Chiropractic OnLine Today's
In The News feature: Part Thirteen.

February 2, 1997 - March 10, 1997

CHIRONET INC. RECEIVES FULL DELEGATION FROM PACIFICARE OF OREGON - ChiroNet Inc., received full delegation for quality improvement, utilization management, credentialing, and claims processing, from PacifiCare of Oregon. [Business Wire, 207 words]

TUBERCULOSIS STRATEGY PLANNED - Public health experts warn that the number of people infected with tuberculosis is continuing to grow, in part because the antibiotics that could control the disease are often used incorrectly. [Associated Press, 791 words]

TEXAS GOVERNOR, SENATE CRITICIZE HMO FOR SUPPRESSING REPORT - By Bruce Hight Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News Mar. 7--A health maintenance organization drew sharp criticism from Gov. George W. Bush and state senators Thursday after it managed to suppress, at least temporarily, an apparently critical report by the Texas insurance commissioner. [Austin American-Statesman, 778 words]

GENETIC DISCOVERY GIVES CLUE TO CANCER - REPORT (PLS TO UKI SCREENS) - British researchers said on Thursday they had found a genetic explanation for why cancer cells grow into uncontrollable tumours. [Reuters, 264 words]

ADMINISTRATION'S HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND ABUSE INITIATIVE DUE WEEK OF MARCH 10; AARP SEEKING EXPANSION OF SENIORS' ROLE IN DETECTING MEDICARE FRAUD. - ADMINISTRATION's HEALTH FRAUD BILL DUE NEXT WEEK WOULD PRODUCE MEDICARE SAVINGS, Health Care Financing Administration chief Bruce Vladeck told reporters March 6. [Health News Daily, 803 words]

RURAL TELEMEDICINE TAKING HOLD - As many as one-third of America's rural hospitals are using telemedicine to improve patient care. [Business Wire, 904 words]

The data is from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), conducted between 1988 and 1994, which compared children, teens and adults with standard measurements of the same groups taken in the 1960s. The results are part of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.

Officials say obesity is a major cause of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and several types of cancer in the United States. AP 3/7/97

Those who consumed the most sugar (more than 25 grams of sugar a day), mainly from that added to coffee or tea or from nondiet soft drinks, had four times the risk of small bowel cancer as those who ate the least (less than 5 grams). Reuters 3/6/97

According to this AP report, Bonds skipped the Giants' practice Tuesday while a chiropractor worked on him, and pronounced himself fine - though still sore - before heading over for an MRI.

"The chiropractor helped out a lot. I feel 100 percent better. I got adjusted. I was all jammed up," he said. "I'm fine. I'm real fine." AP 3/3/97

Secondhand smoke kills at least 4,700 nonsmoking Californians each year and causes respiratory illnesses in tens of thousands of children, according to a new state study from the California Environmental Protection Agency.

The state EPA report concludes that there is sufficient evidence from the body of existing research to conclude that secondhand smoke is responsible for a wide variety of health problems, including premature births, sudden infant death syndrome, lung cancer and heart disease.

Among the findings of the California study is that secondhand tobacco smoke hits the children of smokers especially hard. The study blames secondhand smoking for up to 3,000 new childhood asthma cases in California each year and for as many as 188,000 doctor visits for middle-ear infections. AP 3/2/97

AOA OFFERS RECOMMENDATIONS TO OFFSET PHYSICIAN OVERSUPPLY - The American Osteopathic Association acknowledged that a serious projected oversupply of physicians exists in the U.S., and offered several recommendations to Congress on how to legislate physician workforce reform during a press conference on February 28 in Washington, DC. [PR Newswire, 506 words]

NCPA AND CONGRESSIONAL EXPERTS PRESENT HEALTH INSURANCE SOLUTIONS FOR MEDICARE AND THE UNINSURED - The future of American health insurance coverage remains tenuous. Medicare is nearly bankrupt. Forty million Americans are uninsured. [PR Newswire, 857 words]

HEALTH COST BENCHMARKING STUDY FINDS POINT-OF-SERVICE MANAGED CARE PLANS LEAST COSTLY AMONG THE MANAGED CARE OPTIONS HOWEVER, HMOS CONTINUE TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE IN CONTROLLING COSTS - A benchmarking analysis of 1995 healthcare spending by employers demonstrates that while the most cost- effective benefits delivery method is managed care, there is a wide range of results for managed care programs ... [PR Newswire, 778 words]

ROLF PROGRAM MAY SAVE BOULDER BUSINESSES MILLIONS IN WORKERS' COMPENSATION - Carly Schulaka Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News Mar. 4--The simple tasks people do every day at work -- talking on the phone, typing on a keyboard or using a mouse on a computer -- can cause painful medical problems for employees and huge workers' compensation costs for employers. [Carly Schulaka, 1196 words]

CBO MEDICARE ANALYSIS CREDITS ADMINISTRATION WITH ONLY $82 BIL. OF CLAIMED $100 BIL. IN FIVE-YEAR SAVINGS; MEDICAID SAVINGS WOULD TOTAL $7 BIL. - ADMINISTRATION $18 BIL. SHORT ON MEDICARE SAVINGS GOAL, CBO ASSERTS in its March 3 analysis of President Clinton's FY 1998 budget plan. [Health News Daily, 386 words]

EX-EMPIRE BLUE CROSS EXECUTIVE CONVICTED OF PERJURY@ (ADDS WEISSMAN'S LAWYER'S COMMENT, DETAILS) - The former top financial officer of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, a major non-profit health insurer, was convicted Monday of perjury and obstructing a Senate subcommittee investigation. [Reuters, 528 words]

ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES ENTER THE MAINSTREAM/ MARKETERS WIELD BIGGER BUDGETS, STAR ENDORSERS AS PRESENCE ON SHELF INCREASES - Leveraging consumer dissatisfaction with traditional healthcare, marketers of alternative remedies and supplements are launching more significant ad efforts and finding greater acceptance in drugstores. [Advertising Age, 1057 words]

AMA, AAMC URGE TERMINATION OF PUBLIC FUNDING OF FOREIGN NATIONALS' MEDICAL RESIDENCIES IN CONSENSUS STATEMENT RELEASED BY SIX ASSOCIATIONS FEB. 28. - MEDICAL EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT REITERATES STANCE ON LIMITING RESIDENCY SLOTS, in an effort to address the country's oversupply of physicians. [Health News Daily, 589 words]

STUDY SHOWS THAT INFANTS FEEL AND REMEMBER CIRCUMCISION PAIN - A study led by Hospital for Sick Children researchers has demonstrated that not only do male infants feel pain during circumcision, they remember that pain six months later when they receive their routine vaccination. [Canada NewsWire, 357 words]

BREAST CANCER; UNCONVENTIONAL THERAPIES RELEASED IN RESEARCH INITIATIVE - Breast Cancer; Unconventional Therapies Released in Research Initiative Comprehensive, easy to understand information packages about six unconventional therapies often used by women with breast cancer [Cancer Weekly Plus, 568 words]

EMERGENCY CARE ACCESS BILL INTRODUCED BY REP. CARDIN, SEN. GRAHAM WOULD REQUIRE COVERAGE BASED ON PRESENTING SYMPTOMS RATHER THAN FINAL DIAGNOSIS. - CARDIN/GRAHAM EMERGENCY CARE ACCESS BILL WOULD AMEND KASSEBAUM/KENNEDY LAW, using enforcement mechanisms similar to those included in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Rep. Ben Cardin and Sens. Bob Graham and Barbara Mikulski introduced the measure at a Feb. [Health News Daily, 348 words]

WORK RECOVERY AND HIH WINTERTHUR TO ENTER JOINT VENTURE IN AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND PACIFIC RIM - Work Recovery, Inc. announced today the signing of a Shareholders Agreement with HIH Winterthur Underwriting and Agency Services Ltd. to form an Australian joint venture, ERGOS Asia Pacific Pty. [PR Newswire, 505 words]

CBO SEES NO ACCELERATION IN MEDICARE MANAGED CARE ENROLLMENT UNDER ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN; HHS SECRETARY SHALALA PREDICTS 3% ENROLLMENT INCREASE. - CLINTON MEDICARE PROPOSAL WOULD INCREASE MANAGED CARE ENROLLMENT relative to current policy, according to the Administration. In a Feb. 25 address to the American Association of Health Plans, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala said that about 23% ... [Health News Daily, 629 words]

ACROSS-THE-BOARD REDUCTION OF MEDICARE HMO REIMBURSEMENT RATE WOULD NOT ADDRESS FLAWS IN AAPCC METHODOLOGY AND CONTRIBUTE TO OVERPAYMENT, EXPERTS ADVISE. - MEDICARE COULD SAVE BILLIONS IN HMO PAYMENTS BY USING PRE-ENROLLMENT DATA already available in the program's fee-for-service sector to adjust county-based AAPCC rates, the General Accounting Office testified Feb. 25. [Health News Daily, 546 words]

MANAGED CARE LEGISLATION GLANCE - - Key provisions of managed care legislation introduced Tuesday: - _Prohibit plans from interfering in doctor-patient discussions. [Associated Press, 139 words]

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH PLANS CONGRATULATES HUMANA HEALTH CARE PLANS OF CHICAGO FOR WINNING THE NATIONAL EXEMPLARY PRACTICE PROGRAM AWARD - Humana Health Care Plans of Chicago is the winner of the 1997 AAHP National Exemplary Practice Program Award. The Humana Chicago Breast Care Management System was created to manage the identification and treatment of women with breast cancer. [PR Newswire, 345 words]

MINNESOTA COALITION OF TOUCH THERAPISTS AND SOMATIC EDUCATORS ANNOUNCES SPRING CONFERENCE - The Minnesota Coalition of Touch Therapists and Somatic Educators, a non-profit, inclusive organization created to educate, represent, and promote the art and science of touch therapy and somatic education throughout the state ... [PR Newswire, 414 words]

HHS IG RELEASES CLINICAL LAB MODEL COMPLIANCE GUIDELINES TO COINCIDE WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF $325 MIL. SETTLEMENT WITH SMITHKLINE BEECHAM. - CLINICAL LABS SHOULD ENSURE THAT CLAIMS TO FEDERAL PROGRAMS ARE "MEDICALLY NECESSARY," according to a model compliance plan released by HHS Inspector General June Gibbs Brown Feb. 24. "We recognize that laboratories do not and cannot treat patients or make medical necessity [Health News Daily, 477 words]

FEATURE/MANAGED CARE LOWERS HEALTH CARE COSTS FOR EMPLOYERS, ACCORDING TO 197 EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SURVEY - Employers that contract with health maintenance organizations incur health care costs that are 4 percent lower than the national average making this form of managed care th e most cost-effective of the health care alternatives generally available to employers. [Business Wire, 353 words]

ADMINISTRATION MEDICARE HMO PLAN ALLOWS THREE ANNUAL PAYMENT OPTIONS, SHARES OVERALL STRUCTURE WITH 1995 GOP PLAN. - MEDICARE HMOs WOULD SELECT HIGHEST-PAYING OF THREE RATES EACH YEAR, under a White House reform plan that would remove the managed care payment system's current direct link with fee-for-service spending. [Health News Daily, 720 words]

CONNECTICUT MEDICAID HMO PAYMENT BASED ON BIDS RATHER THAN 95% OF FEE-FOR-SERVICE BEING PROPOSED BY GOV. ROWLAND. - CONNECTICUT MEDICAID WILL SWITCH HMO RATES TO COMPETITIVE BIDS from 95% of fee-for-service costs, Gov. John Rowland said in a mid-February budget message to Connecticut's legislature. [Health News Daily, 473 words]

CLINTON ACTS TO INFORM MEDICAID PATIENTS FULLY - President Clinton acted Thursday to ensure that poor people who receive government health benefits are fully informed about treatment options and urged Congress to give all Americans similar help. [Reuters, 352 words]

MANAGED CARE IN WORKERS COMPENSATION/ NCCI STUDY SEES 11.6% SAVINGS IN FLORIDA - A Florida law requiring managed care in all workers compensation cases is expected to save the state's employers 11.6 percent on average, according to a new study. [PR Newswire, 367 words]

NCPA/ FEDERAL POLICY CAUSING RISING NUMBER OF UNINSURED; THINK TANK OFFERS PLAN TO INSURE ALL AMERICANS - Government policy denies many low-income working Americans and their children the same tax incentives to purchase health insurance that it gives most middle and upper-income workers, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis . [PR Newswire, 638 words]

PERS CHOICE, LIFEGUARD, BLUE SHIELD, AND OMNI WINNERS IN CALPERS HEALTH ENROLLMENT - The health plan open enrollment period for members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System is over, and the winners are PERS Choice and Lifeguard -- among the losers is Foundation Health. [Business Wire, 621 words]

MANAGED-CARE PRODUCTS, SERVICES ARE KEY TO HEALTH OF THE BLUES - The ability to provide competitive managed- care products will be the long-term key to the sound health of Blue Cross & Blue Shield plans, A.M. Best Co. says in a report published this week. [Business Wire, 288 words]

OXFORD HEALTH PLANS REPORTS 105 PERCENT EARNINGS INCREASE IN FOURTH QUARTER - Oxford Health Plans, Inc. today reported that fourth quarter 1996 net earnings rose 105 percent on a revenue increase of 64 percent when compared with the fourth quarter of 1995. [PR Newswire, 890 words]

AMERICANS SPEND $15 BILLION A YEAR ON UNPROVEN MEDICINE - Americans are spending $15 billion a year on alternative medicine therapies that aren't medically proven, according to biologists and medical doctors at the AAAS meeting. [SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 411 words]

DESPITE SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS, HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY LAGS IN USE OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES ERNST & YOUNG STUDY CITES SECURITY ISSUES AS MAJOR BARRIER - With a few notable exceptions, the health care industry lags behind most other industries in its use of Internet technologies, according to an in-depth study conducted by Ernst & Young LLP. [PR Newswire, 949 words]

HAWAII OKS SUITS AGAINST COMP INSURERS - HONOLULU-Some insurers worry that a recent Hawaii Supreme Court decision allowing employees to sue workers compensation insurers could generate new lawsuits and increase their costs. [Business Insurance, 1106 words]

MS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $4.7 MILLION FOR GENETIC RESEARCH -- LARGEST MS RESEARCH GRANT EVER - The largest grant ever made for multiple sclerosis research is enabling Canadian scientists to zero in on why certain people are more susceptible to developing MS, an often disabling disease of the central nervous system. [Canada NewsWire, 972 words]

OKLAHOMA COMMITTEE APPROVES WORKERS COMPENSATION REFORM BILL - By John Perry Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News OKLAHOMA CITY--Feb. 13--The House version of a workers compensation reform bill, aimed at changing Oklahoma's status as a state with high employer costs and low workers' benefits, was passed out of committee Wednesday. [The Daily Oklahoman, 537 words]

A report out of Reuters today describes a cervical spine incident caused by excessive lateral bending of the neck while holding a phone receive in place.

After holding the phone in place for 32 minutes while ironing her clothes, a 36 year old women developed neck pain, which was later diagnosed via CAT Scan, as carotid - artery dissection, a condition where her carotid artery had been blocked by accumulation of blood in her arterial wall.

According to the report, her pain lasted for 20 hours, with ear ringing continuing for another 28 hours. Doctors in Paris, France, attributed the manner in which she held the phone as the causative factor. For more information see the New England Journal of Medicine (1997;336:516). Reuters - 2/14/97

WHITE HOUSE PLANS SEPARATE LEGISLATION ON MEDICARE FRAUD AND ABUSE, HHS SECRETARY SHALALA SAYS AT HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE HEARING. - MEDICARE FRAUD AND ABUSE STAND-ALONE BILL TO BE SUBMITTED TO CONGRESS by the Administration, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala told the House Ways & Means Committee Feb. 12. [Health News Daily, 577 words]

BALLY TOTAL FITNESS AND CONTINUCARE TOGETHER LAUNCH OUTPATIENT REHABILITATION PROGRAM WELLNESS AGREEMENT BETWEEN BALLY AND CONTINUCARE TO CREATE <> - Bally Total Fitness and Continucare Corporation today announced they have entered into an agreement to provide comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation services at Bally's fitness centers. [PR Newswire, 431 words] LAWMAKERS OFFER BILL TO PROTECT ELDERLY - A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers Tuesday unveiled a bill to add new consumer protections to ''Medigap'' insurance policies that most senior citizens use to supplement federal Medicare health coverage. [Reuters, 298 words]

HCFA TAKING HANDS-OFF APPROACH TO STATES' INDIVIDUAL MARKET REFORM EFFORTS UNDER HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM LAW; 35 STATES PLAN TO ADOPT ALTERNATIVE MECHANISMS. - HCFA NOT HOLDING STATES TO "LETTER-PERFECT COMPLIANCE" WITH KASSEBAUM-KENNEDY LAW's individual market requirements at this time, Administrator Bruce Vladeck told the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee Feb. 11. [Health News Daily, 600 words]

CIGNA REPORTS RECORD FULL YEAR 1996 RESULTS; FULL YEAR INCOME OVER $1 BILLION - NOTE: TRUNCATED STORY ** CIGNA Corporation today reported fourth quarter 1996 operating income of $261 million, or $3.47 per share, versus $277 million, or $3.62 per share, reported in the fourth quarter of 1995. [PR Newswire, 1509 words]

DEFINITIVE LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE - Here is how Oxford Health Plans Inc. defines the alternative medicine practices it offers: Acupuncture originated in China more than 5,000 years ago. It is based on the belief that good health depends on a balanced flow of qi-vital life energy. [Business Insurance, 297 words]

HMO ESTABLISHES ALTERNATIVE CARE NETWORK - Although one regional health maintenance organization is now offering employers a network of alternative medicine pro-viders, other managed care groups are unlikely to follow suit. [Business Insurance, 938 words]

800 ALA. WOMEN SUE NORPLANT - More than 800 Alabama women have filed a lawsuit against the makers and distributors of the Norplant contraceptive, claiming they suffered health problems and adverse side effects. [Associated Press, 187 words]

MEDICAL HOTLINE BUSINESS BOOMS - For the frantic parent with a child sick at 2 a.m., the weekend athlete with a painful injury and the worker just diagnosed with diabetes, medical hotlines are becoming the equivalent of ``Dr. [Associated Press, 1019 words]

SEN. MCCAIN MEDICARE OVERPAYMENT BILL CALLS FOR PREPAYMENT SCREENING OF PROVIDER CLAIMS; SEPARATE BILL FEATURES FINANCIAL INCENTIVESFOR BENEFICIARY WHISTLEBLOWERS. - REDUCTION IN MEDICARE OVERPAYMENT COSTS ACT" WOULD USE FEES, PREPAYMENT SCREENING to discourage Medicare providers from overbilling the federal government. [Health News Daily, 659 words]

POLISH PARLIAMENT SEALS HEALTH CARE REFORM - Polish legislators on Thursday gave their final go-ahead on a bill reforming the country's inefficient communist-era health care service. [Reuters, 337 words]

PROGRESS SEEN TOWARD PARKINSON'S GENE THERAPY - In a development that could one day lead to new therapies for Parkinson's disease, U.S. scientists said Thursday they have used gene therapy in rat brains to protect nerve cells that make a crucial chemical. [Reuters, 328 words]

PRESIDENT CLINTON'S DISCRETIONARY HHS BUDGET FOR FY 1998 REFLECTS PRIORITIES FOR AIDS SERVICES, TREATMENT, QUALITY RESEARCH. - ADMINISTRATION BUDGET INCLUDES $1 BIL. MORE FOR RYAN WHITE IN FY 1998, or about $40 mil. more than was allocated in FY 1997, in its budget request released yesterday. [Health News Daily, 561 words]

NEW TELEMEDICINE SYSTEM TO LESSEN DEMAND FOR MALAYSIAN MEDICAL SPECIALISTS - MALAYSIA--A new "telemedicine" system, utilizing telecommunications and user-friendly medical examination software, will obviate the need for on-site medical specialists in Malaysia, according to one of the system's inventors. [Comline, 114 words]

PROVIDER NETWORK SIZE DIFFERS BY REGION, PROFIT STATUS AND MODEL AND PLAN TYPE - Provider networks are, on average, more comprehensive in the Pacific region than in any other region of the country, according to a new exclusive survey by The Managed Care Information Center. [PR Newswire, 391 words]

1997 HEALTH CARE COSTS CONTINUE AT MODERATE LEVELS; COSTS FOR RETIREES AGE 65 AND OLDER TO JUMP SIGNIFICANTLY - The relatively moderate pace of growth in employee health care costs for large employers will continue in 1997, with an average overall increase for active employees of only 3% compared to 4% in 1996, according to the Towers Perrin 1997 Health Care Cost Survey. [PR Newswire, 935 words]

HEALTH QUALITY ISSUES MERIT FURTHER EXAMINATION, PHYSICIAN LAWMAKERS AGREE; EIGHT DOCTORS CURRENTLY SERVING IN 105TH CONGRESS. - PHYSICIAN PRESENCE, INFLUENCE IN CONGRESS GROWING, with six doctors elected to the House and one to the Senate since 1994. The views of physicians in the 105th Congress thus may play a larger role in congressional deliberations than ever before. [Health News Daily, 1256 words]