Per the nearly $1.4 trillion spending bill passed by the U.S. Senate, the minimum age to buy cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products will be raised to 21 years across the country, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Care Coordination
In the last 30 years, smoking among U.S. adults has decreased 45 percent, but obesity has increased 166 percent, according to a report by United Health Foundation, part of insurer UnitedHealth Group.
People who use e-cigarettes have a higher risk of developing chronic lung diseases, according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Kenmore (N.Y.) Mercy Hospital, part of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health, said it is discontinuing its voluntary lung health maintenance program.
The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010 with the goals of controlling healthcare costs and decreasing the number of people without health insurance.
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The governor of Georgia issued a state of emergency Dec. 13 after flooding damaged 222 inpatient rooms at Atlanta-based Grady Memorial Hospital, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Seven recent articles posted by Becker's Hospital Review that concern payer-provider relationships:
A neurologist group in Pismo Beach, Calif., that serves more than 5,300 patients abruptly closed in late November, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente is seeking to address trauma and stress in schools through a new partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Discovery Education.
Seven in 10 physicians predict that half of U.S. adults will be obese in the next decade, according to a new survey from Sermo.