Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
High-Deductible Health Plans Increase Women's Costs: Study
Because of the kinds of routine medical exams they require, women face much higher costs than men in high-deductible health insurance plans that are increasingly popular with American employers, says a Harvard Medical School study.
The researchers noted that women need services such as birth control, Pap tests, mammograms, cervical cancer vaccine, and pregnancy-related care, the Associated Press reported.
The study of nearly 33,000 people found that the median expense for men ages 18-45 in high-deductible plans was $463, compared to $1,266 for women. A third of men in that age group spent more than $1,050 in annual medical costs, compared to 55 percent of women in the same age group.
The median cost for women ages 45-64 was $2,871, compared with $1,849 for men. The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
"High deductible plans punish women for having breasts and uteruses and having babies," study lead author Dr. Steffie Woolhandler told the AP. "When an employer switches all his employees into a consumer-driven health plan, it's the same as giving all the women a $1,000 pay cut, on average, because women on average have $1,000 more in health costs than men."
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Dire Forecast in Climate Change Report
Massive floods and avalanches in Asia, along with increased hunger and water shortages in the world's poorest nations are among the major threats facing the Earth unless action is taken to adapt to climate change and stop it from worsening, says a report released Friday by delegates at an international conference.
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report also warned that up to 30 percent of species worldwide face an increased risk of extinction if global temperatures increase 3.6 degrees above the average temperatures of the 1980s and 1990s, the Associated Press reported.
