By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has reversed decades of advice on circumcision and now says that the benefits of the procedure outweigh the risks. The first policy statement on circumcision since 1999 has triggered angry reactions from opponents who called on the influential group to immediately retract the policy recommendation. Since the 1970s, the AAP had said circumcisions were not medically necessary. Removing the foreskin of the penis from infant boys is an ancient Jewish and Islamic tradition, but circumcision rates have been declining in the U.S. and even in Israel. An increasing number of…
Monthly Archives: August 2012
By Linda Gorman The selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romneys running mate holds out hope that people in public life are finally beginning to appreciate the fact that market-oriented health care reforms offer the best potential for finally giving elderly Americans the ability to get better medical care at a lower cost. They do this by giving people an incentive to use health care more wisely. Individuals and their physicians know more about the health care that they need and what adds value to it than any number of officials in Washington, D.C., and various state capitols workingon value-based…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon An unusual summer spike of whooping cough cases in Colorado has prompted health experts here to declare an epidemic and call for both children and adults to get immunized. A strong anti-vaccine movement in Colorado has meant that the state has lagged behind the rest of the country on many immunizations. Only about 85 percent of children and adults who should be protected from whooping cough are fully vaccinated. So far this year, Colorado health officials have tracked 715 cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis. That compares to an average of just 158 cases…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon LAKEWOOD As Medicare has leapt into the top-tier of issues that will decide the presidential contest, Colorados population of older adults is ballooning. Colorado now boasts the fourth fastest-increasing population of seniors in the country and these aging baby boomers who vote in large numbers could help drive election results in key swing counties of this crucial swing state. Mitt Romneys pick of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, for his running mate has put Medicare at the center of the national debate. Ryan supports dismantling the public health insurance program for seniors and replacing it with…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon Once certain that he would die young, the man born with the deadly disease now dreams of growing old. Im going to be a grandfather someday. Im going to have a really long life, says Bill Elder, a 25-year-old Stanford graduate who is now applying for medical school. Thats because of a blue pill and a new trend in drug development called venture philanthropy. Elder has cystic fibrosis (CF). Its known as an orphan disease because so few people have it only about 30,000 in the U.S. and about 70,000 worldwide so there is little incentive…
By Ashley Mayo With all of the politics surrounding the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, its easy to lose sight of the ways the law is fundamentally improving health care in Colorado and across America. In our state alone, 291,000 children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage, 50,000 young adults have gained insurance by staying on their parents plans, and over 200,000 residents will receive rebate checks from insurers who failed to meet the 80/20 rule. On Aug. 1, Obamacare brings yet another historic reform: insurance companies must cover preventive services for women without…
By Katie Kerwin McCrimmon KEYSTONE Afghanistan combat veteran, gun owner and bestselling author Wes Moore said its a travesty that its easier to get a gun than health care in the U.S. Accused Aurora movie theater killer James Holmes now faces 142 criminal charges including a sentence-enhancing count for unlawful use of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Moore told an audience of health experts at the 2012 Colorado Health Symposium here last week that we must mourn those who lost their lives in Aurora, but its also crucial for policymakers to discuss tighter gun regulations. If not…