children's health care

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Feds: Blago Extorted Hospital Honcho

Guv planned to seek campaign cash in return for state funding

(Newser) - The Rod Blagojevich scandal extends beyond politics to medicine, the Chicago Tribune reports. He threatened to withhold $8 million in state funding for a pediatric health initiative unless the head of Children’s Memorial Hospital gave his campaign $50,000, according to the federal criminal complaint against the Illinois governor....

As Kids' Allergies Soar, So Do Sales of EpiPens

Doctors prescribed nearly 2 million EpiPens in the US last year

(Newser) - Foods once thought of as wholesome—eggs, milk, wheat, peanut butter—now threaten the lives of some 3 million children with food allergies every year, MSNBC reports. As a result, US sales of EpiPens and their accessories are skyrocketing. These single-use shots of epinephrine can be self-administered and stop severe...

Latest US Drug Overdose: Hormones for Short Kids

Prevalence of 'lifestyle drugs' when some have no healthcare indictment of system

(Newser) - Since 2003, when the FDA relaxed restrictions on the use of growth hormone (GH) for children, more parents have been looking to give their shortest offspring a leg up in the world. But while many health professionals agree that taller kids may have higher self-esteem, dosing the short ones may...

Doctors See Rise in Kids With Kidney Stones

Salty foods, lack of water, and obesity may be at fault

(Newser) - Once associated with middle age, kidney stones are growing more common among US children, the New York Times reports. A few decades ago, physicians would “see a kid with a stone once every few months,” says one doctor. “Now we see kids once a week or less....

Hockey Mom's Policies Won't Help Disabled Children

Palin, McCain set to continue policies that 'trample the weak, hurdle the dead'

(Newser) - The image of Sarah Palin as a take-no-prisoners hockey mom doesn’t square with advocating for special-needs kids, Marianne Leone writes in the Boston Globe. She may have a newborn with Down syndrome, but the “warrior culture” that suits "pit bull" Palin has "no place for the...

US Scratches Out Scourge of Chickenpox

Vaccine has almost eradicated itchy childhood disease

(Newser) - Thirteen years after the introduction of a vaccine, chickenpox has virtually disappeared among American children. The virus that causes the itchy disease is now so rare that parents and physicians alike have difficulty recognizing it, the Chicago Tribune reports. New research reveals a 75% drop in pox-related hospitalizations over the...

Pelosi: 'I Am Not Giving the Gavel Away to Anyone'

Speaker muses on wielding power in contentious era

(Newser) - Newly minted author Nancy Pelosi launched her book tour this week, and one of the first stops is a sit-down with Politico. Of her hard-nosed blockade of GOP attempts to authorize offshore drilling, she says, “I’m trying to save the planet. I will not have this debate trivialized...

Pharma Under Fire Over Pricey Drugs for Kids
Pharma Under Fire Over Pricey Drugs for Kids
GLOSSIES

Pharma Under Fire Over Pricey Drugs for Kids

Lawmakers lash astronomical hikes in drugs for rare diseases

(Newser) - In the face of astronomical hikes in the price of drugs used to treat children, a congressional committee is looking into why companies have increased prescription costs as much as 18-fold when related research and marketing expenses are stable, according to lawmakers. One such company charges $69,000 for a...

Childhood Obesity Rate Levels Off

Researchers report first 'glimmer of hope' in decades

(Newser) - The rate of childhood obesity appears to have peaked, providing the first "glimmer of hope" on the problem in decades, federal researchers say. About 15% of kids ages 2 to 19 are obese, a slight decrease from the percentage in 1999, the Washington Post reports. It's the first time...

Experts Doubt Clinton Claims on Kids' Health Care Legislation

Friends, foes dispute first lady's role

(Newser) - Legislators and advocates are disputing a key element of Hillary Clinton's stump speech: her description of her role in creating children’s health care legislation passed in 1997. The then-first lady often calls SCHIP an initiative “I helped to start,” the Boston Globe reports, but the White House...

Cold Meds Land 7,000 Kids a Year in the Hospital

Report tallies ODs, bad reactions

(Newser) - More than 7,000 American children a year end up in emergency rooms after taking over-the-counter cold or cough medicines, the federal Centers for Disease Control reports. Most of the children take overdoses of the drugs on their own, but a quarter have bad reactions to normal doses given by...

New Guidelines Target Child Obesity

Strict measures aim to reduce number of overweight kids

(Newser) - The most stringent guidelines to date for combating childhood obesity recommend yearly weight checks and possibly even medication or surgery for kids who can't combat the condition on their own, USA Today reports. Doctors should also keep normal-weight kids apprised of the ins and outs of healthy living, a panel...

Kids' Bones Growing Brittle
 Kids' Bones Growing Brittle

Kids' Bones Growing Brittle

Lack of milk, sun and exercise blamed for rickets and loss of bone mass

(Newser) - Kids today break their arms more often than children did 40 years ago, and experts say it's because their bones are getting weaker, AP reports. A lack of milk, sunshine and exercise means many children aren't building adequate bone mass, and in extreme cases are developing bone-softening rickets, the scourge...

Pediatricians Urge More Autism Screening

All children should be evaluated twice by age 2

(Newser) - Children should be screened twice for autism by the time they are 2 years old, says a leading pediatricians group. Although there is no cure for autism, early therapy can help lessen symptoms, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in two reports released today. The group lists warning signs parents...

Scary Surge in Kid Food Allergies
Scary Surge
in Kid Food Allergies

Scary Surge in Kid Food Allergies

Peanut allergies in young children doubled in 5 years

(Newser) - Behind the fear of life-threatening peanut allergies stand astounding statistics: between 1997 and 2002, peanut allergies doubled in children under the age of 5. Other childhood food allergies are also skyrocketing, with allergists seeing more children with multiple sensitivities that seem to be lingering longer than they did in the...

War Has Just Begun on Kids Health Care

Vote will be replayed in campaign ads, frame debate: Salon

(Newser) - When the vote to override President Bush's veto of a children's health insurance bill failed in the House this week, it marked a campaign watershed, Salon's Walter Shapiro writes, predicting that it will be replayed endlessly in attack ads as congressional races heat up. The lines are drawn: Democrats will...

GOP Struggles to Regain the Offensive

Children's health veto, spate of retirements damage Republican image

(Newser) - GOP lawmakers admitted to low morale when they met with Bush the other day, the New York Times reports. A spate of retirements, and bad PR over Bush's stance on children's health care, have recently stung the party. “The president has let the debate on health care down by...

White House Ready to Deal on Kids' Health

Leavitt says he'll work with Democrats on insurance bill

(Newser) - The White House will work with Democrats toward a compromise on children's health insurance, Health Secretary Michael Leavitt said today. "If it takes more money, we'll put it up," he said, though he didn't specify how much. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is trying to get the 14 GOP votes...

Bush Vetoes Child Health Bill
Bush Vetoes Child Health Bill

Bush Vetoes Child Health Bill

Plan has two-thirds majority in Senate, but not in House

(Newser) - President Bush today struck down a bipartisan compromise to expand a federal initiative providing care for children whose parents can’t afford it, the Los Angeles Times reports. Bush called the bill too costly, and said he would rather renew the current plan for five years; Democrats are unenthused, and...

House Passes Children's Health Insurance Bill

Bush to veto measure despite GOP support

(Newser) - A bill to boost spending on children's health insurance by $35 billion sailed through the House yesterday 265-159, despite President Bush's repeated threats to veto it. The Senate is likely to approve the bill next week. The bill would increase the current children's health insurance program by $7 billion a...

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