The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index™ (WBI) fell slightly in February 2010, dropping a statistically insignificant 0.2 percentage points to close the month at 66.8, still among the highest scores yet recorded. Year-over-year, the overall index increased 2.8 percentage points, representing an improvement in overall well-being for more than nine million Americans. While the majority of the [...]

According to Life University, Millennials (ages 15-27), are overly optimistic about their own health, despite admitting to the same unhealthy habits that have caused chronic illness in previous generations. On a scale of 1-10, a vast majority (84%) rate their own health higher than a seven and more than a third (38%) rate their health [...]

A significant majority of U.S. employers believe health care reform, if enacted, would lead to higher costs for both employer-sponsored benefit programs and health care services overall, according to initial results from an employer survey conducted by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health. A separate Towers Watson survey of U.S. employees found [...]

Hospitals rated in the top 5% in the nation by HealthGrades have a 29% lower risk-adjusted mortality rate and are improving their clinical quality at a faster pace than other hospitals, according to a new study issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. Hospitals rated in the top 5% can be found [...]

A new American Health Care Association (AHCA) analysis of the pending House health reform bill, combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in Ohio requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts of more than $2.5 billion over [...]

Two common anti-influenza drugs—Relenza and Tamiflu—appear equally effective at preventing common flu symptoms when given before infection, say researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. However, data is lacking on the effectiveness and safety of the two drugs in vulnerable groups such as the very young and people with compromised immune systems. The researchers [...]

For the past eight years, scientists who wanted to use federal funds for research on human embryonic stem cells had to restrict their studies to 21 cell lines approved by the National Institutes of Health. But an analysis by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that only two of those lines [...]