Posted 10:51 pm Sunday, November 25, 2012
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HEALTH PAGE: People are talking about Nov. 25
Staff Reports
Task force: HIV testing should be the new normal.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last week said all people ages 15 to 64 should receive an HIV screening, regardless of risk. The group's recommendations in 2005 were for those who were at increased risk of contracting the virus.
Stress management not being stressed.
According to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, stress management counseling should be emphasized more by primary care physicians. The report states that stress is a factor in 60 to 80 percent of doctor visits, but stress management counseling is implemented in only 3 percent of visits. Stress has long been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease and makes type 2 diabetes harder to control.
The jobless more likely to have a heart attack.
Duke University researchers stated that people who are unemployed have a 35 percent higher risk of a heart attack than those who are employed. In a study published in the Archive of Internal Medicine, researchers examined 13,000 people between the ages of 51 and 75 for several years.
All eyes on Dec. 14.
Eyes are also on states as they were granted a little more time to consider setting up health insurance exchanges, as the federal government prepares to open them up to citizens in January 2014. The initial deadline of Nov. 16 was extended to Dec. 14.
If states reject setting up health insurance exchanges -- as several have, including Texas --the federal government will do that for them.
The health insurance exchanges are being compared to the concept of a travel website like Expedia or Travelocity.
Citizens and small businesses may go to a website for information on health insurance plans, compare rates and to see whether they qualify for tax breaks.
