New research shows that dying of a broken heart isn’t just a metaphor. WSJ’s Ron Winslow talks with Simon Constable about studies that show real, and sometimes fatal, changes can occur in the heart after a traumatic breakup or death of a loved one.
Excerpt from: News Hub: Why You Can Die of a Broken Heart/a>
Spending by private insurers tends to be higher when the hospital market is less competitive, a new study finds.
The study, published in the American Journal of Managed Care, compared geographic patterns of Medicare spending, using the Dartmouth Atlas data, with spending by big employers that cover their workers. The upshot was that the two didn’t correlate.
The reason didn’t seem to be that insurers (in this case, acting on behalf of big employers) are better than Medicare at saying no ..read more
Proxy season! Time, once again, to learn how much the captains of industry are pulling down.
First up for the Health Blog this year is Eli Lilly, which just filed its preliminary proxy.
John Lechleiter, the company’s CEO, had a package totaling $16.4 million, according to an analysis by Dow Jones Newswires. That includes $1.48 million in salary, $3.55 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation, $11.25 million in certain equity awards and $90,091 from a savings-plan match and tax reimbursements.
Lechleiter has ..read more
Cell Therapeutics’ experimental lymphoma drug pixantrone faces rough sledding from an FDA advisory committee after an agency staff review raised questions about the drug’s effectiveness and side effects. The news sent the company’s shares sharply lower.
One of the chief studies of the drug was supposed to involve 320 patients but only 140 were enrolled. Cell Therapeutics told the FDA it had trouble finding participants for the study because doctors preferred to use multiple chemotherapy drugs or supportive care, Reuters said, ..read more
Like plenty of other states, Tennessee is strapped for cash and looking for ways to save money. Cuts are likely for TennCare, the state’s Medicaid managed care program.
But the state’s hospitals may ask to pay more taxes in order to stave off cuts to the program, the Tennessean reports.
Because Medicaid is jointly funded by states and the federal government, cuts at the state level can trigger cuts in federal matching funds. In the case of Tennessee, proposed cuts would save ..read more
Hard to believe, but it was just weeks ago that everybody was busy hashing out the last-minute nitty gritty of what the Dems’ final health-care bill would look like.
Now, in a 59-41 world, President Obama’s call for a televised bipartisan discussion of health care — a proposal that’s reasonable enough, but pretty dull and process-y — passes for big news on the health-care overhaul front.
Indeed, as the WSJ notes, “it’s unclear how the bipartisan health-care event will move the issue ..read more
Some time ago, 20 obese men traveled by cogwheel train and cable car to the awesomely named Umwelt Forschungsstation Schneefernerhaus, a research station (pictured) in the shadow of Germany’s highest mountain.
The men were the subjects of a study on altitude and weight loss. They were allowed to eat whatever they wanted during their week on the mountain, and their activity was restricted to slow walks through the research station.
They lost about three pounds during the week, on average. Four ..read more
The latest unemployment rate reported by the government today was unexpectedly good — 9.7% in January, down from 10% the previous two months — and health-care hiring was again on the plus side, with the sector adding 14,500 jobs. Here’s the WSJ story.
The health-care category showing the largest employment gain in January was ambulatory health-care services, up 15,300 jobs. Physicians’ offices added 5,600 and hospitals, 5,000. Nursing and residential-care facilities shed 5,800 positions. Here’s the full BLS breakdown.
Economists still ..read more
One obvious (if somewhat fraught) way to keep health-insurance premiums down is to cap how much a plan will pay for health care. That’s an approach Washington state is considering.
The state has asked insurers to submit bids for a program that would include coinsurance payments of 30% for inpatient treatment, and pay out a maximum of $75,000 a year, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. That may sound like a lot, but people who are really sick or seriously injured ..read more
The owner of the Heart Attack Grill — home of the quadruple bypass burger pictured at right — is suing the owner of Heart Stoppers Sports Grill.
U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
Heart Stoppers, in Delray Beach, Fla., opened a few weeks ago. Heart Attack Grill, in Chandler, Fla., has been around for years, according to the Phoenix New Times.
Here’s what the lawyer for the Heart Attack Grill guy told the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
Heart Attack Grill is the originator of ..read more
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