Health Maximum Minimum R Realage Work Workout

WASHINGTON (AP) -- That day in July was one that Tammy Morse won't soon forget. Five months earlier, her husband lost his job as a recruiter for the financial services industry. Once the family savings were gone, the mother of two from Stratford, Conn., saw no way to get health insurance coverage for her family other than to apply for Medicaid.

"It was humbling," she said of her visit to the state's Department of Social Services office. "For lack of a better way to put it, that was for other people. It wasn't for me."

Around the country, similar stories are playing out for thousands of families.

Since the recession began a year ago, many states have seen increases in the Medicaid rolls just as tax revenues are falling below projections. Governors have lobbied President-elect Barack Obama and Congress to help them weather the downturn by increasing the federal government's share of Medicaid spending for at least two years.

The governors said the extra $40 billion would ease the service cuts or tax increases that legislatures need to balance state budgets.

The unemployment rate has jumped from about 4.7 percent last December, when the recession began, to 6.7 percent today. Economists estimated in a Kaiser Family Foundation report that each 1 percent gain in the unemployment rate adds 1 million people to the Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program.

In Connecticut, a state faring better than many, enrollment in the Medicaid program has climbed from about 312,000 last December to about 329,500 in November - a 6 percent increase. Many who lost their jobs were eligible to continue group health insurance. But that is not an option in most cases because they no longer have an employer picking up a large share of their premiums.

Medicaid insures nearly one in six low-income people in the U.S. The program typically covers the very poor and about half of enrollees are children. Spending came to $333 billion in the budget year ending Sept. 30, 2007. Washington picks up about 57 percent of that; the states cover the remainder.

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On the Net:

Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: http://www.cms.hhs.gov

Families USA: http://www.familiesusa.org

© 2008 The Associated Press.

You had your baby three months ago and now you are dying to get back into your old jeans, but your body is not cooperating. So what now?

The last thing you want to do is go on a diet. It may sound strange, but experts maintain that going on an official "diet" could derail your post-pregnancy weight loss goals. The reason: Studies show that moms who feel deprived of their favorite foods while experiencing stress from a new baby actually pack on extra pounds.

Rather than diet, experts recommend eating a healthy menu featuring a variety of fresh foods. This means when you feel like dipping your hand into the cookie jar you should be reaching for apple slices, carrot sticks, and wheat crackers instead. What's more, if you are breastfeeding you should not consume fewer than 1,800 calories per day.

While maintaining a healthy diet is important to losing weight, you also need to incorporate aerobic and strength training exercises into your post-pregnancy lifestyle. Daily (or at the very least, weekly) exercise provides a host of benefits to new moms. Not only does it help with depression, it also enhances sleep and relieves stress.

This is not to say that you need to find a sitter and hit the gym everyday. You can get in some aerobic exercise by taking a brisk walk with your baby in the mall or around the block. Experts recommend you get your heart pumping and muscles working for at least 150 minutes a week. Of course, with a new baby, finding 30 uninterrupted minutes to exercise might be unrealistic. However, you don't have to complete all your exercise at once. Consider breaking up the time into 10-minute increments. Then try to work your way up to 20- or 30-minute sessions.

Finally, new moms can also benefit from strength training. Look around your home for light weights such as soup cans or laundry detergent containers. Then, do a few bicep curls with your makeshift weights.

Note: Before you start any exercise program, get your doctor's approval first.

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ATLANTA (AP) -- The medical arsenal against the flu just got weaker. Government health officials said Friday that a leading flu medicine, Tamiflu, might not work against all cases of the flu this year. The most common flu bug right now is overwhelmingly resistant to Tamiflu, they said. The alert is "an early heads-up" for doctors. If current trends continue, they may need to change how they treat patients this flu season, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials say they aren't too worried, for several reasons. First, it's early in the flu season, and it's not clear this strain will dominate through the next several months. Second, not many people take antiviral medications for the flu.

Third, the flu vaccine - the primary weapon against flu - seems well matched against the circulating bugs.

But doctors need to take it seriously, said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious diseases expert.

"Each influenza seasons provides a bit of a surprise and we got our (surprise) a little early this year," he added.

The flu causes 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths annually, according to official estimates. The elderly, young children and people with chronic illnesses are considered at greatest risk.

For the public, the best course of action is vaccination, health officials said. Only about 30 percent of U.S. adults had gotten a flu vaccination this flu season, according to an online survey conducted by the RAND Corporation in November. A flu shot is recommended for those 50 and older, children from 6 months to 18 years, pregnant women, nursing home patients and those with certain medical conditions or who care for people with those conditions.

For people who get the flu, the two most commonly used antivirals are Tamiflu, a pill also known as oseltamivir, and Relenza, an inhaled drug also called zanamivir. The drugs are most effective if taken within two days of getting sick but most people don't see a doctor that quickly.

Early tests indicate that 49 of 50 samples of the main flu virus circulating this year - H1N1 - were resistant to Tamiflu. The samples came mainly from Hawaii, Texas and ten other states. Widespread flu has not yet been reported in most of the country.

"It could fizzle out," or H1N1 could become the dominant strain, Gerberding said.

A spokesman for Tamiflu's manufacturer - Roche, a Swiss company - said it's too early to draw strong conclusions about the drug's usefulness this flu season. The basis of the CDC's alert "is a small sample in a limited number of states, and Tamiflu is showing good activity against other circulating viruses," said spokesman Terry Hurley.

For those sick with the flu, doctors cannot simply choose Relenza instead of Tamiflu. That treatment is not approved for children younger than 7 or people who have asthma or certain other breathing problems. GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which makes Relenza, said Friday it has enough to meet the demands of the current flu season.

An option for some patients, Gerberding said, may be a combination of Tamiflu and rimantadine, another antiviral medication that works against H1N1 but lost effectiveness against another kind of flu virus.

However, it's not clear how well that combination will work, Schaffner said.

"This is a 'best advice with our back against the wall' kind of thing," he said.

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On the Net:

The CDC flu report: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/

© 2008 The Associated Press.

Just because it's been a year since you gave birth doesn't necessarily mean you've returned to your pre-baby body. After all, giving birth is only the beginning of life after baby. There are feedings to worry about, diapers, laundry, and new sleep schedules. So, when are you supposed to find time to workout?

Experts suggest easing back into your fitness routine after giving birth. In fact, leading obstetricians advocate a gradual approach to weight loss as opposed to crash dieting and exercising like a fiend to shed unwanted baby weight. Doctors say, typically it should take between 9 to 12 months to get back to your pre-baby weight.

By using a yearlong timeline to fit in workouts you should be able to shed the weight without drastically reducing the amount of calories you consume. Breastfeeding moms not should consume less than 1,800 calories per day.

In regards to finding time to exercise consider the following tips:

Bring baby along. Place your baby in a stroller or carrier and go for a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood or around a nearby park.

Hire a babysitter. Pay a babysitter to watch your baby for an hour while you walk, swim, or attend a Yoga class. Or better yet, have grandma come over for a while to watch her new grandchild while you step out to burn off some calories. Otherwise, have your spouse watch your baby while you get in a jog or a bike ride.

Exercise at home. Take 20-30 minutes while your baby is napping or content in a swing to complete the following exercises:

SQUATS

Stand with your feet shoulders width apart, chest up, arms in front with fingers resting lightly on the side of a counter.

Pull your abdominals in tight and squeeze your buttocks together.

Slowly bend your legs as if you are about to sit on a chair and lower your buttocks.

Squat as low as is comfortable and hold it for two seconds before retuning to the stating position.

Do three sets of 15 reps.

CAT STRETCH

Using your towel, place your hands and knees hip width apart.

Start with a flat back then try to lift your navel as high as you can (arch your back like a cat), using your abdominals to stretch your spine.

Hold this stretch for two seconds and slowly release making sure that you keep your tummy muscles taught.

Do three sets of 10-12 reps.

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, in its final days, issued a federal rule Thursday reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures because of religious or moral objections.

Critics say the protections are so broad they limit a patient's right to get care and accurate information. For example, they fear the rule could make it possible for a pharmacy clerk to refuse to sell birth control pills without ramifications from an employer.

Under long-standing federal law, institutions may not discriminate against individuals who refuse to perform abortions or provide a referral for one. The administration's rule is intended to ensure that federal funds don't flow to providers who violate those laws, Health and Human Services officials said.

"Doctors and other health care providers should not be forced to choose between good professional standing and violating their conscience," said HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt.

The rule requires recipients of federal funding to certify their compliance with laws protecting conscience rights.

Despite multiple laws on the books protecting health providers, the administration argued that the rule was needed "to raise awareness of federal conscience protections and provide for their enforcement."

But many groups described the rule as a last-minute push designed to make it harder for women to get services such as contraception or counseling in the event they are pregnant and want to learn all of their options.

Several medical associations, more than 100 members of Congress, governors and 13 attorneys general were among the many thousands who wrote the department to protest the rule after it was proposed. Opponents didn't like the rule any better after it was finalized.

"In just a matter of months, the Bush administration has undone three decades of federal protections for both medical professionals and their patients," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights. "It replaced them with a policy that seriously risks the health of millions of women, then tried to pass it off as benevolent."

Abortion opponents hailed the regulation because they said the lack of regulation had resulted in confusion and a lack of awareness.

"This is a huge victory for religious freedom and the First Amendment," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

The administration estimated the cost of complying with the rule at $43.6 million annually, which is spread throughout the hundreds of thousands of health providers subject to the rule - from hospitals and physician offices to medical schools and pharmacies.

Several lawmakers have promised to take up legislation that would overturn the rule once Congress reconvenes in January. Another option is for the Obama administration to issue new regulations that would trump it. The rule will take effect on Jan. 18, two days before Obama takes office.

Obama's transition team did not specifically address the rule Thursday, but spokesman Nick Shapiro issued a statement that said Obama "will review all eleventh-hour regulations and will address them once he is president."

While campaigning in August, Obama criticized the proposal: "This proposed regulation complicates, rather than clarifies the law. It raises troubling issues about access to basic health care for women, particularly access to contraceptives," he said.

The 127-page rule disputed concerns that the protections being proposed were too broad and would affect too many workers in the health care industry, not just doctors or nurses involved with an abortion or sterilization.

"These laws are intended to protect the conscience rights of all individuals participating in health care services, and research programs and activities receiving certain federal funds, or that are administered by the department," the rule said.

Opponents consistently described the rule as a last-minute effort that would reduce access to health care services, particularly access to birth control.

"Making birth control more - not less - accessible is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce abortion," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.

Others said the rule would go so far as to protect providers who refuse to give rape victims emergency contraceptives.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America said about 200,000 people submitted comments opposing the rule, including about 90,000 comments from its supporters.

"This midnight regulation, issued in the last days of the Bush administration, undermines this country's fragile health care system as well as patients' access to health care information and services," said the group's president, Cecile Richards.

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On the Net:

Health and Human Services Department: http://www.hhs.gov

Planned Parenthood: http://www.plannedparenthood.org

© 2008 The Associated Press.