1+ hour, 12+ min ago (304+ words) Glenn Medical Center in Willows closed Oct. 21 after losing "critical access" status for being 3 miles closer to the nearest hospital than rules require. The closure strips emergency care from a poor farming community, eliminates 150 jobs and puts rural residents at risk of preventable deaths. Many other California hospitals also face risks of closing because of federal healthcare cuts affecting cash-strapped rural healthcare systems. But things could get far worse: A June analysis released by four Democrats in the U.S. Senate found that many more hospitals in California could be at risk of closure in the face of federal healthcare cuts. "It's like the beginning of a tidal wave," said Peggy Wheeler, vice president of policy of the California Hospital Assn. "I'm concerned we will lose a number of rural hospitals, and then the whole system may be at risk." We lost…...

2+ hour, 59+ min ago (192+ words) MAJOR CHANGES TO MEDI-CAL, CALFRESH AND COVERED CALIFORNIA FOR 2026 Key Changes to Medi-Cal/Partnership/CalFresh: January 1, 2026 begins the "Enrollment Freeze" for new Medi-Cal applicants based on their immigration status (more info below). If you already have Medi-Cal, you can stay covered no matter your immigration status. For these individuals, if they have a lapse of coverage for more than 90 days, they will not be able to have their Medi-Cal reinstated. MAJOR CHANGES TO MEDI-CAL, CALFRESH AND COVERED CALIFORNIA FOR 2026 Key Changes to Medi-Cal/Partnership/CalFresh: January 1, 2026 begins the "Enrollment Freeze" for new Medi-Cal applicants based on their immigration status (more info below). If you already have Medi-Cal, you can stay covered no matter your immigration status. For these individuals, if they have a lapse of coverage for more than 90 days, they will not be able to have their Medi-Cal reinstated....

19+ hour, 20+ min ago (697+ words) The debate over expiring Obamacare subsidies has dominated national political discourse, but some experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Republicans could capitalize on growing momentum around price transparency to help lower healthcare costs for Americans. The record-setting government shutdown was driven by Democrats" refusal to budge on the expiring Obamacare premium subsidies, which they passed in 2021 without GOP support and set to expire at the end of 2025. Republicans are still debating their healthcare proposal, including whether to back a limited extension of those subsidies. Even without a resolution on the subsidies in sight, some experts note that more can be done to build on the healthcare-related measures already taken. That includes President Donald Trump"s February executive order directing agencies to fulfill "radical price transparency" and require the disclosure of the actual prices of healthcare services. Proponents of…...

19+ hour, 32+ min ago (372+ words) Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), health insurance premiums have steadily increased, as has healthcare's proportion of the gross domestic product (GDP). In employer-sponsored insurance, escalating premiums are the primary driver for stagnant take-home wages. The structure of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and employer-sponsored insurance conceal the true cost of healthcare. The recent government shutdown exposed this underlying flaw to public scrutiny. Should the premium tax credits lapse as expected, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) projects that premiums for Americans will increase by more than 75 percent. This stark price increase will now confront consumers, leaving patients worried and dissatisfied. Since the ACA's passage, the top five health insurers' annual profits have soared by 230 percent. In 2024, UnitedHealth's CEO earned $26.3 million, Cigna's CEO $23.2 million, and others followed suit. This dynamic does not reflect true capitalism or free-market principles…...

20+ hour, 8+ min ago (1645+ words) The situation began to change in the era of industrialization, when rapid advances occurred in the natural sciences. Urban populations grew, and public hygiene began to take shape. Quality of life improved as people gained access to more varied food, cleaner water, and better medical care. A sharp rise in life expectancy came in the 20th century when humanity learned to control infections. The invention of antibiotics, mass vaccination, and advances in neonatal care transformed the statistics. By 2023, average life expectancy worldwide had reached 70, and in many countries it surpassed 80. The age record, belonging to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment (1885-1997), stands 122 years and 164 days. But can 120 years be called a limit? Will average life expectancy continue to rise? To answer these questions, it is first necessary to understand what aging is. Aging There is no single definition of "aging," since it is a…...

20+ hour, 10+ min ago (250+ words) But no such effects were observed beyond this quota. Telomeres sit at the end of chromosomes and perform a role similar to the plastic tips on the end of shoelaces. They included 436 adult participants from the Norwegian Thematically Organized Psychosis (TOP) study, recruited between 2007 and 2018: 259 had schizophrenia; the rest (177) had affective disorders. Participants who drank 5+ cups a day were significantly older than those who drank none or 12 cups a day. And those with schizophrenia drank significantly more coffee than those with an affective disorder. Smoking is associated with faster caffeine metabolism. And around three quarters of participants (77%; 337) smoked. And those drinking 5+ cups a day had smoked for significantly longer than any of the other groups. Telomere length was measured and this revealed a significant difference among the four groups, forming a J-shaped curve. Compared with those drinking no coffee, drinking…...

20+ hour, 45+ min ago (370+ words) Of this memo, ACIP member and scientist Robert Malone has written: "I am stunned, gobsmacked by his letter below. The significance and importance of this letter in the context of US and global vaccine policy cannot be overestimated. This is a revolution, the likes of which I never expected to see in my lifetime." Apparently there are ten confirmed deaths of children from the Covid vax. Interestingly, the only sources carrying the story about the ten children so far are liberal MSM sites. FDA claims Covid shots killed 10 children and vows new vaccine rules And they want ME to get more vaccines??????? It'll be a cold day in hell before I trust them with vaccines again. Since this is a thread on "vaccines': I determined over the holiday that my father has been injured due to a known factor regarding…...

20+ hour, 50+ min ago (327+ words) Researchers report that lower plasma LDL cholesterol is associated with a higher risk of incident type 2 diabetes in adults followed in primary care, independent of statin use. In the study, investigators asked whether plasma LDL-C predicted incident type 2 diabetes during long follow-up and examined whether statin therapy altered that relationship. A cooperative of 140 general practitioners provided the data collection. Each doctor contributes to a shared electronic medical record that follows patients across visits. More than 200,000 adults appear in the system, with age and geographic distributions that naturally mirror the city of Naples. Slightly more than half the cohort received statin therapy at baseline. During follow-up (median 71.6 months), 1,819 participants (13%) developed incident type 2 diabetes, 1,424 (20%) statin-treated participants compared with 395 (6%) nonusers. Each 10 mg/dl higher LDL-C was associated with a 10% lower hazard of diabetes (adjusted HR 0.90), so that lower LDL-C corresponded to higher risk....

22+ hour, 11+ min ago (305+ words) Hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis, is the condition responsible for seasonal allergies or allergic reactions to other environmental allergens. A new study describes a large-scale survey of hay fever sufferers, comparing those who use eye washing as a preventative measure. The study reports that those using eyewash experience improved symptoms. While eyewashes containing benzalkonium chloride as a preservative have been shown to exacerbate certain eye diseases, a preservative-free eyewash has a generally good safety profile and is endorsed for reducing symptoms of allergic conjunctival diseases. However, robust research was lacking on the use of eyewash for hay fever. So, to further assess this option, the team decided to conduct a large-scale analysis looking at the relationship between eyewash use and hay fever symptoms based on surveys conducted on a smartphone app called AllerSearch. The survey included questions about…...

1+ day, 26+ min ago (217+ words) Furthermore, many illegal immigrants consume Medicaid through their U.S.-born children, who as citizens qualify for all of the benefits that other natives do. The Center has found that 59 percent of households headed by an illegal immigrant consume at least one means-tested benefit, with 39 percent consuming Medicaid specifically. Source: 2022 Survey of Income and Program Participation.See text for welfare programs included in each category. Some immigration advocates insist that Medicaid for the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants should not count as immigrants using welfare, but that view is mistaken. Parents are legally obligated to provide medical care for their children. If they do not, and taxpayers step in to do it for them, then the parents receive a financial benefit. I'd probably multiply their numbers 2-3 times. The dirty Dems got together and spouted off about the exact law against giving health…...