Health Care

...Wide variations exist in diagnosis rates between states and cities....

...Of more than 1,000 cancer centers across the country, the UH Cancer Center is one of only 70 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers in the nation....

...according to the 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, released June 27 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation....

...Hawaii spent the second-lowest share of its own dollars on Medicaid in 2016....

...495 young adults from Hawai'i will soon be receiving compensatory education and education-related services thanks to the recent settlement....

...CMS removes Social Security numbers, increasing fraud protection and consumer experience for millions of Americans....

...with 10 years of back payments thanks to a 3-2 decision of the Hawaii Supreme Court....

...patients and staff expected to occupy the new building in 2021....

...Anderson will be taking over for Pressler.  He has served as administrator of the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources since October 2015....

...look to other places both here and abroad where assisted suicide is already legal....

... Haumea: Transforming the Health of Native Hawaiian Women and Empowering Wāhine Well-Being, a 150-page report ....

...study reveals dramatic eight-fold difference in percentage of state funds allocated to helping mentally ill....

...FTC Approves Final Order Imposing Conditions on Merger of Air Medical Group Holdings, Inc. and AMR Holdco, Inc....

...40 measures of access to health care, quality of care, efficiency in care delivery, health outcomes, and income-based health care disparities....

...51st for Annual Nursing Salary (Adj for Cost of Living)....

...attorneys filed complaint over violations of federal conscience protections....

...Hawaii has the highest proportion of 'A' grade hospitals in USA....

...The pilot is funded by the Hawai‘i Department of Health — Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division and involves a partnership between more than 30 community organizations....

...but Hawaii ranks 44th for kids dental health care....

...veterans experienced delays related to the processing of their enrollment applications, contacting them to schedule appointments, and completing comprehensive mental health evaluations....

...litigation against manufacturers, marketers, and distributors of opioid pain medications who have irresponsibly spread this terrible epidemic....

...In 2016, Hawaii had the highest life expectancy at birth (81.3 years) and Mississippi had the lowest (74.7 years), a 6.6-year difference....

...Congress’ gutting of the individual mandate tax penalty last year leaves the law unconstitutional....

...Bills that would have (1) established a task force to reduce suicides in Hawaii by 25% (HB2278 HD1), (2) designate September as Suicide Prevention Month (HB1703) and (3) create an application for smartphones designed to provide resources to Hawaii's youth (HB1704) all perished....

...We can learn a lot about the folly of this path if we look to other places here and abroad where assisted suicide already is legal. A quick survey turns up countless instances of the failures of these laws to safeguard the most vulnerable....

...the other night at 1AM, my 7 year old woke up moaning about not feeling well. She was running a 104 degree fever....

...“Assisted suicide is dangerous public policy with potentially deadly consequences for everyone, but especially people with disabilities, the sick, the poor, and the elderly"....

...United States District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright sentenced Cody Joslin, age 32, to 18 months in prison today for theft of funds from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs....

The Senate Chambers will have HB2739 HD1 on the agenda (we have no idea where it will be on the agenda) when session opens tomorrow, March 29, 2018, at 11:30 a.m....

...but has the 5th-least punative Medical Board....

...Below are the 2018 rankings of the top 500 Healthiest Communities nationwide, and how they scored across each of the 10 categories....

...people would never tolerate those levels of cigarette smoke in a public place anymore. So why were they OK with pot smoke?....

...The assisted suicide bill passed 4-1 unamended by the Senate Judiciary Committee....

...the State is the senior partner in the tobacco business.  Just ask the vapers....

...On Friday, March 23, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in room #016....

...our annual County Health Rankings show that where we live makes a difference in how well and how long we live....

...results of 20 years of tobacco prevention and control policies and programs with an estimated total savings of $1 billion in health care costs to the state....

...WalletHub compared 100 of the most populated U.S. metro areas across 18 key indicators of weight-related problems....

...Friday, March 16, 2018,  8:30 – 11:25 a.m., Conference Room 229, State Capitol....

...186 communities ranked based on their Well-Being Index scores....

“...We are increasing the number of school resource officers, improving background checks and more aggressively prosecuting those who illegally attempt to purchase a firearm, and reviewing and enhancing the way our law enforcement agencies respond to tips from the public...." 

...HB2739 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection & Health and Senate Judiciary....

...will they believe us if we blame Trump?...

... stop Trump from "provid(ing) new, more affordable options to Americans in the individual market who are getting hammered by skyrocketing premiums” ....

... Rep. Tupola offers amendments to HB 2739 ....

...View Details of all Hawaii Goals, Targets, & Indicators....

...Thousands of files have been digitized at the state’s disability compensation program. However, they need hardware with capacity for more storage to continue progress....

...We will have more opportunities to voice our concerns in the remaining half of this session....

...All members of the committees voted “yes” on the bill, except Rep. Andria Tupola and Rep. Bob McDermott .... We were asked to vote without our members having seen a written draft of the revised bill....

...Committee members asked some very telling questions that identified loopholes that still remain in the bill.  The Attorney General's representative couldn't definitively state that all their concerns from the 2017 version were resolved in this current version that is supposed to have more robust protections....