Medical Bankruptcies in Massachussetts: After Reform, No Decline

Here's the latest in health and health journalism news from Reporting on Health.

Community Health: Foundations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and our funder, The California Endowment, are pouring millions into initiatives that aim to improve the health of entire neighborhoods and reduce health disparities, Suzanne Bohan and Sandy Kleffman report for the Contra Costa Times. Also, check out their tips on reporting on life expectancy and health disparities.

Hand Transplant: After 14 hours of surgery, a Northern California woman has a new hand after the first hand transplant surgery performed in the state and the 13th such procedure in the United States, Shari Roan reports for the Los Angeles Times. She lost her right hand in a traffic accident.

Medical Bankruptcy: A new study suggests that medically-related bankruptcies did not decline after Massachusetts embarked on its own health reform plan, but the study has drawn criticism over its methodology and the politics of its authors.  

Diabetes: Already known as the nation's "obesity belt," Southeastern states gets another dubious honor -  the "diabetes belt"-  as the CDC reports U.S. diabetes rates by region, Genevra Pittman reports for Reuters Health

Nutrition: BNET blogger Melanie Warner examines the potential influence of food conglomerates like Kraft and Pepsi on the American Society for Nutrition's conferences and publications.

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