Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health,americast.usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Tue, Nov 10 1992 Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 05:07:26 EST Message-ID: 11-10 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Nov. 10, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network USA GETS BAD REPORT CARD: The nation is flunking in public health. The American Public Health Association reports the USA has the world's most technologically advanced doctors and equipment, but is plagued with poverty, high infant deaths, AIDS, poor immunization rates and violence. The group compared developed countries on access to medical care, environments, behaviors and neighborhoods. FOOD FIGHT CONTINUES: The deadline for new food label rules passed Monday, with federal agencies unable to agree on details. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, who helped write the law, charges the meat industry pressured the Agriculture Department and White House to delay the rules. The American Meat Institute says such reports are "totally false." COURT SIDES WITH BUSINESS: Supreme Court action Monday will allow employers to sharply cut health insurance coverage for workers with AIDS or other costly illnesses. Without comment, justices declined to hear the plea of the estate of John McGann, whose Houston employer, H & H Music Co., cut AIDS coverage from $1 million to $5,000 after learning he had the disease in 1987. McGann died last year at 47. (For more, see special AIDS package below.) HEALTH GROUPS SIDE WITH CLINTON: President-elect Bill Clinton received more votes of confidence Monday, this time from health-care groups that support his quest for health-care reform. A coalition of health-care deliverers bore kudos and caveats, warning against a temptation to use quick fixes on a health system that leaves millions of people uninsured and is beset with escalating costs. BOARD TO ADDRESS CARE: Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Washington Business Group on Health are among those who have praised Bill Clinton's commitment to health-care reform and have urged him to take strong action. Among other things, Clinton has proposed a board of business leaders, consumers and health-care providers to determine the cost of insuring the 34 million U.S. citizens without health insurance. ALLERGIC ACTION COMES FROM HOME: Millions of Americans will suffer from sneezing, runny nose, coughing and congestion - the symptoms of allergic rhinitis - just from being at home this winter. Indoor allergies are common in winter. Sealed storm windows and open heating vents allow dust mites, animal dander, mold and other household allergens to be trapped and carried throughout the home. HOMES CAN CAUSE ILLNESS: "Healthy Homes in a Toxic World" by Maury M. Breecher and Shirley Linde offers comprehensive guidelines to combat the health hazards of a "sick house." The authors provide up-to-date information on lead, asbestos, radon, carbon monoxide, water contaminants, and other indoor pollutants, as well as easy-to-implement techniques for revitalizing your home. SENIORS ARE GROWING FAST: People age 85 and older are the fastest-growing group of elderly people in the USA. A Census Bureau report shows the group may outnumber the young in 50 years. Most of the oldest-old are women - for every 100 women 85 years or older, there are just 39 men in the same age group. HEALTH SUMMIT IN FLORIDA: Gov. Lawton Chiles of Florida kicked off a two-day health-care summit in Orlando Monday. Chiles told health care officials, insurance executives and consumer advocates that they need to work together and fast to fix the state's $31 billion-plus health care system. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON AIDS: CUTTING BENEFITS ALLOWED: The Supreme Court Monday allowed lower courts' rulings that "self-insured" businesses, the majority of U.S. employers, can reduce benefits for workers with AIDS, cancer or any other illness with steep medical costs. "Health-care coverage is supposed to be there when you need it but, under this case, coverage is there only until you need it," says the estate's lawyer, Suzanne Goldberg. AMA LOBBIED FOR COVERAGE: The American Medical Association lobbied Congress and the Bush Administration for full coverage. Bush's Justice Department sided with the employer in McGann's case before the high court. What's next: Lawyers likely will argue that the new Americans with Disabilities Act, which bars workplace discrimination against the sick and disabled, forbids coverage cutoffs. CLINTON WOULD COVER ALL WORKERS: President-elect Bill Clinton's health-care reform proposals would extend coverage to all workers, including those cut off by employer plans. Mark Huvard, lawyer for H & H, says small businesses have little choice when faced with seriously ill workers. "With a limited amount of resources, you look for what gives the biggest bang for the buck." (End of package.) Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM