Covering the most noteworthy news stories in the health and wellness industry for the Filipino community.
by Harriet Blair Rowan California’s Department of Public Health says the flu killed 329 people under age 65 in the last flu season, from October 2017 to August 2018. But that is likely only a small fraction of the total deaths in the nation’s most populous state because the department didn’t count the hundreds of…
by Katherine Kam The students listened attentively as Ryan Wong explained how casinos keep customers chasing that elusive jackpot. Labyrinthine layouts force guests to walk past card tables and slot machines in search of well-concealed restrooms and exits, said Wong, an intern at the nonprofit NICOS Chinese Health Coalition, a San Francisco partnership of health…
by Michelle Andrews Don’t procrastinate. Most consumers who buy their own insurance on the federal health insurance marketplace face a Dec. 15 deadline. Advocates are reminding these customers that if they miss the deadline, they may not have a plan that starts in January 2019. Despite repeated efforts by Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care…
by Harriet Rowan At 11 a.m. last Friday, November 16, thousands of former Paradise, Calif., residents were taking stock of all they had lost to the worst wildfire in the state’s history while they continued the grim task of looking for missing loved ones. At the same moment, with smoke from the deadly Camp Fire…
by Liz Szabo A widely anticipated study has concluded that neither vitamin D nor fish oil supplements prevent cancer or serious heart-related problems in healthy older people, according to research presented Saturday at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. Researchers defined serious heart problems as the combined rate of heart attacks, stroke and heart-related deaths….
by Samantha Young Californians on Tuesday, November 6, elected a governor who campaigned for a complete overhaul of how people get their health coverage — but they shouldn’t hold their breath. Rather, as Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-controlled legislature take steps to provide more people with health insurance, they’ll likely approach it piecemeal over…
by Barbara Feder Ostrov “Anna” will not stop calling. She really, really wants to sell you health insurance. What a lot of consumers really, really want is to smack Anna upside her robocalling head. As health insurance open-enrollment season gets underway in California and nationwide, automated phone calls offering Affordable Care Act or other health…
by Liz Szabo When Kristen Kilmer was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer at age 38, her first thought was of her 8-year-old daughter. Kilmer lost her own mother as a teenager and was determined to get more time with her only child. Kilmer searched for experimental treatments, opting for an unproven approach in which researchers…
WASHINGTON D.C. 31 OCTOBER 2018 — As part of the month-long celebration of Filipino American History Month, the Philippine American Foundation for Charities (PAFC) and the Philippine Embassy co-hosted the inaugural National Forum on Filipino American Mental Health at the Philippine Chancery Annex Building on 20 October 2018. The forum brought together renowned speakers from…
A POLIO-LIKE “mystery” disease has been rapidly spreading across the country, with most cases affecting children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said this week. Although rare, acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a serious condition that affects the nervous system and causes the body’s muscles and reflexes, especially the legs and arms, to…
By Phil Galewitz HEALTH care has emerged as the top issue for voters headed into the midterm elections, but fewer than half of them say they are hearing a lot from candidates on the issue, according to a new poll released Thursday. Seven in 10 people list health care as “very important” as they make…
by Julie Rovner Ensuring that people with preexisting health conditions can get and keep health insurance is the most popular part of the Affordable Care Act. It has also become a flashpoint in this fall’s campaigns across the country. And not only is the ACA, which mostly protects people who buy their own coverage, at…
by Phil Galewitz The Trump administration wants Medicare for the first time to embrace telemedicine across the country by paying doctors $14 for a five-minute “check-in” phone call with their patients. But many physicians say the proposed reimbursement will cover a service they already do for free. And the Medicare reimbursement — intended to motivate…
Latest data showed that 19 out of 154 children who died after receiving at least one dose of Dengvaxia, had dengue despite the vaccination as reported by the Department of Health (DOH). According to DOH Undersecretary Enrique Domingo, of the 19 individuals who had dengue, six were diagnosed clinically and 13 were confirmed to have…
SAN DIEGO – The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival celebrated in Asia. The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with full moon at night. A symbol of reunion, it is also known as reunion festival. Nowadays, there are many Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese living in…
by Susan Jaffe Starting next year, Medicare Advantage plans will be able to add restrictions on expensive, injectable drugs administered by doctors to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, macular degeneration and other serious diseases. Under the new rules, these private Medicare insurance plans could require patients to try cheaper drugs first. If those are not effective, then the patients…
Quit smoking helps you fully engage in friends and family gathering SAN DIEGO, 09-20-2018– The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival celebrated in Asia. The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with full moon at night, a symbol of reunion, it’s also known as reunion festival….
Taking aspirin has for a long time been believed to help stave off heart attack and strokes. But results from a new study says that taking a daily aspirin may actually bring some risks for some people. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that rates of heart disease, disability,…
Substance Use Disorder Patient Protection Act (Senate Bill 1228) will prevent patient brokering in state-licensed and certified treatment facilities SACRAMENTO – Responding to reports of fraud and abuse of patients in recovery from opioid and other addictions, the California Legislature passed the state’s first bill that outlaws patient brokering in the treatment industry. Senator Ricardo Lara…
by Anna B. Ibarra SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It turns out that California and the Trump administration do agree on at least one thing: Don’t mess with coffee. Trump’s hand-picked food and drug czar, Scott Gottlieb, said Wednesday, August 29, that he “strongly supports” a proposal by officials in Sacramento to exempt the morning elixir from…
by Rachel Bluth The number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has reached more than 10 percent, a significant increase during the past 20 years, according to a study released Friday. The rise was most pronounced in minority groups, suggesting that better access to health insurance and mental health treatment through the Affordable…
PEOPLE spend most of their lifespans in a career to be able to sustain their daily needs. As one is set out into the world to learn its complicated crooks and patterns, one is conditioned by family, school, community and society to understand the ins and outs of the path they will soon tread upon….
WHETHER you’ve been at your job for a few years or longer, there is some point during your career when you feel lukewarm about what you’re doing. Having been in the same job for years boxes you in an environment that makes it acceptable for you — good or bad. This is also regardless of age,…
A LONG-standing theory that taking a low-dose aspirin every day will cut the chances of a heart attack, stroke or other heart problems has been debunked by a new major research study. Over the weekend, the European Society of Cardiology 2018 presented two studies that challenged the century-long, widely-accepted doctor recommendation for aspirin use in…
The Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA) of Nevada has the “Healthy Mondays AAPINA of Nevada” radio program with PHLV Radio every Monday from 7:00 – 7:30 p.m, which kicked off earlier this month. What is Healthy Monday? Healthy Monday is a national initiative to help end chronic preventable diseases by offering weekly or…
by Anna Gorman AS he grew older, Dale Kunitomi paid closer attention to his health — and to his doctor’s advice. When he noticed rectal bleeding in 2010, he went to see his physician, who ordered a colonoscopy. The diagnosis: colon cancer. Kunitomi, now 74, underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy — and now he has…
THEY say we start aging at 30. Now if you are in your 40s to 60s, that would mean about 10 to 30 years of aging process. But do we know how aging manifests in our skin, particularly in our face? And if so, is there a way to somehow delay that process? Well, today…
KIDS are heading back to school starting this week, and the task of packing their lunches falls on their parents again. As much as they want their children to eat healthier, the struggle of getting that balance — healthy but yummy, cheap and easy to prepare — seems to get harder. Of course, we…
FILIPINO food has, without a doubt, been heating up in the U.S. with Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike enjoying the burgeoning scene on both coasts. But while dishes like chicken adobo, sisig, lechon, and kare-kare can make mouths water, vegetables and fruits that Filipinos have for long enjoyed also deserve some spotlight as many of them…
