| Sen. Mel Martinez wants to double Medicare fraud penalties
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez on Tuesday trumpeted his proposal to stiffen criminal and civil penalties for people who abuse the nation's health-care system, bringing his message to South Florida, the nation's worst haven for Medicare fraud. ''In Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties we probably have three of the busiest counties in fraud in the United States by a large measure,'' the Florida Republican told reporters at Miami Dade College. He said the federal government estimates about $60 billion in Medicare fraud claims a year, including about $12 billion in Florida. ''Four million Floridians and 47 million Americans that are uninsured could all be amply insured if we just took the fraud out of the Medicare system,'' he said. Martinez, who also met with U.S.
Preparing for Global Warming's Health Crisis
Hurricanes pound the Gulf Coast with unrelenting force. Floods deluge the Midwest. Wildfires rage out of control in California and Florida. A "red tide" of algae blooms off the West Coast, endangering marine and coastal wildlife. Dengue fever spikes in Mexico and looms over the United States. No one can say with certainty that any single one of these events is due to global climate change. But there is little doubt among scientists that we are making unprecedented changes to our environment, with grave potential consequences already upon us and others on the horizon. Global climate change is more than a weather phenomenon; it is also a major public health issue. The environmental threats are increasingly appreciated, but the human health effects have received less attention.
Geriatrician Care Guards Against Risk of Inappropriate Meds
FRIDAY, Jan. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly Americans taking prescription medications face a lower risk for being given an inappropriate drug or dosage if they receive care from a geriatrician, new research reveals. The finding is based on a large, national review of mostly male veterans who sought care at VA facilities across the United States. The analysis indicates that roughly one in four vets were inappropriately prescribed medications, while those few who had visited with a geriatrician in the past year had reduced exposure to such critical mistakes. "Geriatric care seems to help protect patients who are receiving prescription medications," said study author Mary Jo V. Pugh, a research health scientist with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, and an assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Sick overstayer threatens suicide
An American overstayer who uses a dialysis machine 12 hours a day is threatening to stop her own treatment and die in Wellington rather than accept deportation. The Immigration Service has booked Lana Schmidt on a flight out of Auckland next Saturday, and warnedit will force her removal if she resists. But Ms Schmidt says she has nowhere to go, there are no arrangements for her continued medical care once she gets to Los Angeles, and she cannot get support from the United States Medicare system till July. Ms Schmidt came to New Zealand in 2000 to be with Zahid Jawad, an Iraqi-born New Zealand citizen whom she met in the US. But after their relationship broke down two years later, her health deteriorated and she suffered kidney failure.
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