Health Care

... During a follow-up revisit of Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home on Jan. 6, 2021, inspectors found the facility to be in compliance, avoiding a mandatory termination of the facility on April 16, 2021 ....

“...Because of COVID-19, we are all thinking more about lung health. Now is the time for lawmakers to act and take this opportunity to achieve lasting reductions in tobacco-related death and disease....”

... Bill Tracking at the Legislature Begins ....

... 33 Hours worked to afford median rent for nurses -- Hawaii ranks 43rd ....

... potential monetary losses — including both the lifetime and annual cost of a cigarette pack per day, health care expenditures, income losses and other costs .... 

... Maui Memorial and Adventist Health are not waiting for the DoH any more ....

... Statewide, the greatest specialty shortages by percentage are: Colorectal Surgery (65%), Pathology (64%), Pulmonology (63%), Infectious Disease (58%), Allergy/Immunology (55%), and Hematology/Oncology (44%) ....

... being at a facility with a positive worker sparked change for me ....

... the group of commissioners detailed six immediate or critical policy recommendations and six longer-term recommendations for the Biden administration to consider ....

... revising a drafting mistake in the 1996 welfare reform bill that barred the islanders from the program ....

...in Hawaii every available Obamacare plan covers elective abortions....

... Individual health insurance plans must be selected by December 15, 2020 to have coverage for 2021 ....

... Compact Impact Fairness Act Aims At Growing Burden On States and Territories, Now $200 Million Annually for Hawai’i Alone, For Uncovered Services To Resident Migrants From The Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia ....

... for up to five health plans to ensure access and continuity of care for Medicaid beneficiaries ....

... Increase in Long Term Care Costs in Hawaii Surpass National Trends; COVID-19 Pressures Future Costs ....

...In Hawaii the preterm birth rate in 2019 was 10.6%, earning the state a "D+" grade. Preterm birth is a leading cause of infant mortality....

... Federal Marketplace Open Enrollment Period Begins Nov. 1 and continues until Dec. 15 for Health Insurance Coverage to Begin January 2021 ....

...CDC identified 97 people with acute non-viral hepatitis in an outbreak that began in Hawaii—72 of whom reported exposure to an OxyElite Pro branded product....

...Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment season is underway....

... A Growing Epidemic: States with the Highest Young Adult Vaping Rates ....

...‘Heavy’ pesticide exposure linked to cardiovascular disease?  Flawed study raises ‘troubling’ questions about public health research....

...2020’s Best & Worst Cities for People with Disabilities....

...The average monthly Medicare Advantage premium changed from $63.86 in 2020 to $57.28 in 2021. This represents a -10.30 percent change in average premium....

...Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Joins Bill to Protect Americans’ Civil Liberties and Privacy During the Coronavirus Pandemic....

...National healthcare scorecard: Where does your state rank?....

...even if we develop an effective vaccine to combat the pandemic, it will have a reduced impact if people don’t choose to get it....

...Sharecare and Boston University School of Public Health launch Community Well-Being Index....

...DoH is too busy to respond to the State Auditor and too busy to organize contact tracing because they are working real estate deals on State time with the Board and Care home operators they regulate.  And their union wants them to be paid to 'work' from home again....

...and 30.6 percent of middle school students....

... Certificate of Need (CON) laws increase mortality rates for COVID-19 patients and others ....

...2020’s Best & Worst States for Health Care....

... HDOT has selected NEC Corporation, NEC Corporation of America and their partner, Infrared Cameras Inc., to provide thermal temperature screening and facial imaging technology ....

...$10.8 million, one of the largest single Medicare ambulance fraud cases ever prosecuted by the Justice Department....

...The complaint alleges that, for a period of more than five years, the defendants misleadingly marketed JUUL e-cigarettes, intending to hook users on the product in the same manner used by tobacco companies in the marketing of cigarettes....

...a hard look at the most important limitation on government power in an emergency, the statutory requirement that any emergency proclamation automatically terminates no later than sixty days after it is issued....

...by mid-April, the same Convention Center that was poised to be converted into extra hospital facilities was instead turned into a phone bank facility to handle the influx of unemployment claims....

...Dr. Robinson will oversee the delivery of health care to an estimated 129,000 Veterans, a $327.8 million annual operating budget, and over 1,400 employees....

...In Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Med-QUEST to Issue New Request for Proposal for Managed Care Organizations....

...Survey Finds More Than Eight In Ten Primary Care Providers Would Not Recommend New Practitioner Come To Hawai’i As State Battles Physician Shortage Amid COVID-19 Crisis....

... Hawaii Ranks 45th for Public Hospital System Quality ....

...Hawaii has a 5,000 test per day capacity, yet access to testing is restricted and day after day only a few hundred tests are performed....

...Hawaii Hospitals Graded for overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors....

... The best, worst states for healthcare payment reform ....

...2020’s Best & Worst States for Nurses....

...Hawaii doesn't have enough doctors and other medical providers. Could Hawaii's tax system be a reason for the shortage?....

...Clinics and outpatient services, such as imaging and rehabilitation services, were significantly reduced last month and elective procedures were ceased in order to limit the spread of COVID-19....

...Unless you like the idea of having doctors in rural areas being scarcer than toilet paper....

...Health officials say the outbreak started in mid-March.  But HNN learned top members within the emergency command weren’t privy to the information until Wednesday morning....

...We have a 44% shortage of physicians on the Big Island....

"...As always, we are responding quickly to the needs and opportunities of the times...."