Health Care

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients have unique healthcare needs and concerns just as any minority does -- and those distinctions should be taken into account in studies and health records, says a new report released Thursday. The Institute of Medicine report, meant as technical advice for the National Institutes of Health, recommended that federally funded studies ask participants about their sexual orientation and gender identity -- factors that could affect a person's medical profile and health risks just as aspects such as race and age do. The institute also recommended that medical professionals start including data on sexuality and gender identity in people's electronic health records.

In any given year, more than a quarter of U.S. adults have a diagnosable mental health problem -- from depression to bipolar disorder -- yet fewer than half get any kind of treatment for it. The figures are similar for children. Many who do receive care get it through their primary-care physician rather than a mental health professional like a psychiatrist or psychologist. That's partly by choice: People prefer to talk to someone they know and trust about medical problems, and for many, there's still a stigma in seeing a "shrink.

?In their campaign to repeal the healthcare overhaul President Obama signed last year, Republicans have leveled two sweeping critiques of the new law: its impact on the job market and on the federal budget deficit. Here is a run-down of how some of the rhetoric matches up with reality. Why do Republicans say the law will "kill" jobs? Many businesses will face new regulations, including rules dictating that their health plans eliminate lifetime limits, wave co-pays for preventive care and allow parents to keep children up to age 26 on their policies.

One in three patients with advanced cancer spend their final days in hospitals receiving costly, aggressive treatments they may not want, according to a major national study released Tuesday. Researchers at the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, whose work on hospital spending has been cited by the Obama administration, reviewed a sample of 20% of Medicare beneficiaries nationwide with advanced cancer who died between 2003 and 2007, including patients at 65 California hospitals.

Almost 5 million California adults say they could use help with a mental or emotional problem, according to a survey released Wednesday by researchers at UCLA. About 1 million of them meet the criteria for "serious psychological distress. " However, only one in three people who perceive a need for mental health services or are in serious distress have seen a professional for treatment, the survey found. The survey was conducted among more than 44,000 adults as part of the 2005 California Health Interview Survey , administered through the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

The federal government has started a new website aimed at taking the guesswork out of finding a healthcare plan. The Department of Health and Human Services unveiled HealthCare.gov intending to help people navigate their health insurance options and understand the provisions in the recently passed healthcare law. The website, unveiled Wednesday night in time to meet a July 1 deadline, was a requirement in the healthcare law passed in March. In October, the website will launch a tool that will let people compare the pricing of various insurance policy plans they qualify for, a feature that's receiving backlash from some large insurance companies.

The health insurance overhaul signed into law last month has been billed as the most sweeping reform in generations. And it is. In broad strokes, the law provides tax credits for small businesses that offer health insurance, and subsidies for people who buy it for themselves. More people will be eligible for Medicaid, and insurers won't be able to charge more for those with preexisting conditions. But when it comes down to how the law mixes with the variables of everyday life, things get complicated.

The fate of healthcare legislation turns on the endgame skills of two Democrats who bring vastly different assets to the task: President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Obama's signature ability to inspire fellow Democrats and Pelosi's well-honed ability to read their parochial needs will be tested as they tackle the job of finding the last stubborn votes for the healthcare bill. The final push is giving Obama a chance to redeem himself among Democrats who have complained that he has been too detached from the nitty-gritty of crafting the healthcare bill.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much, all of you, for joining us today. And I want to thank Julie, Barbara, Roland, Stephen, Renee, and Christopher, standing behind me -- physicians, physicians assistants, and nurses who understand how important it is for us to make much needed changes in our health care system. I want to thank all of you who are here today. I want to specially recognize two people who have been working tirelessly on that -- on this effort, my Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius -- (applause)

Can other communities copy the Grand Junction model of low-cost, high-quality, near-universal healthcare? Some doctors in this Colorado city of just over 53,000 say yes, others no. But clearly, some parts could be replicated elsewhere. The House of Representatives has included in its version of healthcare reform a provision allowing the creation of nonprofit, consumer-operated insurance cooperatives as an alternative to the ballyhooed and cursed public option. "This says they want to create a potential place in the world for systems like (this)