Healthcare

Robinson: Faceless Flunkies Making Dangerous Decisions

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By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2024 New Mexico News Services

“Live your life in such a way that half the world isn’t dancing in the streets when some hero puts you in the forever box.”

This meme, with a photo of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, isn’t circulating in public – it’s on websites for medical professionals.

Debates over Thompson’s assassination and the capture of his accused killer are still blazing on social media and even at Christmas parties and show no sign of letting up. The consensus is the shooting reveals a seething anger against health insurers, although most of us stop Read More

U.S. Senate Passes Luján-Collins Bill To Protect Native American Children Against Abuse And Neglect

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U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján

From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday, the U.S. Senate passed the Native American Child Protection Act (NACPA), legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

The bill reauthorizes and reforms three programs that ensure Tribes have the tools needed to treat, prevent, investigate, and prosecute Native American child abuse and neglect. U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) introduced the House companion bill.

These programs were originally authorized in 1990 as part of the Indian Read More

COVID-19 & RSV Present In Los Alamos County Wastewater

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COUNTY News:

Recent data from the CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System indicates very high COVID-19 activity in New Mexico, based on wastewater samples collected from Santa Fe and Bernalillo counties between Dec. 1 and Dec. 7.

In Los Alamos County, BioBot Analytics data shows COVID-19 concentrations in the Los Alamos townsite wastewater decreased from 10 million copies per liter (copies/L) on Dec. 3 to 5 million copies/L on Dec. 10. Similarly, White Rock wastewater concentrations dropped from 6.3 million copies/L on Nov. 26 to 5.7 million copies/L on Dec. 9. These represent the Read More

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich Urges Senate Leadership To Help Lower Rx Costs And Save Rural Pharmacies

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U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to rein in damaging pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) practices that hurt patients and pharmacies.

PBMs are intermediaries that negotiate and manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurance companies, self-insured employers, and government programs.

Currently, three PBMs control nearly 80 percent of the prescription drug market and operate with little oversight by federal regulators Read More

Luján, Murphy, Smith Reintroduce Legislation Giving Labor Dept. More Tools To Enforce Mental Health Parity Laws

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From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, along with U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Parity Enforcement Act, legislation to hold insurance companies accountable and give the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) the authority to assess civil monetary penalties for violations of mental health parity requirements.

This new authority would incentivize compliance and strengthen the protections of the Mental Read More

Staff Honors Nancy Savoia On Her Retirement

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Nancy Savoia, DC. Courtesy photo

From Los Alamos Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center Staff:

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Doctor Nancy Savoia, DC from her role at Los Alamos Chiropractic Center. After years of dedicated service, care, and expertise, Nancy will be stepping away to enjoy the next chapter of her life.

Nancy has been an integral part of our team, bringing not only her skill and knowledge but also a warm and compassionate presence to everyone she treated. Her commitment to the well-being of our patients has been unparalleled, and her efforts have positively Read More

New Mexico Nearing 2025 Climate Goals

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NMED News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has released two comprehensive reports analyzing greenhouse gas emissions across the state,“ providing the most detailed and accurate inventory of New Mexico’s emissions to date”.

Findings confirm that New Mexico is making significant progress in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

The state is projected to achieve a 29% reduction in emissions by 2025 compared to 2005 levels, keeping on track to meet Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s climate goals.

The reports, developed by Eastern Research Group (ERG) and Energy and Environmental Read More

Isotopes Produced At LANL Are ‘Saving Lives, Advancing Cutting-Edge Research, Keeping Nation Safe’

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Inside a shielded chamber, robotic arms are used to handle radioactive medical isotopes. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

What’s the difference between sodium-22 and sodium-23?

One is edible (sodium-23) and the other is radioactive. Such differences are the superpowers of isotopes—variants of an element that have the same number of protons but differ in the number of neutrons. Chemical properties of isotopes of the same element are generally similar, but their physical properties can vary.

Some isotopes, such as sodium-23, occur naturally, but others are created using nuclear reactors or accelerators. Read More

Senators Luján And Boozman Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Increase Organ Donations And Save Lives

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Friday, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the Honor Our Living Donors (HOLD) Act to expand support for more living donors by allowing more donors compensation to cover wages, travel, child care and caregiver expenses associated with donation.

Each day, 17 Americans die while waiting for an organ transplant, with many of these patients suffering from kidney failure and undergoing costly and painful dialysis treatments.

Dialysis alone costs Medicare more than $50 billion annually. Under the current law, the Living Read More

LAMC Employee S.T.A.R. Committee Donates To LA Cares

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Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) team members have caring hearts not only for patients, but for the community. Hospital leadership and the Employee S.T.A.R. Committee today welcomed LA Cares as they picked up a table full of items generously donated by LAMC staff over the last few weeks. Supporting this organization aligns with the hospital’s mission of making communities healthier, as the food pantry provides food for more than 100 households in Los Alamos and White Rock every month. Courtesy/LAMC

From left, Daniel Astorga, Cassandra Robinson, LA Cares President Lyn Haval, LA Cares Warehouse Read More