few worries about encroaching ‘nanny state’
A new study finds that the public does, indeed, support legal interventions aimed at curbing noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. However, they’re more likely to support interventions that create the conditions that help people make the healthy choice on their own.
Education
In tight fiscal times, National Public Health Week highlights the return on public health investments
In a little less than a month, public health workers in Macomb County, Mich., will set up at the local Babies”R”Us store to offer parents a free child car seat check. The Macomb County Health Department has been organizing such car seat checks for years, knowing that proper child vehicle restraints can save lives and prevent injury. The event also fits in perfectly with this year’s National Public Health Week theme of “Public Health ROI: Save Lives, Save Money.”
US Healthcare System
“If we expect the health care workforce to care for patients, we need to care for the workforce”
A Washington Post article and a new report from the National Patient Safety Foundation explore how healthcare workplace environments affect workers and patients.
Texas construction workers who’ve lost their lives on unsafe worksites may be gone, but they certainly haven’t been forgotten. Earlier this week, hundreds of Texas workers and their supporters took to the streets to demand legislators do more to stop preventable injury and death on the job.