The Health News USA February 22 2018
- The Minnesota state Department of Health said Tuesday that the number of Minnesota residents without health insurance jumped by 116,000 in the past 2 years. A biennial survey by the department and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found that the uninsured rate rose to 6.3% last year, up from 4.3% in 2015. It found that around 349,000 Minnesota residents lacked coverage in 2017.
- Federal health officials said Tuesday that the popular herb kratom is linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has made 28 people sick in twenty states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that most of the people who have been made seriously ill in the outbreak remember having used some form of kratom. It said 11 people were sick enough to have been hospitalized. Kratom has been the focus of a storm of controversy. The FDA has issued increasingly urgent warnings about the herb, saying it acts like an opioid drug and advising people to stay away from it.
- While household income has grown during the past decade, it has failed to keep up with the increased cost-of-living over the same period. To bridge the gap, Americans increasingly rely on credit cards, one of the most expensive ways to borrow. According to the Federal Reserve, outstanding card debt has now hit its highest point ever, surpassing $1 trillion in 2017. One-third said it negatively affected their standard of living, and one in five said it negatively impacted their health.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 22nd of February 2018. Read by Tabetha Moreto.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/20/minnesota-sees-surge-in-residents-without-health-i/
The Minnesota state Department of Health said Tuesday that the number of Minnesota residents without health insurance jumped by one hundred sixteen thousand in the past two years. A biennial survey by the department and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found that the uninsured rate rose to six point three percent last year, up from four point three percent in two thousand fifteen. It found that around three hundred forty nine thousand Minnesota residents lacked coverage in two thousand seventeen.
The report said the rise in uninsured Minnesotans corresponded with two private market trends – a decline in residents with coverage offered by employers and shrinking enrollment in the individual market. The share of residents getting insurance through their jobs fell three percentage points, to fifty two point nine percent, while enrollment in the individual market declined two percentage points, to four point four percent.
Democratic Governor Mark Dayton said in a statement that the report shows that efforts by the Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump to undermine the Obama administration’s health care overhaul and its goal of universal coverage are having “destructive effects.” The top reasons cited by people who lost coverage included losing jobs that included coverage, losing eligibility for coverage or an inability to afford the premiums. Just over half of the people surveyed who no longer had coverage last year said they couldn’t afford to keep it or couldn’t afford new coverage.
Enrollment in public plans – Medicare, Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare – increased by three percentage points, to thirty six point five percent, but that wasn’t enough to offset the declines in private coverage.
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Minnesota’s individual insurance market has been rocked by double-digit premium increases in recent years. Every carrier offering plans in that market threatened to exit it last year until legislators came up with an expensive solution, a five hundred forty nine million dollar reinsurance program meant to help insurers cover their claim costs and stabilize premiums.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kratom-blamed-salmonella-outbreak-20-states-n849741
Federal health officials said Tuesday that the popular herb kratom is linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has made twenty eight people sick in twenty states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that most of the people who have been made seriously ill in the outbreak remember having used some form of kratom. It said eleven people were sick enough to have been hospitalized.
Kratom has been the focus of a storm of controversy. The Food and Drug Administration has issued increasingly urgent warnings about the herb, saying it acts like an opioid drug and advising people to stay away from it. The Drug Enforcement Administration is looking at a strong restriction on the sales of kratom, which is currently traded freely on the internet and in some stores.
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Kratom enthusiasts say it’s enjoyable to use recreationally, but say it is also useful for treating withdrawal from opioid use and can be used to treat pain. The American Kratom Association says on its website that kratom is not a drug.
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It says kratom is illegal in Indiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Vermont, Arkansas, Alabama and Rhode Island, as well as some local jurisdictions including Sarasota County in Florida, San Diego and Washington, D.C. Salmonella is a very common bacteria that causes food poisoning. The CDC says it is not clear how it could have gotten into supplies of kratom. But genetic testing links the cases that have been reported.
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While household income has grown during the past decade, it has failed to keep up with the increased cost-of-living over the same period. To bridge the gap, Americans increasingly rely on credit cards, one of the most expensive ways to borrow. According to the Federal Reserve, outstanding card debt has now hit its highest point ever, surpassing one trillion dollars in two thousand seventeen.
Yet eighty six percent of Americans who have or had credit card debt said they regret it, according to a recent report by NerdWallet. The main regrets are because it took a long time to pay off, resulting in hefty interest expenses and causing unnecessary stress. NerdWallet has also found that nearly two in five consumers who have had credit card debt said it affected their general happiness. One-third said it negatively affected their standard of living, and one in five said it negatively impacted their health.
Still, the average American has about three credit cards and a total balance of six thousand three hundred seventy five dollars, up nearly three percent from last year, according to Experian’s annual study on the state of credit and debt in America.
NerdWallet has stated that the average credit card interest rate is fourteen point eighty seven percent, and the average household pays a total of nine hundred four dollars in credit card interest each year.
NerdWallet polled over two thousand U.S. adults in January.
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