Health Insurance Basics: Roles for the Market and Government in Providing, Financing, and Regulating Private Insurance Coverage

[Excerpt] Both the market and government have important roles in ensuring the availability, affordability, and adequacy of private health insurance. These roles complement one another, but even together the market and government have limitations. The market provides a variety of insurance products for consumers and employers with different needs and preferences. These products differ on many dimensions, including the breadth of provider networks, amount of beneficiary cost-sharing, and techniques for managing the use of health care services. Large employers, small employers, and individuals have different health insurance options, but all must make tradeoffs between the cost of coverage and desired features. A strength of the market is its flexibility to adapt over time to changing circumstances. As economic conditions, consumer preferences, and government policies evolve, the market generates different products with different features. The primary limitation of the market is its failure to provide affordable options for all consumers. The federal government helps ensure access to health coverage through public programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and it influences the market for private insurance through tax and regulatory policies. Some tax subsidies help people purchase insurance, and others — including those for Health Savings Accounts — help pay for medical expenses not covered by insurance. By far the largest subsidy is the tax exclusion for employer-provided health benefits. Because of this exclusion, most people get health insurance through work. Tax subsidies make health insurance and health care seem more affordable for certain taxpayers, but do not provide equivalent support to everyone. In addition, subsides may increase health care spending by reducing the apparent cost of health insurance and health care services. Regulations affect both access to insurance and the adequacy of benefits. States have primary responsibility for regulating insurance, but the federal government has sought to address selected issues regarding health coverage. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 include provisions that allow certain people to obtain or continue health coverage under certain circumstances. In addition, several federal laws mandate coverage for specific health benefits. Although regulations provide some protection for consumers, neither federal nor state rules guarantee access to coverage for everyone. In addition, even where regulations require insurers or employers to offer coverage, consumers may find this coverage unaffordable. This report will be updated

Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors in College Students

More than one-half of young adults aged 18–24 y have at least 1 coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factor and nearly one-quarter have advanced atherosclerotic lesions. The extent of atherosclerosis is directly correlated with the number of risk factors. Unhealthy dietary choices made by this age group contribute to weight gain and dyslipidemia. Risk factor profiles in young adulthood strongly predict long-term CHD risk. Early detection is critical to identify individuals at risk and to promote lifestyle changes before disease progression occurs. Despite the presence of risk factors and pathological changes, risk assessment and disease prevention efforts are lacking in this age group. Most young adults are not screened and are unaware of their risk. This review provides pathological evidence along with current risk factor prevalence data to demonstrate the need for early detection. Eighty percent of heart disease is preventable through diet and lifestyle, and young adults are ideal targets for prevention efforts because they are in the process of establishing lifestyle habits, which track forward into adulthood. This review aims to establish the need for increased screening, risk assessment, education, and management in young adults. These essential screening efforts should include the assessment of all CHD risk factors and lifestyle habits (diet, exercise, and smoking), blood pressure, glucose, and body mass index in addition to the traditional lipid panel for effective long-term risk reduction

El hábitat en la 3ra edad: análisis y diagnóstico de tipologías de viviendas en altura de zonas centrales de la Ciudad de Mar del Plata en función de los requerimientos de los adultos mayores

El propósito de este trabajo es avanzar con la evaluación objetivable de Viviendas en Altura de la Zona Céntrica de la Ciudad de Mar del Plata (VAZC) en función de los requerimientos de los Adulto Mayores (AM). Se plantea una metodología desde un enfoque cuanti-cualitativo, utilizando estudios de tipo exploratorio-descriptivos, mediante el estudio de casos. Durante el año 2012 se realizaron 10 observaciones directas de AM que habitan VAZC que resultaron en el registro de relatos exhaustivos sobre el uso de los espacios de la vivienda, relevamiento fotográfico y la confección de planos en planta de cada una con su equipamiento y distribución. A partir de esto se ha avanzado en la elaboración una grilla, para la comparación y procesamiento de datos, que permita extraer generalizaciones para un análisis y diagnóstico cuantitativo de VAZC, aplicable a un amplio espectro tipológico extraído de los archivos municipales de edificios de vivienda. Si bien los trabajos permitieron recabar datos sobre distintos aspectos de este campo habitacional (incluidos espacios de uso común y usos de la planta baja), nos remitiremos aquí a aquellos aspectos referidos a los espacios privativos de las unidades de vivienda

Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation: Executive Guide

Prepared by and for policy-makers, leaders of public sector research establishments, technology transfer professionals, licensing executives, and scientists, this online resource offers up-to-date information and strategies for utilizing the power of both intellectual property and the public domain. Emphasis is placed on advancing innovation in health and agriculture, though many of the principles outlined here are broadly applicable across technology fields. Eschewing ideological debates and general proclamations, the authors always keep their eye on the practical side of IP management. The site is based on a comprehensive Handbook and Executive Guide that provide substantive discussions and analysis of the opportunities awaiting anyone in the field who wants to put intellectual property to work. This multi-volume work contains 153 chapters on a full range of IP topics and over 50 case studies, composed by over 200 authors from North, South, East, and West. If you are a policymaker, a senior administrator, a technology transfer manager, or a scientist, we invite you to use the companion site guide available at http://www.iphandbook.org/index.html The site guide distills the key points of each IP topic covered by the Handbook into simple language and places it in the context of evolving best practices specific to your professional role within the overall picture of IP management

Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation: A Handbook of Best Practices, Vol. 1

Prepared by and for policy-makers, leaders of public sector research establishments, technology transfer professionals, licensing executives, and scientists, this online resource offers up-to-date information and strategies for utilizing the power of both intellectual property and the public domain. Emphasis is placed on advancing innovation in health and agriculture, though many of the principles outlined here are broadly applicable across technology fields. Eschewing ideological debates and general proclamations, the authors always keep their eye on the practical side of IP management. The site is based on a comprehensive Handbook and Executive Guide that provide substantive discussions and analysis of the opportunities awaiting anyone in the field who wants to put intellectual property to work. This multi-volume work contains 153 chapters on a full range of IP topics and over 50 case studies, composed by over 200 authors from North, South, East, and West. If you are a policymaker, a senior administrator, a technology transfer manager, or a scientist, we invite you to use the companion site guide available at http://www.iphandbook.org/index.html The site guide distills the key points of each IP topic covered by the Handbook into simple language and places it in the context of evolving best practices specific to your professional role within the overall picture of IP management

TIPOS DE PREPAROS PARA FACETAS ESTÉTICAS

As facetas são um tratamento dentário que consiste na colocação parcial de finas lâminas de porcelana sobre os dentes anteriores. Para a sua colocação não é necessário remover uma grande quantidade de tecido dentário como é o caso das coroas totais, mantendo assim o máximo de estrutura dentária e gengival. O objetivo deste estudo é realizar uma revisão sistemática integrativa da literatura, analisar e identificar a técnica de preparo dentário mais adequada para o sucesso a longo prazo no tratamento com facetas de porcelana. Foi realizada uma pesquisa electrónica no banco de dados PubMed, Ebsco, Researchgate e Scielo utilizando uma combinação dos seguintes elementos de pesquisa: “facetas dentárias”, “estética dental” e “preparação do dente”. A pesquisa identificou um total de 148 estudos, dos quais 19 foram considerados relevantes para este estudo. Esses estudos ofereceram dados significativos, levando em consideração vários tipos de preparos dentários nos três terços dentários. Os resultados obtidos da literatura analisada foram que tipo de preparo realizar em vestibular e interproximal, os três tipos de preparos ao nível incisal e que tipo de instrumentos utilizar para obter um preparo dentário de sucesso. A conclusão desta revisão é que em vestibular e interproximal deve-se manter o máximo de esmalte possível, conseguindo maior adesão. Ao nível incisal podemos realizar a preparação para que a faceta termine na própia borda, cobrindo-a ou no palato. Para um preparo mais bem-sucedido, com margens bem definidas, instrumentos ultrassônicos devem ser utilizados para proteger toda a estrutura dentária

Improving Nurse Handoff Communication with an End of Shift Summary SmartPhrase

https://digitalcommons.psjhealth.org/summit_all/1059/thumbnail.jp

Which anticoagulant is safest for frail elderly patients with nonvalvular A-fib?

Consider apixaban, which demonstrated a lower adverse event (AE) rate than warfarin regardless of frailty status, for anticoagulation treatment of older patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF); by comparison, AE rates for dabigatran and rivaroxaban were lower vs warfarin only among nonfrail individuals.J. Scott Earwood, MD; Justin L. Wilkie, MD; Jennifer L. Fernandez-Vasquez, MD, (Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon)Includes bibliographical reference