HEALTH DISPARITIES BLOG

January 28, 2009

links for 2009-01-28

• California health insurers discriminate against women, lawsuit contends
  California insurers are discriminating against women, charging them more for individual health insurance than men, the city of San Francisco maintained in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the state regulators who govern them.
• Men more likely to get kidney transplants than women
  Women are less likely than men to receive kidney transplants, and researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that this gap primarily affects older women -- even though they fare as well or better than men their age after a transplant.
• Describing Physician Language Fluency: Deconstructing Medical Spanish
  Using professional interpreters can also lead to better care for patients with limited English proficiency, but physicians and medical trainees underuse professional interpreters, frequently substituting their own limited spoken Spanish during clinical encounters.
• Report Shows That Mississippi Blacks Have Worse Outcomes Than Whites on Some Quality of Life Indicators
  Mississippi blacks fare worse than their white counterparts in terms of life expectancy and infant mortality, according to a county-by-county report released on Monday