Archbishop Gomez: OneLife LA event affirms life near Roe v. Wade anniversary

January 15, 2015, 7:08 am

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Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 15, 2015 / 08:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Less than a week before the 42 anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States, Los Angeles will host its first large-scale pro-life event.

The event, OneLife LA, is meant to be a family-friendly celebration of the beauty and dignity of every human life from conception to natural death. Beginning with a walk for life in downtown L.A., the event culminates with a gathering at Grand Park, where there will be pro-life speakers and a concert with Christian musicians.

Archbishop Samuel Gomez, who spearheaded the event, wrote in a column that he wanted a local pro-life event for the people of southern California where they could stand together to defend life near the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which continues to have a profound impact on society.

“America was founded on the great truth that all men and women are created equal and that God gives everyone basic rights that no one can deny or take away,” he said.

“Roe v. Wade turned this beautiful truth inside out.”

He also recalled the words of Pope Francis, who said that abortion contributes to a “culture of waste” where life is seen as expendable.

“So I hope you will join me in standing up for life t his Saturday at OneLife LA,” he writes.

We've included the full text of his column below:

I am looking forward to Saturday’s OneLife LA celebration.

This will be a day of family and friendship in celebration of the beauty and dignity of every human life — from conception to natural death.

People are coming from all over Southern California. I will be joined by my brother bishops here in Los Angeles and by bishops and representatives from our neighboring dioceses of Fresno, San Bernardino, San Diego and Orange.

The day will begin with prayer and a short procession from La Placita on Olvera Street to Grand Park. There we will be joined by community advocates and religious leaders, celebrities, athletes and entertainers — all gathered to celebrate with us the God-given truth that every life matters and every life is beautiful!

I hope that you will be able to join me.

OneLife LA is part of our local participation in the U.S. Bishops call for “9 Days For Life” — a period of prayer, penance and pilgrimage to call for an end to abortion and the legal protection of unborn children. In addition to OneLife LA on Jan. 17, I’ll be celebrating our annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn on Jan. 24 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

With these events, we are remembering a tragic day in our nation’s history — Jan. 22, 1973, the day the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion in its Roe v. Wade decision.

Roe v. Wade continues to shape American consciousness and public life. At the political level, from debates in state legislatures to federal questions about health insurance, our country is clearly still divided over whether to allow abortion and what limits should be imposed on its practice.

For me, granting permission to take innocent life challenges the very foundation of our society — because it goes to the heart of our idea of human rights.

America was founded on the great truth that all men and women are created equal and that God gives everyone basic rights that no one can deny or take away.

Roe v. Wade turned this beautiful truth inside out.

In granting a legal right for some people to take the lives of others, the Supreme Court in effect decided that human rights are granted by government — not by God. That gives the government the final say — not only in defining what is right and wrong, but also in deciding who gets to live and who does not.

There are many injustices in our society, but the most fundamental is the one our society rarely acknowledges — the routine taking of innocent human life every day through abortion.

The injustice of abortion includes the millions who have been killed before they had a chance to come into the world. Even more than that, the acceptance of abortion also sends the signal throughout society that human life is disposable and that some lives are not even worth protecting. Legalized abortion has also misled our leaders into thinking they can solve problems in our society by taking lives or preventing lives from being born.

This is what Pope Francis has been emphasizing. In an interview just published last weekhe linked abortion, euthanasia and birth control to a “culture of waste” that leads us to value human life only according to material standards.

Pope Francis said: “We discard whatever is not useful to this logic; it is this attitude that … leads people to discard babies through abortion. I am shocked by the low birth rates here in Italy. This is how we lose our link to the future. The culture of waste also leads to a hidden euthanasia of older people, who are abandoned. … We need to stop before it is too late.”

Popes and saints such as Blessed Mother Teresa have long seen this connection between abortion and other forms of violence and injustice in society.

And as Catholics we are all called to witness to the Gospel of life.

That means we need to stand with all those who are suffering in our society, beginning with those who are most innocent and vulnerable, the unborn and the elderly. We need to defend them against every aggression — including the false compassion that suggests they would be better off dead than they would be if they were alive, loved and cared for.

So I hope you will join me in standing up for life t his Saturday at OneLife LA.

Let’s keep praying for each other this week — and let’s pray for our country.

Let’s ask our Blessed Mother Mary to help our neighbors to see that life is beautiful and that every life matters — and that the right to life is the foundation of every other right and the true foundation of justice and peace in our society.

For information about OneLife LA, visit our website: onelifela.org.

Reported by CNA 21 hours ago.

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Companies cut part-timers' hours to avoid health insurance mandate

January 15, 2015, 8:36 am

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The Affordable Care Act isn't causing a significant number of employers to convert full-time positions to part-time, but it i -More- Reported by SmartBrief 19 hours ago.

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Preparing for IRS Form 1095-A, The Health Insurance Marketplace Statement

January 15, 2015, 9:22 am

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Starting this month, many consumers that signed up for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will begin to receive Form 1095-A, the Health Insurance Marketplace Statement. This form, which will be needed for filing Federal taxes, reflects the total monthly premium paid and tax credits received when enrolling in a Qualified Health Plan on Healthcare.gov or a state marketplace in 2014.

While everyone that enrolled was notified that they would receive a statement to file with their taxes, many consumers may have forgotten or do not completely understand what this form actually means to them. To help clarify some of the confusion, the IRS will be providing key insight on the purpose of the forms, who needs to file them and when they need to be filed. A tax professional can also help individuals understand the tax implications and complete the filing process; it's likely, however, that many consumers will have additional questions, such as how to correct information, how to reconcile tax credits received or how to claim premium tax credits on their returns.

*Preparing for Volume*

For many citizens, the quickest and easiest way to get information about their Form 1095-A is through a state or Federal marketplace customer contact center. Just as the contact centers are ready to help consumers during open enrollment periods, contact center staff must be prepared to field these additional tax queries as well. They will need to answer questions and provide citizens with the necessary information and direction to help resolve any issues that arise when they receive their Health Insurance Marketplace Statement.

Many people will need some assistance with understanding this topic because some are unclear about the ACA premium tax credit process and its effect on their upcoming tax filing. One of the ways that states can ready themselves for this influx of inquiries is to provide information resources and direct referral instructions on all consumer-facing channels, including websites and contact centers. By setting up resource pages and providing automated information over the phone using their integrated voice response systems, marketplaces can help consumers find answers to many common questions. It is imperative that states are clear with the information they provide and their referral process, because unclear communication could drive consumers to the incorrect place and delay their ability to submit necessary forms with hard deadlines.

*Education and Training*

Another best practice for the marketplaces is to attach a cover letter to the Form 1095-A when it's mailed. This cover letter should contain important information on the form's purpose and where consumers should go with questions. By providing upfront answers to basic questions and details on additional resources available, these cover letters will provide consumers better service and contact centers can avoid spikes in call volume -- and thus longer wait times -- for those with more in-depth questions or needing assistance unrelated to Form 1095-A. Marketplaces should also ensure that their information and cover letter are written in plain and clear language to help address consumers' inquiries. It is also important to consider publishing these documents in multiple languages to assist consumers who do not speak English as their primary language.

Finally, marketplaces should consider training their in-person assisters on tax credits and the Form 1095-A. This additional education can help assisters become well-versed on the forms and arm them with the insight to answer potential questions and direct citizens to the appropriate resources. While assisters are not expected to be tax experts, consumers will undoubtedly reach out to many of them requesting information on where to go and what to do. Ensuring that assisters are knowledgeable about the effects premium tax credits have on 2014 tax filings will help streamline the overall tax process.

*The Next Frontier*

The ACA remains a work in progress as the Federal government and states work to ensure positive outcomes and health coverage for millions of Americans. With the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reporting that almost 2.5 million people selected a plan through HealthCare.gov during the first four weeks of the current open enrollment, and with state marketplaces enrolling millions more, marked progress has been insuring the previously uninsured. Although Form 1095-A is another new frontier in the ACA consumer experience, using effective tools and implementing robust processes can help ensure that the impact is not a negative one. Reported by Huffington Post 19 hours ago.

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Here's Where Obamacare Costs The Most

January 15, 2015, 9:19 am

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This post was originally published by Kaiser Health News (KHN). Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health policy news service.

In health insurance prices, as in the weather, Alaska and the Sun Belt are extremes. This year Alaska is the most expensive health insurance market for people who do not get coverage through their employers, while Phoenix, Albuquerque, N.M., and Tucson, Ariz., are among the very cheapest.

In this second year of the insurance marketplaces created by the federal health law, the most expensive premiums are in rural spots around the nation: Wyoming, rural Nevada, patches of inland California and the southernmost county in Mississippi, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which has compiled premium prices from around the country. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)

The most and least expensive regions are determined by the monthly premium for the least expensive “silver” level plan, which is the type most consumers buy and covers on average 70 percent of medical expenses. Premiums in the priciest areas are triple those in the least expensive areas.

Along with the three southwestern cities, the places with the lowest premiums include Louisville, Ky., Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania, Knoxville and Memphis, Tenn., and Minneapolis-St. Paul and many of its suburbs, the analysis found.
*Highest and Lowest Premiums*

Here are the 10 most and least expensive regions in the country – with the counties listed in parenthesis – based on premium prices for the lowest-cost silver plan. Regions are counties that share the same price for the same lowest-cost-plan and are either geographically contiguous or are part of the same rating area created by the state.
Premiums are listed for 40-year-olds; and for most states the difference in prices stays the same for people of any age. Vermont and two upstate New York areas— Ithaca and Plattsburgh—also are among the 10 most expensive places, although those states do not let insurers adjust premiums based on the consumer’s age, making comparisons inexact. Older residents in those states will end up getting better deals than in most places, while younger ones tend to pay more.

*10 HIGHEST PREMIUMS*
1. *$488 Alaska* (entire state)3. *$459 Ithaca, NY* (Tompkins)5. *$456 Bay St. Louis, Mississippi* (Hancock)7. *$446 Plattsburgh, NY* (Clinton)9. *$440 Rural Wyoming* (Albany, Big Horn, Campbell, Carbon, Converse, Crook, Fremont, Goshen, Hot Springs, Johnson, Lincoln, Niobrara, Park, Platte, Sheridan, Sublette, Sweetwater, Teton, Uinta, Washakie, and Weston)11. *$428 Vermont* (entire state)13. *$418 Rural Nevada* (Churchill, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Mineral, Pershing, and White Pine)15. *$412 Casper, Wyoming* (Natrona)17. *$410 Inland California* (Imperial, Inyo, and Mono)19. *$401 Cheyenne, Wyoming* (Laramie)
*10 LOWEST PREMIUMS*
1. *$166 Phoenix, Ariz.* (Maricopa)3. *$167 Albuquerque, N.M.* (Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia)5. *$167 Louisville, Ky.* (Bullitt, Jefferson, Oldham, and Shelby)7. *$170 Tucson, Ariz.* (Pima and Santa Cruz)9. *$170 Pittsburgh, Pa.* (Allegheny and Erie)11. *$179 Western Pennsylvania* (Beaver, Butler, Washington, Westmoreland, Armstrong, Crawford, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, and Warren)13. *$181 Knoxville and Eastern Tennessee* (Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier, and Union)15. *$181 Minneapolis-St. Paul* (Anoka, Benton, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, Washington, and Wright)17. *$184 Memphis and suburbs* (Fayette, Haywood, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Tipton)19. *$189 North of Minneapolis* (Chisago and Isanti)
Starting this month, the cheapest silver plan for a 40-year-old in Alaska costs $488 a month. (Not everyone will have to pay that much because the health law subsidizes premiums for low-and moderate-income people.) A 40-year-old Phoenix resident could pay as little as $166 for the same level plan.

That three-fold spread is similar to the gap between last year’s most expensive area — in the Colorado mountain resort region, where 40-year-olds paid $483—and the least expensive, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, where they paid $154.

Minneapolis remained one of the cheapest areas in the region, although the lowest silver premium rose to $181 after the insurer that offered the cheapest plan last year pulled out of the market. Premiums in four Colorado counties around Aspen and Vail plummeted this year after state insurance regulators lumped them in with other counties in order to bring rates down.

Cynthia Cox, a researcher at the Kaiser foundation, said the number of insurers in a region was a notable similarity among both the most and least expensive areas. “In the most expensive areas only one or two are participating,” she said. “In the least expensive areas there tends to be five or more insurers competing.” She said that other factors, such as whether insurers need state approval for their premiums and the underlying health of the population, may play a role as well in premiums.

The national median premium for a 40-year-old is $269, according to the foundation’s analysis.

Alaska’s lowest silver premium rose 28 percent from last year, ratcheting it up from 10th place last year to the nation’s highest. Only two insurers are offering plans in the state, the same number as last year, but the limited competition is just one reason Alaska’s prices are so high, researchers said. The state has a very high cost of living, which drives up rents and salaries of medical professionals, and insurers said patients racked up high costs last year.

Ceci Connolly, director of PwC’s Health Research Institute, noted that the long distances between providers and patients also added to the costs. Restraining costs in rural areas, she said, “continues to be a challenge” around the country. One reason is that there tend to be fewer doctors and hospitals, so those that are there have more power to dictate higher prices, since insurers have nowhere else to turn.

By contrast, in Maricopa County, Phoenix’s home, the lowest silver premium price dropped 15 percent from last year, when Phoenix did not rank among the lowest areas. A dozen insurers are offering silver plans. “Phoenix, during the boom, attracted a lot of providers so it’s a very robust, competitive market,” said Allen Gjersvig, an executive at the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers, which is helping people enroll in the marketplaces.

The cheapest silver plan in Phoenix comes from Meritus, a nonprofit insurance cooperative. The plan is an HMO that provides care through Maricopa Integrated Health System, a safety net system that is experienced in managing care for Medicaid patients. Meritus’ chief executive, Tom Zumtobel, said they brought that plan’s premium down from 2014. The insurer and the health system meet regularly to figure out how to treat complicated cases in the most efficient manner. “We’re working together to get the best outcome,” Zumtobel said.

Katherine Hempstead, who oversees the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s research on health insurance prices, found no significant differences in the designs of the plans that would explain their premiums. “In most of the plans – cheap or expensive – there seemed to be a high deductible and fairly similar cost-sharing,” she said.

*jrau@kff.org | @JordanRau* Reported by Huffington Post 19 hours ago.

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This Sex-Drug Inventor Was Murdered — Now His Best Friend Wants The Product In 'Every 7-Eleven'

January 15, 2015, 12:29 pm

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Since 2010, Jeff Abraham has had a stake in Promescent, an over-the-counter spray intended to help men overcome premature ejaculation. He invested $100,000 and wrote business plans for the company that made it, Absorption Pharmaceuticals.

But after the January 2013 murder of the product's inventor, Ronald Gilbert, a respected urologist and one of Abraham's dearest friends, he ended up taking over the company. Initially, Abraham wanted to sell it.

"I'd wake up in the morning and try to convince myself that [Ron's death] was a dream," he tells Business Insider. "So I decided that I was going to take an offer or have someone else come run the company."

The day that Abraham, 57, decided to let go of the company, he Googled Ron's name. The first several results told the story of his friend's untimely death.

"Ron went from being an inventor, a father, a husband, to the guy shot by a crazy," Abraham says. "He was a statistic. That really bothered me."

Seeing the news coverage nudged Abraham to change his mind about selling, at least until after he built up the company more. It wasn't long before his interest grew into an obsession. He says he now works 16 hours a day, every day of the year.

"I can't change what happened, but I have the power to make Ron's legacy a success and take care of his wife and kids," Abraham says.

Together, Gilbert's family owns about 15% of Absorption Pharmaceuticals, and Abraham owns 36%. The rest, and portions of the eventual profit, is split among three other employees and the two men (aside from Gilbert) on the patent, numerous urologists, and a few key investors.

Over a year ago, Abraham, with approval from Absorption's board, turned down an offer of more than $30 million. The buyer, a top pharmaceutical brand, wanted to turn Promescent into a prescription drug. But that plan didn't mesh with Abraham's vision.

"This product needs to be on the shelf at every Walgreens, CVS, and 7-Eleven right next to the condoms," he says. "This is a lifestyle product."

Right now, Abraham is in talks with multiple companies. He demands that any potential buyer preserve his friend's legacy.

"I will not sell this company unless the new website includes a little memoriam about Ron," Abraham says. "That's nonnegotiable. I don't care if someone offers me a billion dollars."

-A Case Of Mistaken Identity-

On the afternoon of Jan. 28, 2013, Ron's wife, Ellie Gilbert, began to feel strange. She was visiting New York for a wedding but could barely walk down the street.

"It was really weird," she says. "Something I've never felt before, like my soul was leaving me."

After dragging herself back to her hotel room, she recieved a call from her husband's partner at their private urology practice. She knew something terrible had happened.

Stanwood Fred Elkus, a 75-year-old veteran, had allegedly made an appointment earlier that day under a fake name at Ron's practice, Orange Coast Urology, in Newport Beach, California. Elkus let a nurse take his blood pressure, but when Ron entered, he allegedly fired nine shots into the doctor's torso and chest. Ron didn't survive.

"I can't even put it into words," Abraham says. "Ron was the absolute most pure human being I’ve ever met. He was the kind of guy you’d want your sister to marry."

The year before Ron's death, Abraham crashed his bicycle and broke his collarbone in two places. Over the next few months of his recovery, Ron brought him lunch and dinner and took him to hockey games to get him out of the house. "At least once a day Ron would call or text me asking how the pain was and if there was anything I needed," Abraham says.

Elkus, the alleged shooter, apparently blamed Ron for a botched prostate surgery he underwent more than 20 years ago at a Veterans Association hospital. While Ron did work there, no records indicate he performed Elkus' operation, according to the Gilberts' attorney, Ed Susolik. He claims another urologist with a similar name likely treated Elkus.

Elkus, who worked as a barber after his time in the military, struggled for years with prostate problems and other health issues, reportedly telling a neighbor shortly before Ron's death that he "might not be alive much longer." Elkus later pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with his lawyers submitting a PET scan showing "neurological and psychological disabilities.

Then, 11 days after Ron's murder, Elkus, who is still awaiting trial, allegedly gave away seven properties he owned from behind bars in order to avoid their inclusion in the likely civil case from Ron's family, the Los Angeles Times reported.

And the family did end up filing a civil suit against Elkus, "because evil needs to addressed," Ellie says. "But even if I got all the money in the world, nothing will bring back my husband."

The day after the funeral, she says, her family lost its health insurance, and she wouldn't see any more profit from her husband's business. "I didn’t get one penny out of the medical practice, the only form of livelihood that my husband had," Ellie explains. So far, all profits from Promescent have gone back into the company, according to Abraham. "I have to really, really watch every penny," Ellie says.

Like Abraham, Ellie wants to use Promescent to preserve Ron's legacy. "Throughout his life, the well-being of his patients was a priority for him," she says. "People will benefit from [Promescent] — for pleasure or for need."

-The Next Viagra?-

Abraham started as Ron's patient, and the two quickly became friends. One day, the doctor gave Abraham a sample of his new creation, Promescent.

"It was insane," Abraham says. "At that point my eyes spun around in my head like cash registers." He half-jokingly talked to Ron about changing the name to "Have Sex Like A Porn Star."

Soon after, Abraham asked for 10 more bottles.

"Ron goes, 'Where are you going this weekend?'" Abraham laughs. But he only wanted to see if others would have the same response as he did.

Abraham gave samples to friends, family, even his son, a "great-looking kid" at UC Santa Barbara. Everyone reacted the same way, according to Abraham: "What is this, and where can I get more of it?"

Since Abraham invested his $100,000, he says the company has sold 221,000 bottles of Promescent in 338 independent pharmacies. A standard bottle sells for $79.95, while the trial size ("convenient pocket-size for men on the go!!") run $19.95.

"I said it had the same potential as Viagra," he recalls. "Three years ago people laughed at me. They're not laughing anymore."

At this point, Abraham says he's invested $1.5 million in the company and that its sales hit $1.2 million this year, which he expects to increase by 25% in next year. That figure is still a far cry from Viagra, which peaked at about $2 billion in annual sales. Still, the market for this kind of drug could be just as large.

While ED, or erectile dysfunction, gets more press, estimates show that PE, or premature ejaculation, affects more men.

PE ranges from a dire sexual issue to a common complaint in the bedroom. A definition is tough to pin down. The A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, hosted by the National Institutes of Health, says that any man who orgasms before he or his partner would like suffers from PE. The International Society for Sexual Medicine imposes time limits: A male has to ejaculate within one minute of penetration for "lifelong PE" and within three minutes for "acquired PE." Regardless, most experts agree that nearly one in three men suffer from some form of PE.

Both Abraham and Absorption's chief medical officer, Laurence Levine, frequently mention a phenomenon called "the arousal gap." While the data varies, Promescent's marketing materials claim men last an average of five to six minutes during intercourse, while women, on average, take 17 minutes to reach orgasm. "That is exactly correct," Peter Stahl, the director of male reproductive and sexual medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center, told Business Insider.

"That's why there are 8 million vibrators in the world," Abraham jokes.

Ron's motivation to create Promescent stemmed from listening to his patients' struggles to maintain erections. He would come home from work, upset that he couldn't help more, Ellie says. "It is truly a problem," she says. "Intimacy does make for a better relationship. Everything connects."

And yet another market for Promescent exists — the recreational one. "I have friends who are in their 50s who eat Viagra and Cialis like they're M&M's," Abraham says. Studies show that these medications can make men last longer in bed. Promescent, Abraham says, fixes a similar issue and doesn't enter the bloodstream.

-How It Works-

As advertised, about 1,100 urologists in the US recommend FDA-approved Promescent. Of those, "1,080 .... have no financial gain and involvement with the company," Abraham says. The spray, a lidocaine-based topical liquid, works much like Orajel does on the gums. Promescent essentially desensitizes the penis to prolong intercourse.

"People freak out when I rub Promescent on my gums," Abraham says, which is how he demonstrates the product's safety. But a man simply wouldn't rub Orajel on his penis before sex — although he could. The numbing effect would overwhelm him, making sex less enjoyable, and the medication would likely transfer to his partner, ruining the experience for both.

Promescent supposedly avoids that. The formula changes the lidocaine from a crystal into an oil-aqueous form, which can penetrate the outer layer of the penis, much like how good lotion absorbs into the skin. After 10 minutes, according to Abraham, the desensitizing effects won't transfer to the man's partner.

While Promescent's clinical trials won't be complete until 2015, Abraham says rave reviews fill his inbox almost daily. He sent us a few of his favorites.

Nathan, a 42-year-old man married for 19 years, called his experience with Promescent "the best sex" he and his wife have had since college. Another man, Kevin, 53, has suffered from PE his entire life. "My life has changed," he wrote in an email to the Promescent team. "It simply works."

Josh Gondelman, a writer for New York Magazine's The Cut, had less positive "adventures with 'penis-numbing' spray.""Masturbating felt like listening to a Phish song; I was ten minutes in with no end in sight, just a lot of aimless noodling. After twenty fruitless minutes, I gave up, limp from exhaustion and local anesthesia," he wrote.

As Abraham immediately pointed out, though, Gondelman used 10 sprays — the maximum dosage for men who suffer from severe PE. Gondelman wrote that he tried again, using only three squirts, but that felt "like eating the last slice of pizza just because it's there."

Still, Ron and his wife tried Promescent and loved it. "You have to be your first guinea pig," Ellie says. "It was wonderful." Sometimes she didn't even know her husband, who didn't suffer from PE, was even using it. "It’s very natural. There’s nothing weird or uncomfortable about it," she says.

Promescent can even be used with condoms, Abraham adds.

But James Hamblin, a doctor and a senior editor at The Atlantic, is skeptical about the actual application. "The numbing spray idea immediately struck me as one that makes perfect sense to scientifically minded people but sounds absurd to everyone else," he wrote. Getting out a "secret" vial of penis spray to numb up before sex could increase some men's anxieties about intimacy, he suggested.

-Challenges -

Part of the problem with creating a solution for PE is identifying the causes. "Male sexual function is a complex neurobiological phenomenon, and sexual dysfunctions tend to coexist," says Stahl, the Columbia University urology professor we spoke with.

For example, a man with erectile dysfunction could experience so much anxiety about developing and maintaining an erection that, when he does, his sexual experience ends prematurely. Conversely: "The man knows if he gets an erection, it’ll lead to an unsatisfactory conclusion, so he develops anxiety and fails to get one at all," Abraham says.

The medical community generally considers premature ejaculation to have psychological components, with some patients even being treated with antidepressants. PE, however, afflicts men in two distinct variations, according to Stahl. "Lifelong premature ejaculation is a true biological early trigger point that usually requires lifelong therapy to prolong intravaginal ejaculatory latency [the amount of time someone lasts when having sex]," he says. "In contrast, acquired premature ejaculation that develops at a particular time is usually related to either anxiety or development of another sexual dysfunction."

As Ron, Promescent's creator, explains in the video below, "To tell a patient that may have sexual relations six to eight times a month, that they have to take an antidepressant, that is not specifically designed for this problem, every single day ... is a tough sell."

Then dapoxetine came onto the scene. As the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) designed specifically for premature ejaculation, studies have shown users can take the oral pill on an as-needed basis, although at least three to five hours before intercourse.

Other topical sprays and creams exist, too, such as Stud100, EMLA, and EjectDelay. The one that's probably gotten the most press is TEMPE, a topical spray, with both licocaine and prilocaine, created by one of the makers of Viagra.

There are some clear differences between TEMPE and Promescent. For one thing, TEMPE is a prescription drug that has gone through clinical trials, while large-scale testing for over-the-counter Promescent is still underway. Another difference is that TEMPE isn't yet FDA-approved for PE, while Promescent conforms to the FDA's existing regulations for lidocaine, according to Levine.

Although clinical trials are expensive and time-consuming, Promescent must undergo them to receive approval from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America and International Society for Sexual Medicine, which would put the spray on the radars of the organization's 12,000 members, according to Abraham.

Even without those trials, Promescent remains the only FDA-approved, lidocaine-based spray with absorption technology that doesn't require a prescription. And absorption is key: It improves efficacy and reduces transference to partners, according to Stahl.

"My overall impression is that Promescent is an effective treatment for delaying ejaculation, and is particularly useful in men who do not want to take daily oral medication," he says.

-The Future Of Promescent-

With its unique formula, Promescent has started to attract media attention. In October 2013, CNBC called Promescent the "new sex drug in town," and, in June, Men's Health magazine recommended it to last longer in bed. Of course, there's this article, too.

Abraham hopes this is just the beginning. And he still attributes the company's success to Ron.

"I'm not a religious person — I won’t fake that," he says. "But there’s karma here."

When he does sell the company, Abraham wants to open a scholarship fund at the University of California, Irvine, Ron's alma mater, in his name.

"When one of these companies turns Promescent into a billion-dollar product, everyone who buys it will see Ron's face," Abraham says. "I want people to understand how truly spectacular this man was."

Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 15 hours ago.

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This Sex-Drug Inventor Was Murdered — Now His Best Friend Wants The Product In Every 7-Eleven

January 15, 2015, 12:11 pm

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Number Of Uninsured Adults Dropped In 2014 Under Obamacare

January 15, 2015, 12:18 pm

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Number Of Uninsured Adults Dropped In 2014 Under Obamacare
Number Of Uninsured Adults Dropped In 2014 Under Obamacare
Health
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Health Care Signs
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A new survey says the number of uninsured American adults in America has dropped under Obamacare.

The Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey reports that in 2010 there were an estimated 37 million people who were uninsured, but that number dropped to 29 million in the second half of 2014.

The study also found that the number of Americans who had difficulty paying medical bills dropped from an estimated 75 million in 2012 to 64 million in 2014.

Additionally, the report says that adults who didn't get health care because of high costs dropped from an estimated 80 million in 2012 to 66 million in 2014.

In December 2014, MediaMatters.org recalled many of the failed scary predictions made about Obamacare by conservatives and Republicans such as: the loss of millions of jobs, no reduction in the number of uninsured Americans, millions of people losing their health insurance and government "death panels."

President Obama announced today that federal government employees will get up to six weeks of paid sick leave when they have a new child, noted The Washington Post. The president also put his support behind the Healthy Families Act, which would require that every working American get seven days of paid sick leave each year.

According to a report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the U.S. is the only developed nation (out of 22) that doesn't have a national paid sick leave law.

Sources: Center for Economic and Policy Research, The Washington Post, MediaMatters.org, Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey
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Zenefits says it’s on track to $20 million in annual revenue

January 15, 2015, 12:39 pm

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San Francisco software startup Zenefits is growing fast by upending the health insurance industry, and on Wednesday, it revealed just how fast. Zenefits operates cloud software that companies use to automatically manage hiring and firing paperwork, health insurance, taxes, payroll and other aspects of human resources. While the software is free, Zenefits collects fees when companies, usually small and midsize ones, sign up with benefit providers. “We’re in this interesting position of selling a free product that solves a real pain point for a lot of businesses around the country — and that we also happen to make a lot of money off of,” Conrad told a packed room of investors at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. Zenefits has signed up more than 10,000 companies in 47 states, serving a total of more than 100,000 employees, and is a licensed health insurance broker in all 50 states. Reported by SFGate 15 hours ago.

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Rick Perry Touts His Record In His Last Major Speech As Texas Governor

January 15, 2015, 3:12 pm

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By Jon Herskovitz
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry gave his last major speech as leader of the country's second most populous state on Thursday, extolling a record of job creation and economic growth that has made him a possible 2016 Republican presidential contender.
Speaking to a joint session of the Texas Legislature, Perry said that between December 2007 and today, the state had created 1.4 million jobs while the rest of the country had lost 400,000.
"Job creation, not higher taxation, is the best form of revenue generation," said Perry, who will step down in a few days after serving 14 years in the post.
Polls show that Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history, ranks near the bottom of major possible Republican presidential candidates. He dropped out of a gaffe-filled and short-lived campaign for the 2012 presidential nomination but has been attempting a national political comeback.
Perry is also facing a criminal trial in Texas for felony charges of abuse of power that have clouded another run.
In his speech, Perry attacked President Barack Obama's administration over border security, talked about bipartisan efforts to decriminalize certain types of drug offenses in the state and build the largest wind-turbine power network in the country.
He also took a shot at what could be seen as the policy stances of the conservative Tea Party branch of the Republican Party. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a fellow Texan, is a Tea Party favorite and a potential presidential rival.
"I speak to members of my own party in asking that you do not place purity ahead of unity," he said.
Texas Democrats point out that under Perry's watch, the percentage of Texans living in poverty has increased and is well above the national average, while millions in the state are without health insurance and the school system ranks near the bottom in the United States in several categories.
"The real legacy of Rick Perry is putting his allies and special interests ahead of Texas families, supporting an economy that works for the wealthy few, and leaving middle class and low income families behind," the party said in a statement.
(Editing by Peter Cooney) Reported by Huffington Post 13 hours ago.

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Hunts Point Market Workers Continue Talks to Avoid Strike

January 15, 2015, 6:57 pm

≫ Next: Connect for Health Colorado faces state Legislature

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If wage and health insurance issues are not resolved, more than 1,200 workers and drivers at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx could go on strike as early as Sunday afternoon. Reported by NYTimes.com 9 hours ago.

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Connect for Health Colorado faces state Legislature

January 15, 2015, 6:53 pm

≫ Next: Pope Francis: Philippines' 500 years of Christianity can inspire more good

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Facing legislators for the first time since getting an audit last month, Connect for Health Colorado officials received some criticism at a hearing Thursday, but also a modicum of support, particularly from Democrats, for their efforts to build a first-of-its-kind health insurance exchange. Leaders of the online insurance marketplace told a joint meeting of the House and Senate health care committees they are working through kinks that delayed some Coloradans from signing up for insurance on the… Reported by bizjournals 9 hours ago.

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Pope Francis: Philippines' 500 years of Christianity can inspire more good

January 15, 2015, 7:42 pm

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Manila, Philippines, Jan 15, 2015 / 08:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis praised Philippines Catholics’ strong faith and challenged them to continue to let the Christian message bear fruit, noting the upcoming 500th anniversary of Christianity’s arrival in Philippines.

“It is my hope that this important anniversary will point to its continuing fruitfulness and its potential to inspire a society worthy of the goodness, dignity and aspirations of the Filipino people,” he said Jan. 16.

Pope Francis travelled to the Philippines Jan. 15 after spending three days in Sri Lanka as part of his second Asian pilgrimage as pope. Catholic influence is strong in the Philippines, where 86 percent of its 98.4 million people identify as Catholic.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino, in office since 2010, met with Pope Francis for about an hour before the Pope’s public remarks to a large crowd of diplomats, public authorities and others gathered at the Presidential Palace in Manila.

The Holy Father said he admired the virtues of “heroic strength, faith and resilience” that Filipinos displayed in the aftermath of the disastrous Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda. The storm killed thousands of people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in December 2013.

“Those virtues, rooted not least in the hope and solidarity instilled by Christian faith, gave rise to an outpouring of goodness and generosity, especially on the part of so many of the young,” he said. “At great sacrifice, they gave of their time and resources, creating networks of mutual help and working for the common good.”

Pope Francis encouraged the people to extend their care of the poor, so prominent after the storm, into their social structures as well, especially as the Bishops of the Philippines have declared 2015 “The Year of the Poor.”

“I hope that this prophetic summons will challenge everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption which diverts resources from the poor, and to make concerted efforts to ensure the inclusion of every man and woman and child in the life of the community,” he said.

The solidarity and hard worked poured into rebuilding efforts should also be used to build a society respectful of authentic human values, Pope Francis continued.

“As many voices in your nation have pointed out, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good,” he said. “In this way they will help preserve the rich human and natural resources with which God has blessed this country.”

The Catholic Church in the Philippines is very politically and socially active and played a key role in the peaceful 1986 ouster of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The Church was also an active opponent of President Aquino’s advocacy of a controversial “reproductive health” bill, which passed in 2012 despite heavy Catholic opposition. The legislation mandated government-sanctioned sex education for adults, middle school and high school students, as well as a population control program that includes fully subsidized contraceptives under government health insurance.

Last year the Supreme Court of the Philippines struck down portions of the bill including provisions allowing minors access to birth control without parental consent and requirements that infringed on the religious freedom of institutions and individuals that objected to providing information about contraceptives.

While Pope Francis did not address the legislation directly, he stressed the importance of the family’s role in passing on Christian values and renewing society.

“We know how difficult it is for our democracies today to preserve and defend such basic human values as respect for the inviolable dignity of each human person, respect for the rights of conscience and religious freedom, and respect for the inalienable right to life, beginning with that of the unborn and extending to that of the elderly and infirm,” he said.

President Aquino addressed the crowd before Pope Francis, noting the Catholic Church's history in the Philippines and its shift from being an ally of a colonial government to a social presence that challenges the “status quo.”

"The Gospel challenges each member of the Church to go beyond almsgiving and mere charity and be concerned with injustice in temporal matters," President Aquino said.

While the president claimed he had been the object of some excessive criticism from Catholic clergy, he also voiced his appreciation and respect for Pope Francis and his advocacy "on behalf of the oppressed and marginalized.”

Pope Francis, following his prepared remarks, praised President Aquino and the country of the Philippines for “fostering understanding and cooperation among the countries of Asia.” He encouraged the country to continue to use its strong religious heritage as a force for the common good.

“May the deepest spiritual values of the Filipino people continue to find expression in your efforts to provide your fellow citizens with an integral human development.”

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will give a present to President Aquino: facsimile of a medieval nautical atlas from the Vatican Library. The atlas’ maps show the world as it was known to Europeans in the 16th century.

Christianity first arrived in the Philippines in 1521 through a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Reported by CNA 8 hours ago.

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What threatens families? Redefining marriage, Pope says

January 16, 2015, 3:30 am

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Manila, Philippines, Jan 16, 2015 / 03:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Warning that “every threat to the family is a threat to society itself,” Pope Francis called on the people of the Philippines to be a prophetic witness in a world facing attacks on marriage and life.

“The family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage, by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life,” warned Pope Francis, speaking Friday to families gathered at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila during his Jan. 15-19 visit to the Philippines.

His comments on the threats to family come in the wake of Philippines president Benigno Aquino's signing a highly controversial reproductive health bill in 2013 that drew strong protest from local bishops and members of the faith.

The legislation requires government-sanctioned sex education for adults, middle school and high school students, as well as a population control program that includes fully subsidized contraceptives under government health insurance.

Pointing to numerous obstacles facing the Philippines and greater society, the Pope highlighted the need for “good and strong families to overcome these threats.”

“God calls upon us to recognize the dangers threatening our own families and to protect them from harm,” he said, emphasizing the importance of living out the vocation of family.

“Be sanctuaries of respect for life, proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death,” he urged.

Huge crowds have turned out for the Pope’s Masses and public events in the Philippines, where 86 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. In recent years, the island country has struggled with the effects of several typhoons, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

In his address, Pope Francis first noted the importance of resting in the Lord. He observed that God revealed his will to St. Joseph through dreams as he slept.

“In this moment of rest in the Lord, as we pause from our many daily obligations and activities, God is also speaking to us. He speaks to us in the reading we have just heard, in our prayer and witness, and in the quiet of our hearts.”

Resting is important not only for physical and mental health, but for spiritual health, the pontiff said, so that we can hear God’s voice and understand his will for our lives.

Pope Francis encouraged those present to spend time in prayer every day. Weighed down by the burden of daily work and chores, he said, we must remember that if we do not make time for prayer, we will lose sight of God’s will for our lives.

“And for all our activity, our busy-ness, without prayer we will accomplish very little.”

Resting in prayer is particularly necessary for families, he added, because family is where we learn to know God and be part of his Church, and to love, forgive and be virtuous.

“That is why families are so important in God’s plan for the Church!” he said, calling on the nation to see families as “your country’s greatest treasure.”

Once we have heard God’s voice, Pope Francis continued, we must rise from our sleep and act. He stressed the need for “holy and loving families to protect the beauty and truth of the family in God’s plan and to be a support and example for other families.”

“The pressures on family life today are many,” Pope Francis acknowledged, pointing to the continued effects of natural disasters, economic difficulties, unemployment and migration.

“While all too many people live in dire poverty, others are caught up in materialism and lifestyles which are destructive of family life and the most basic demands of Christian morality,” he said.

In response to these numerous challenges, he stressed, we have a “Christian duty to be prophetic voices in the midst of our communities.”

“When families bring children into the world, train them in faith and sound values, and teach them to contribute to society, they become a blessing in our world,” he said. “God’s love becomes present and active by the way we love and by the good works that we do.”

Noting that the Filipino bishops have called a Year of the Poor, the Holy Father also asked families to care for those who are in need, and “especially to show concern for those who do not have a family of their own, in particular those who are elderly and children without parents.”

“Never let them feel isolated, alone and abandoned, but help them to know that God has not forgotten them,” he said. “You may be poor yourselves in material ways, but you have an abundance of gifts to offer when you offer Christ and the community of his Church. Do not hide your faith, do not hide Jesus, but carry him into the world and offer the witness of your family life!”

Reported by CNA 26 minutes ago.

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Paul VI was right to warn against contraception, Pope Francis says

January 16, 2015, 3:30 am

≫ Next: Illinois turning to insurance agents for Obamacare outreach

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Manila, Philippines, Jan 16, 2015 / 04:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis took the opportunity during an address to families in the Philippines to praise Blessed Pope Paul VI’s encyclical opposing contraception and affirming Church teaching on sexuality and human life.

The Pope spoke Friday to families gathered at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila during his Jan. 15-19 visit to the Philippines.

After discussing various threats to the family, including “a lack of openness to life,” he deviated briefly from his prepared remarks, transitioning from English to his native Spanish in order to speak from the heart about the subject.

“I think of Blessed Paul VI,” he said. “In a moment of that challenge of the growth of populations, he had the strength to defend openness to life.”

In 1968, Pope Paul VI released the encyclical Humanae Vitae, which upheld Catholic teaching on sexuality and the immorality of artificial contraception, predicting the negative consequences that would result from a cultural acceptance of birth control.

“He knew the difficulties that families experience, and that’s why in his encyclical, he expressed compassion for particular cases. And he taught professors to be particularly compassionate with particular cases,” Pope Francis said.

“But he went further. He looked to the peoples beyond. He saw the lack and the problem that it could cause families in the future. Paul VI was courageous. He was a good pastor, and he warned his sheep about the wolves that were approaching, and from the heavens he blesses us today.”

Pope Francis’ comments come in the wake of Philippines president Benigno Aquino's signing a highly controversial reproductive health bill in 2013 that drew strong protest from local bishops and members of the faith.

The legislation requires government-sanctioned sex education for adults, middle school and high school students, as well as a population control program that includes fully subsidized contraceptives under government health insurance. The nation's bishops spoke out strongly against the measure.

Elsewhere in Pope Francis’ address, he spoke about the threats to family posed by natural disasters, poverty, migration, and a redefinition of marriage.

He called for “good and strong families to overcome these threats.”

“Be sanctuaries of respect for life, proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death,” he urged.

The Pope encouraged regular family prayer to hear and understand the will of God, as well as action to be prophetic witnesses in the world.

He deviated from the text of his remarks on several other occasions as well, speaking about his love for St. Joseph and the importance of dreaming within a family.

“When you lose this capacity to dream, you lose the capacity to love, and this energy to love is lost,” he said.

In addition, Pope Francis warned against an “ideological colonization” that does not originate with God, but that tries to destroy the family.

The Pope asked Christians to pray to St. Joseph for the wisdom to identify and reject ideas and initiatives that are driven by these false ideologies and threaten the family. Reported by CNA 26 minutes ago.

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Illinois turning to insurance agents for Obamacare outreach

January 16, 2015, 3:31 am

≫ Next: Medicare Insurance Quotes For Senior Citizens Available Online

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Keith Kelly knew buying health insurance would be complicated. So the 55-year-old Naperville man skipped the federal enrollment website and asked for help from someone he knew: an insurance salesman. Reported by ChicagoTribune 25 minutes ago.

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Medicare Insurance Quotes For Senior Citizens Available Online

January 16, 2015, 4:33 am

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Affordablemedicareinsurance.com (http://www.affordablemedicareinsurance.com/) announces a new blog post, “The Benefits of Medicare Insurance For Senior Citizens”

(PRWEB) January 16, 2015

Affordablemedicareinsurance.com has released a new blog post explaining the benefits of purchasing medicare insurance for senior citizens.

Medicare insurance can be advantageous for senior citizens due to its affordable rates and the coverage it provides. A policy can cover a part of the medical expenses someone has to pay in case of diseases or various accidents.

Medicare health insurance provides full financial support for terminal diseases like cancer. It will also cover various hospitalization costs. All of these advantages come at a low price.

It is now possible to find the best policies on a single website: http://www.affordablemedicareinsurance.com/. Here, by completing a single quote form, clients can find affordable coverage for their medical expenses.

Affordablemedicareinsurance.com is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.

Affordablemedicareinsurance.com is owned by Internet Marketing Company.

For more information, please visit http://www.affordablemedicareinsurance.com/. Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.

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Holiday Season Means Increase in Head Lice Cases in New York

January 16, 2015, 5:04 am

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With the holiday season coming to a close, New Yorkers might find that their out of town guests left more behind than stray cell phone chargers. The holiday season typically sees an uptick in the number of head lice cases as many people are traveling, sharing sleeping accommodations in tight quarters, swapping personal belongings and generally in closer proximity to one another than at other times of the year.

New York, NY (PRWEB) January 16, 2015

Head lice spreads through contact—either head-to-head contact or via a surface or item that has come into contact with the head of a person who is currently experiencing an infestation - think upholstered seats and furniture, hats, combs, pillows and blankets. During the holiday season, we’re sitting on airplanes, sleeping on relatives’ sofas and perhaps sharing hats or hairbrushes. It isn’t hard to see why this parasite is on the move this time of year.

Now that the holidays are over, people will start to notice cases of head lice. This is due to the fact that it often takes at least a week for the itchy welts to develop, signaling an infestation. Prior to this, an individual may have an infestation in progress but does not realize it. The individual may still be able to pass lice to others despite having no discernible symptoms.

Head lice, while they are an irritating nuisance, are no cause for alarm. The key is to get rid of the infestation as quickly as possible to eliminate your own discomfort and to prevent spreading the parasite to others.

Arie Harel of the Lice Troopers New York Lice Treatment Center says: “We always expect this to be a busy time of year for our clinics. Our job is to help families get rid of lice in a way that is safe, all-natural and hassle free. It’s already a hectic time of year—no one has time for lice.”

Located at 306 Ave N, Brooklyn, NY 11230, Lice Troopers also serves Chelsea, Chinatown, East Village, Financial District, Gramercy, Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Lower East Side, Midtown East, Midtown West, Soho, Tribeca, Upper East Side, and Upper West Side. Clients may schedule lice screenings and lice treatments at their clinic location or arrange for a house call.

Lice Troopers is the all-natural, guaranteed Head Lice Removal Service™ that manually removes the head louse parasite safely and discreetly in child-friendly salon settings, or other chosen location. Providing safe solutions for frantic families, the Lice Troopers team has successfully treated thousands of families nationwide, with services widely recommended by pediatricians and reimbursed by many major health insurance carriers, flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts.

For more information, contact:
Jennie Harel, President
licetroopers(at)gmail(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.

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Legacy Health Partners with GoHealth Urgent Care to Open Urgent Care Centers Across the Portland Metro Area

January 16, 2015, 6:10 am

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Legacy Health, Oregon’s only locally owned nonprofit healthcare organization, announces a joint venture partnership with GoHealth Urgent Care, a national urgent care company, to launch a chain of urgent care centers in the Portland market.

Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) January 16, 2015

Legacy Health, Oregon’s only locally owned nonprofit healthcare organization, announces a joint venture partnership with GoHealth Urgent Care, a national urgent care company, to launch a chain of urgent care centers in the Portland market. The partnership will start with GoHealth’s 5 existing facilities, currently operating under the Northwest Urgent Care brand, and add multiple new centers across the metro area in 2015 and beyond. The facilities will be branded as Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care. The first locations are now open in Gresham, Fairview, Oregon City, Progress Ridge, and Cedar Mill, with new locations planned to open mid-2015.

The Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care partnership will provide greater access to high-quality medical care and provide a valuable alternative to traditional hospital emergency room visits. The co-branded GoHealth centers, backed by the strength of Legacy Health’s network, will deliver an innovative healthcare experience combining the best of hospitality, design, and seamless technology together in one urgent care destination. "GoHealth's vision is to transform the way people access the healthcare system through an effortless experience, a culture of care, and seamless integration with Legacy Health," says Si France, MD, CEO and Founder of GoHealth.

The centers will complement Legacy Health’s existing medical services with a convenient, community-based healthcare model. “Working with GoHealth Urgent Care allows us to extend our clinical quality to more locations and deliver on our promise of good health for our patients and our communities,” says George J. Brown, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Health. GoHealth is where people can access community-based medical care with service that is connected to Legacy Health’s quality continuum of care.

Each Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care center includes onsite X-rays and laboratory services and will be staffed by Legacy-backed physicians and healthcare providers who administer care consistent with Legacy Health’s high clinical standards. “Our aim is to provide additional access for everyday, immediate healthcare needs with service and connection to the entire Legacy network,” says Gregory Carroll, MD, President and Medical Director of GoHealth.

The existing Northwest Urgent Care centers will be formally rebranded as Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care in February with new exterior signing, updated interiors and website, and continued enhancements such as integration of electronic medical records with the Legacy system.

For those in need of immediate care, Legacy-GoHealth centers are open seven days per week, with extended evening hours, and online and walk-in appointments. In addition to urgent care, Legacy-GoHealth provides on-site imaging, laboratory services, sports physicals, and care for a variety of injuries (including fractures, abscesses, and lacerations).

GoHealth accepts most health insurance, including commercial insurance and workers’ compensation. GoHealth has also arranged affordable self-pay rates for those without health insurance to ensure that all people are able to receive the highest level of medical care.

###

About Legacy Health
Legacy Health, Oregon’s only locally owned nonprofit healthcare organization, includes Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center, Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center, Legacy Laboratory Services, Legacy Research, Legacy Medical Group and CareMark/Managed HealthCare Northwest PPO. For more information, visit http://www.legacyhealth.org.

About GoHealth Urgent Care
GoHealth is revolutionizing access to the continuum of healthcare with a model for urgent care delivery that emphasizes an effortless patient experience, a culture of care, and seamless integration with world-class health system partners. GoHealth, formerly Northwest Urgent Care, has 5 locations in Portland and 5 locations in New York, with plans to expand into multiple additional US markets in 2015. GoHealth is a subsidiary of Access Clinical Partners, LLC. ACP is a TPG portfolio company and was founded by Si France (CEO), Norm Payson (former CEO of Oxford Health Plans), Bill Sullivan (former President of Oxford Health Plans and Chairman of Magnacare), Bob Margolis (Founder and Co-Chairman of DaVita HealthCare Partners), and Mike Zubkoff (Chair, Department of Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth). For more information, visit http://www.gohealthuc.com.

Media Inquiries:
Brian S. Terrett, Legacy Health, (503) 415-5775
Christine Hildebrand, GoHealth Urgent Care, (415) 271-0563 Reported by PRWeb 1 day ago.

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Key Obamacare Official Stepping Down

January 16, 2015, 7:15 am

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A senior government official with almost unparalleled authority over the U.S. health care system is stepping down, ending a tenure that included one highly publicized, highly consequential failure on Obamacare as well as significant, if less heralded, successes.

Marilyn Tavenner will resign as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, effective at the end of February, officials in President Barack Obama’s administration told The Huffington Post. Andrew Slavitt, the agency’s second-ranking official, will take over in an acting capacity. An announcement is planned for Friday.

Tavenner is the latest high-profile resignation after the botched early implementation of the Affordable Care Act. The biggest change came at the top of the chain, when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ended the second-longest tenure in the 62-year history of that cabinet position in June. Sylvia Mathews Burwell succeeded Sebelius, bringing her reputation as a seasoned manager to the position.

Like Burwell, Slavitt boasts a background in corporate management, which may aid his prospects for Senate confirmation should the president ultimately decide to nominate him for the top post. But any nominee would face a confirmation battle in a Senate newly controlled by Republicans more interested in derailing Obamacare than assuring a smooth transition of its leadership.

Tavenner isn’t a household name, but she heads an agency that spends more money than the Pentagon every year -- and, through Medicare and Medicaid, provides health insurance to nearly one in three Americans. Modern Healthcare magazine, in its most recent ranking of the 100 most influential people in health care, ranked Tavenner fifth.

Tavenner’s responsibilities have included one task that her predecessors never faced: implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Many will remember her for her management of that episode -- and, in particular, the development of HealthCare.gov, the Obamacare insurance-shopping website that launched and promptly crashed on Oct. 1, 2013. The website essentially was nonfunctional for nearly two months, creating a severe political crisis for the Obama administration and nearly unraveling Obamacare itself.

Exactly who in the administration was chiefly responsible for the debacle, and how they failed, remains the subject of great debate -- even among those who were on the inside. Steven Brill’s new book, America’s Bitter Pill, gives one deeply reported account and pins a large share of the blame on poor management by Tavenner’s agency. Tavenner herself apologized for the HealthCare.gov disaster at a House hearing in October, during which she underwent withering question by committee members. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also was later responsible for reporting inflated enrollment figures.

Less publicly, but no less importantly, Tavenner’s agency has received criticism from consumer advocates, who say that, in crafting the new rules for the Obamacare marketplaces, it went too easy on insurers, drugmakers and other key players in the health care industry.

But Tavenner’s many defenders, inside and outside the administration, point to the obstacles she faced -- including a bureaucracy not up to the task of developing such a website and enormous political pressure, sometimes from Republicans in Congress and sometimes from higher-ups in the administration. "When bad information from the bottom meets unrealistic expectations from the top," one health care lobbyist sympathetic to Tavenner told HuffPost, "bad things happen to the person in the middle."

Others cite the law’s successes, which haven’t always received the same level of publicity.

After some heroic repair work, HealthCare.gov, along with the health insurance exchange systems operated by 13 states and the District of Columbia, proved capable enough to process more than 8 million enrollments as of April. And among the more than half of the states that adopted Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, millions more signed up for that program. On one key metric of the Affordable Care Act, its success is clear: The uninsured rate dramatically dropped after the first enrollment period, and the progress of this year’s sign-up campaign suggests more will gain coverage.

Tavenner, a nurse by training who rose to become an executive at the for-profit hospital chain HCA and the top health official in Virginia, also has a longstanding interest in finding better ways for Medicare and Medicaid to encourage medicine that is better, cheaper, or both. Here, too, there are real, if tentative, signs of progress: Health care spending is rising at historically slow rates, and research suggests hazardous medical errors inside hospitals are on the decline, although most experts think it’s too soon to know how significant or permanent these changes are.

"If I could rewind the clock, we would have had a smoother implementation last October," Tavenner acknowledged in an interview with HuffPost. But she said she was proud of what the law has accomplished. "Our quality work was huge. We were able to make progress. We're now seeing data out there, showing reduction of patient harm and increasing quality. And we've been able to do a lot on costs. Whether you look at our own actuary data or reports from outside the government, we're doing better on costs than we have in a long time."

Tavenner first joined the agency in 2010, became Obama’s nominee to lead it and won Senate confirmation in 2013 with just seven dissenting votes.

"Marilyn Tavenner has devoted five years and countless hours to the cause of improving health care quality, holding down costs, protecting the Medicare Trust Fund and expanding access to affordable health care coverage to millions of Americans," HHS Secretary Burwell said in a statement to be released Friday. "In so doing, she delivered historic results that have impacted countless lives -- both today and for decades to come -- all for the better."

At the health agency, Tavenner maintained good relationships across the aisle, according to insiders, despite the toxic political environment around Obamacare. "She’s not been viewed in town as a particularly political figure. She’s viewed as a manager, which says something about her leadership," said Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, an industry lobbying organization.

Maintaining that reputation will be no less a challenge for Slavitt, who assumes command of the agency just months before the Supreme Court hears a new, existential challenge to Obamacare -- one that threatens to take back the subsidies millions of consumers receive to cut their health insurance costs. Slavitt, a Harvard Business School graduate, was deeply involved in HealthCare.gov development as an executive at one of the contractors that built it, Optum, a unit of the health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group. He has been the principal deputy administrator at the health agency since June.

Whatever Slavitt’s qualifications, filling the position of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator has been a major challenge for Obama and his predecessor, President George W. Bush, in contrast to the relative ease previous presidents had with their nominees to the agency.

Before Tavenner, the last Senate-confirmed administrator was Mark McClellan, who stepped down in 2006 -- a gap of more than six years. Senate Democrats quietly obstructed Bush’s nominee, career civil servant Kerry Weems. They were outdone by their Republican counterparts when Obama took office and nominated pediatrician and health care quality expert Donald Berwick. Berwick served under a recess appointment for more than a year.

This story has been updated to include comment from Marilyn Tavenner. Reported by Huffington Post 1 day ago.

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January 16, 2015, 6:56 am

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