Thursday Shorts
May 16, 2024
Cervical cancer can be eliminated (and Alabama is leading the way). Here is an excellent article on this in the Wall Street Journal this week. See also this Employer Coverage post from February; HPV vaccines can prevent almost all cases of cervical cancer.
National health insurance plans generally saw increased revenue in Q1 2024. United Healthcare and Cigna posted losses, mostly due to charges for the Change Health Care cyberattack (United) and write downs from the Village MD investment (Cigna). See this post from March about Change Health Care impact on employers
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Maternal mortality rates declined in 2022, although racial disparities remain high and overall U.S. maternal mortality remains the highest in the developed world. See this Employer Coverage post from April about counting maternal mortality.
4. Climate change is worsening mental health, according to an editorial in JAMA. Impacts include extreme weather events, hotter temperatures and rising sea levels, and economic distress. Authors note that each 10 (centigrade) increase in daily temperature is associated with a 1.7% increase in suicide deaths. Here are links to two posts on this topic from 2023.
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