The restructuring of health care in the Rochester area is a work in progress.
Health care
Posted inNews & Opinion
Ebola: Not worried, but getting ready
Strong Memorial Hospital is well prepared to both identify a patient infected with the Ebola virus and to provide treatment, says Dr. Michael Kamali, chair of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “Much of our direction is coming from both the Centers for Disease Control as well our internal folks — […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
[UPDATED] Medical pot, schools project, judges, and sparklers mark end of Legislature session
Soon, it could be legal to sell and use sparklers in New York, but not to light up medical marijuana. As the State Assembly and Senate wound down its session last night (and this morning), they acted on a slew of bills dealing with big statewide issues and matters that were specific to single communities. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Trans health coverage
The City of Rochester will add transgender health care benefits for employees and their families starting on January 1, 2015. The new coverage means that services related to gender reassignment procedures such as medical and psychological counseling, hormone therapy, and reconstructive surgeries will be covered by insurance. To receive the benefits, employees will have to […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Democrats on the run; you could set your watch to it
Say what you want, but we’re all pretty clear on what the Tea Party and the far right wing of the Republican Party stands for: opposing President Obama on everything and obstructing government. What do Democrats stand for? Well, that depends. Democrats are fond of nuanced positions. And truth be told, they’ll run like scared […]
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Romneycare’s launch wasn’t successful either
After listening to conservatives’ hysteria over the Affordable Care Act for the last two weeks, it was fascinating to hear Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick talk about his state’s health care program, or Romneycare. The program, a micro version of the Affordable Care Act, served as the ACA’s blueprint. Though the program is wildly successful today, […]
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Obamacare moving forward in the Rochester/Finger Lakes area
In 2008, multiple polls were telling us that most Americans ranked the rising cost of health care and the possible loss of health coverage as two of their biggest concerns. And they wanted Washington lawmakers to do something. After two elections and a US Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act, you really have […]
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Uninsured can start shopping soon
While the Republican majority in Congress and many Republican governors have spent their time attacking the Affordable Care Act, New York and many other states have been establishing the health insurance exchanges that the law requires.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Pain threshold
Few medical conditions have as complicated and far-reaching of an impact on the economy and health care coverage as pain. The Mayo Clinic reports that the cost of pain on employee productivity is more than $47 billion annually. But the treatment of pain is extremely controversial. Opioids — medications like Vicodin, OxyContin, and Percocet — […]
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Buffalo News: Wegmans dropping health insurance for part-timers
[UPDATE] Today, Wegmans released this statement regarding the company’s plans for part-time employee health care benefits: “Even though the new health care law is requiring some changes, we are not going to do anything that will hurt our employees. Wegmans will continue to offer health care benefits for part-time employees, but eligibility requirements will change. This […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Merger news
Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region will merge with the western New York affiliate. The new organization will be called Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York. | The merger should be effective on January 1, 2014, pending approval of state officials since Planned Parenthood’s facilities are treated under law basically as hospitals, says […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The zombie class
The current political debate may seem like it’s about jobs, taxes, and the national debt. But what Americans are really experiencing is a philosophical crisis involving the middle class, said Stephen Shapiro, a professor of English at the University of Warwick in Britain. The crisis is revealed, he said, in the zombie film craze. Much […]
