Some California Schoolchildren Return to Class Sans Whooping Cough Vaccination

Whooping Cough: As thousands of Los Angeles schoolchildren on year-round schedules start school this week after a break, about 76 percent haven't had their required whooping cough vaccinations. That worries school officials, who face an influx of more than 250,000 more potentially unvaccinated kids in the fall, Howard Blume reports for the Los Angeles Times.

Health Costs: As the managed care industry realizes that the only way to maintain profits is to operate more cheaply, they're increasingly buying up physician groups that keep medical costs low, Christopher Weaver reports for Kaiser Health News.

Medical Debt: When dead patients can't pay their medical bills, hospitals face the unpopular task of contacting family members to pony up. Now, they're using software that helps them target the patients' estates directly, Ron Shinkman reports for FierceHealthFinance.

Medicare: The difficulty of finding a doctor who accepts Medicare has been exaggerated according to two new studies examined by the New York Times' Paula Span.  

Occupational Health: Are interest groups and the Obama administration stalling the start of new federal worker safety regulations? Celeste Monforton examines the evidence for the Pump Handle public health blog.

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Photo credit: MilitaryHealth via Flickr