As high court upholds health care law, Beshear orders creation of state insurance exchange; questions remain about Medicaid

Journalists wait to hear the Supreme Court's ruling.
(Associated Press photo by Evan Vucci)

By Tara Kaprowy
Kentucky Health News

Voting 5-4, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the federal health-care reform law, the core of which requires individuals to get health insurance or pay a fine.

The decision means about 280,000 more Kentuckians will qualify for Medicaid, and about 220,000 will qualify for insurance under a state exchange where they can choose from various policies. More than 900,000 Kentuckians who were previously denied coverage for pre-existing conditions will now also be able to get coverage.

"More people will have access to health insurance is the short answer when it comes to the impact this will have in Kentucky," said Anne Hadreas, attorney for the Kentucky Equal Justice Center. "People with low incomes and moderate-income people will not have to worry about choosing between getting a breast cancer screening and putting food on the table."

Those who are newly eligible will be able to get health insurance in two ways. Individuals with an income as much as 400 percent above the poverty level will be able to buy insurance through a state insurance exchange, an insurance marketplace where people can choose from several plans. As he said he would, Gov. Steve Beshear ordered the creation of such an exchange today, noting that "Kentucky has been systematically preparing to meet the implementation deadlines set forth in the bill as a precautionary matter." Individuals who are part of the exchange will get federal subsidies to help pay their premiums.

The other means to get coverage will be through the law's expansion of Medicaid coverage. People who have an income 133 percent above the federal poverty level will qualify for Medicaid starting in 2014.

Though the Supreme Court also upheld the the law's Medicaid expansion, it ruled the federal government could not take away existing Medicaid funding from states that decide to opt out of the expansion. If Kentucky opts to expand Medicaid, it will eventually cost the state money. For the first five years, the federal government will foot the bill for those who are newly eligible. But in 2019, states will have to start paying 10 percent of that sum. Beshear has expressed concerns over how the state will do that. Spokespersons for Beshear and Senate President David Williams both said they are researching the matter.

John Barro of Bloomberg News predicts that all states will opt for expansion because the federal government will pay for it in the early years. "That's a pretty big carrot," he writes. "States that refused to expand Medicaid will be rejecting nearly free federal money. Such a rejection would be tantamount to saying that government health insurance for low-income people is so undesirable that a state is not even willing to pay 10 cents on the dollar for it." For more on Medicaid, the states and the politics of the issue, see this post on The Rural Blog.

At the center of the Supreme Court debate was whether the government can force people to buy health insurance, a provision often referred to as the individual mandate. Insurance companies agreed to stop denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions because of the mandate, which grows their pool of customers by 30 million people. But if the mandate had been struck down and insurance companies still couldn't refuse customers because of pre-existing conditions, premiums would have skyrocketed.

The Obama administration said the individual mandate was constitutional under the commerce clause of the Constitution, which states that Congress can use its powers to regulate interstate commerce. Chief Justice John Roberts rejected that argument but sided with the court's four liberal justices because a penalty for refusing to buy health insurance — which is part of the mandate — is the equivalent of a tax.

Aside from more Kentuckians being eligible for health insurance, the law will mean:
• Children will be able to stay on their parents' insurance up to the age of 26.
• The Medicare "doughnut hole" in prescription drug coverage will be eliminated, something that will impact 129,000 Kentuckians.
• Health plans will be required to cover preventive services like screenings.

And, though "today's ruling is no way going to diminish the toxicity and politicking on both sides," most people agree children will benefit, said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. He said the law provides additional oral health coverage, allows foster children to keep health insurance coverage until the age of 25; and provides "a dedicated stream of revenue for school-based health services."

But Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a statement calling the law "terrible," saying it has "limited choices," "increased health care costs" and "made it harder for American businesses to hire." He said Congress must act to repeal what he called a misguided law.

Williams called the ruling a victory for President Obama and Beshear but not for Kentucky's small- or medium-size businesses owners.

Whether Kentucky has the medical infrastructure for 500,000 more people having health insurance is uncertain. In Jefferson County alone, 455 primary-care doctors will be needed by 2020 — almost as many who work in medical practices now, Patrick Howington reported for The Courier-Journal this year. "I think the provider shortage is definitely a concern," said Jodi Mitchell, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health. "That's something to be looking at."

As for how individuals should proceed, Mitchell said Kentuckians "need to stay informed during implementation and stay engaged."

Kentucky Health News is a service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

Journalists wait to hear the Supreme Court's ruling.
(Associated Press photo by Evan Vucci)

By Tara Kaprowy
Kentucky Health News

Voting 5-4, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the federal health-care reform law, the core of which requires individuals to get health insurance or pay a fine.

The decision means about 280,000 more Kentuckians will qualify for Medicaid, and about 220,000 will qualify for insurance under a state exchange where they can choose from various policies. More than 900,000 Kentuckians who were previously denied coverage for pre-existing conditions will now also be able to get coverage.

"More people will have access to health insurance is the short answer when it comes to the impact this will have in Kentucky," said Anne Hadreas, attorney for the Kentucky Equal Justice Center. "People with low incomes and moderate-income people will not have to worry about choosing between getting a breast cancer screening and putting food on the table."

Those who are newly eligible will be able to get health insurance in two ways. Individuals with an income as much as 400 percent above the poverty level will be able to buy insurance through a state insurance exchange, an insurance marketplace where people can choose from several plans. As he said he would, Gov. Steve Beshear ordered the creation of such an exchange today, noting that "Kentucky has been systematically preparing to meet the implementation deadlines set forth in the bill as a precautionary matter." Individuals who are part of the exchange will get federal subsidies to help pay their premiums.

The other means to get coverage will be through the law's expansion of Medicaid coverage. People who have an income 133 percent above the federal poverty level will qualify for Medicaid starting in 2014.

Though the Supreme Court also upheld the the law's Medicaid expansion, it ruled the federal government could not take away existing Medicaid funding from states that decide to opt out of the expansion. If Kentucky opts to expand Medicaid, it will eventually cost the state money. For the first five years, the federal government will foot the bill for those who are newly eligible. But in 2019, states will have to start paying 10 percent of that sum. Beshear has expressed concerns over how the state will do that. Spokespersons for Beshear and Senate President David Williams both said they are researching the matter.

John Barro of Bloomberg News predicts that all states will opt for expansion because the federal government will pay for it in the early years. "That's a pretty big carrot," he writes. "States that refused to expand Medicaid will be rejecting nearly free federal money. Such a rejection would be tantamount to saying that government health insurance for low-income people is so undesirable that a state is not even willing to pay 10 cents on the dollar for it." For more on Medicaid, the states and the politics of the issue, see this post on The Rural Blog.

At the center of the Supreme Court debate was whether the government can force people to buy health insurance, a provision often referred to as the individual mandate. Insurance companies agreed to stop denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions because of the mandate, which grows their pool of customers by 30 million people. But if the mandate had been struck down and insurance companies still couldn't refuse customers because of pre-existing conditions, premiums would have skyrocketed.

The Obama administration said the individual mandate was constitutional under the commerce clause of the Constitution, which states that Congress can use its powers to regulate interstate commerce. Chief Justice John Roberts rejected that argument but sided with the court's four liberal justices because a penalty for refusing to buy health insurance — which is part of the mandate — is the equivalent of a tax.

Aside from more Kentuckians being eligible for health insurance, the law will mean:
• Children will be able to stay on their parents' insurance up to the age of 26.
• The Medicare "doughnut hole" in prescription drug coverage will be eliminated, something that will impact 129,000 Kentuckians.
• Health plans will be required to cover preventive services like screenings.

And, though "today's ruling is no way going to diminish the toxicity and politicking on both sides," most people agree children will benefit, said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. He said the law provides additional oral health coverage, allows foster children to keep health insurance coverage until the age of 25; and provides "a dedicated stream of revenue for school-based health services."

But Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., issued a statement calling the law "terrible," saying it has "limited choices," "increased health care costs" and "made it harder for American businesses to hire." He said Congress must act to repeal what he called a misguided law.

Williams called the ruling a victory for President Obama and Beshear but not for Kentucky's small- or medium-size businesses owners.

Whether Kentucky has the medical infrastructure for 500,000 more people having health insurance is uncertain. In Jefferson County alone, 455 primary-care doctors will be needed by 2020 — almost as many who work in medical practices now, Patrick Howington reported for The Courier-Journal this year. "I think the provider shortage is definitely a concern," said Jodi Mitchell, executive director of Kentucky Voices for Health. "That's something to be looking at."

As for how individuals should proceed, Mitchell said Kentuckians "need to stay informed during implementation and stay engaged."

Kentucky Health News is a service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

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Real and Lasting Results For Peripheral Neuropathy

Neuropathy, Is It Killing Your Hands and/or Feet?



There is a new HOPE for those that suffer due to Peripheral Neuropathy!



Peripheral Neuropathy is widespread, afflicting an estimated 20 million people in the United States. If someone is diabetic they have a 50% chance of having Peripheral Neuropathy. Many people whom are on cholesterol lowering medicine are also burdened with this disease.





What exactly is Peripheral Neuropathy?



Peripheral Neuropathy is the term used to describe damage to the nerves of the peripheral nervous system, that is the nerves that are not in the brain or spinal cord.







The nerves of the peripheral nervous system have 3 main parts so to speak, they are:



Cell body-Also known as the Soma-It is the largest part of the cell and is the control center of that nerve. It is where the genetic material (DNA) is located.

Dendrites- These are slender branch like extensions of a nerve cell that conducts impulses from adjacent cells inward toward the Cell Body.

Axon- This is the thick branch of the nerve cell, it is connected to the Cell Body and carries the impulses or electrical signals away from the body to other structures for communication. This is the part of the nerve cell most often damaged in Peripheral Neuropathy.



What symptoms are associated with Peripheral Neuropathy?



Symptoms usually begin way before the person afflicted ever realizes that they have a problem. It is because our brains are dynamic and can inhibit our ability to perceive these first symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy.



Most commonly, peripheral neuropathy starts in the longest nerves — the ones that reach to your toes. Symptoms vary, depending on which types of nerves are affected. Signs and symptoms may include:



Loss of reflexes

Loss of strength

Gradual loss of sensation, numb hands, numb feet.



However as time passes and the damage accumulates the symptoms become much more pronounced and the brain must allow for the warning signs to be acknowledged. These symptoms include:



Numbness spreads upward into the numb arms and numb legs

Tingling hands tingling feet feelings

Burning hand, burning feet sensations

Electric shock hands pain and electric shock feet pain

Shooting hand pain and shooting feet pain and/or Stabbing like hand pains and stabbing like feet pain

Inability to achieve or sustain erections

Extreme sensitivity to touch, even light touch

Lack of coordination

Bowel or bladder problems if autonomic nerves are affected



What confuses most doctors about Peripheral Neuropathy is that each patient will describe their symptoms in their own individual language of ‘pain’. This can easily become unsettling to any doctor not trained in the recognition and treatment of various Peripheral Neuropathy symptomatology, especially someone whom, instead of focusing on Peripheral Neuropathy, becomes “spread thin” due to their treating many different and varied types of health disorders, basically seeing anything that walks into their office.



This makes it next to impossible for these doctors to realize and appreciate that these different patient subjective complaints are really all about the same problem, that being Peripheral Neuropathy.



So, in the end it is you, the patient whom pays the price. You begin to shuffle from doctor to doctor, being given ever stronger, and more dangerous drugs, until you are completely drugged and so “out of it” that you are unable to function in the same capacity as before, not unlike a person addicted to common street drugs



Hi, I'm Dr. Walter K Crooks and I understand that you don’t want to be like this, you didn’t ask for this demon in your life. I empathize with your dilemma. You are taught to trust medical doctors from a young age. They are supposed to protect and make you well again.



However in this day and age, the age of taking the easiest path to success, most doctors’ education ends whenever they graduate medical school. The only “learning” that they get is usually from the pharmaceutical companies sales reps that are calling on the doctor’s offices, pushing their drugs to be prescribed. Drugs, that at least in the case of Peripheral Neuropathy, do not reverse or even stop the progression of the disease.



The next time you are at your doctor’s office for an appointment just ask them to give you some documented, non-drug company backed, research that shows that whatever they are doing for your Peripheral Neuropathy has show any cessation or reversal of the disease. Then sit back and watch how they react.



So, what exactly am I saying? Are there any drugs out there that cure Peripheral Neuropathy?



Ready for this? Absolutely no medication can cure your Peripheral Neuropathy.



Yes, there are drugs that can alleviate your symptoms, however your Peripheral Neuropathy is still there and odds are it is getting worse by the day.



Why is it that your Peripheral Neuropathy continues to progress even though you take the drugs your medical doctor has prescribed you and have changed your diet? Because in medicine the rule of thumb is to treat the diseases symptoms and due to the insurance companies rules, the doctor has no incentive to find out what is the true cause of your Peripheral Neuropathy. This is because they must follow a type of treatment protocol that does not take into account the individuality of the patient, instead it looks at the grouping of symptoms and basis the treatment solely on that.



If someone goes to their MD and asks them to prescribe something to make them able to feel their feet again, guess what? The doctor is not going to be able to do that. Sure, they can give you something to decrease the brains perception of the pain of Peripheral Neuropathy, these drugs that numb the brains ability to perceive the nerve damage that is happening all day every day, but that is about all they can do.



Remember, currently, ordinary medicine has NO cure for Peripheral Neuropathy. The extremely powerful drugs dispensed to patients DO NOT TREAT the NERVE DAMAGE! They numb the brain to numb the pain. Most patients cannot tolerate a drugged existence but feel they have NO OTHER OPTION against this horrifying pain.



Do not lose sight of common sense. Think of this: If your refrigerator began to malfunction, causing your food to spoil, and you called on a service man to repair it and a week, day, hour, minute later it broke down again, ruining all of your food, would you call on that same service man to repair it for a new charge? Of course you wouldn’t, then why in the world do you continue to go to the same doctors, receiving the same care with little to no results?



If it is because that is who is on your insurance coverage let me say this. Insurance companies keep inept doctors in practice. In other areas of business, those that can’t produce or offer what the public expects do not thrive in business. If a doctor where to solely rely on patients to pay for their care out of their own pockets, how long do think it would take before the doctor whom never changes the treatment plan for the patient, and in reality has a “cookie cutter” approach to their treatment of patients with Peripheral Neuropathy went out of business?



Don’t treat your health and life less than that of an ordinary kitchen appliance…One definition of insanity is doing the same thing, over and over, and expecting a different result…..

neuropathy

Neuropathy, Is It Killing Your Hands and/or Feet?



There is a new HOPE for those that suffer due to Peripheral Neuropathy!



Peripheral Neuropathy is widespread, afflicting an estimated 20 million people in the United States. If someone is diabetic they have a 50% chance of having Peripheral Neuropathy. Many people whom are on cholesterol lowering medicine are also burdened with this disease.





What exactly is Peripheral Neuropathy?



Peripheral Neuropathy is the term used to describe damage to the nerves of the peripheral nervous system, that is the nerves that are not in the brain or spinal cord.







The nerves of the peripheral nervous system have 3 main parts so to speak, they are:



Cell body-Also known as the Soma-It is the largest part of the cell and is the control center of that nerve. It is where the genetic material (DNA) is located.

Dendrites- These are slender branch like extensions of a nerve cell that conducts impulses from adjacent cells inward toward the Cell Body.

Axon- This is the thick branch of the nerve cell, it is connected to the Cell Body and carries the impulses or electrical signals away from the body to other structures for communication. This is the part of the nerve cell most often damaged in Peripheral Neuropathy.



What symptoms are associated with Peripheral Neuropathy?



Symptoms usually begin way before the person afflicted ever realizes that they have a problem. It is because our brains are dynamic and can inhibit our ability to perceive these first symptoms of Peripheral Neuropathy.



Most commonly, peripheral neuropathy starts in the longest nerves — the ones that reach to your toes. Symptoms vary, depending on which types of nerves are affected. Signs and symptoms may include:



Loss of reflexes

Loss of strength

Gradual loss of sensation, numb hands, numb feet.



However as time passes and the damage accumulates the symptoms become much more pronounced and the brain must allow for the warning signs to be acknowledged. These symptoms include:



Numbness spreads upward into the numb arms and numb legs

Tingling hands tingling feet feelings

Burning hand, burning feet sensations

Electric shock hands pain and electric shock feet pain

Shooting hand pain and shooting feet pain and/or Stabbing like hand pains and stabbing like feet pain

Inability to achieve or sustain erections

Extreme sensitivity to touch, even light touch

Lack of coordination

Bowel or bladder problems if autonomic nerves are affected



What confuses most doctors about Peripheral Neuropathy is that each patient will describe their symptoms in their own individual language of ‘pain’. This can easily become unsettling to any doctor not trained in the recognition and treatment of various Peripheral Neuropathy symptomatology, especially someone whom, instead of focusing on Peripheral Neuropathy, becomes “spread thin” due to their treating many different and varied types of health disorders, basically seeing anything that walks into their office.



This makes it next to impossible for these doctors to realize and appreciate that these different patient subjective complaints are really all about the same problem, that being Peripheral Neuropathy.



So, in the end it is you, the patient whom pays the price. You begin to shuffle from doctor to doctor, being given ever stronger, and more dangerous drugs, until you are completely drugged and so “out of it” that you are unable to function in the same capacity as before, not unlike a person addicted to common street drugs



Hi, I'm Dr. Walter K Crooks and I understand that you don’t want to be like this, you didn’t ask for this demon in your life. I empathize with your dilemma. You are taught to trust medical doctors from a young age. They are supposed to protect and make you well again.



However in this day and age, the age of taking the easiest path to success, most doctors’ education ends whenever they graduate medical school. The only “learning” that they get is usually from the pharmaceutical companies sales reps that are calling on the doctor’s offices, pushing their drugs to be prescribed. Drugs, that at least in the case of Peripheral Neuropathy, do not reverse or even stop the progression of the disease.



The next time you are at your doctor’s office for an appointment just ask them to give you some documented, non-drug company backed, research that shows that whatever they are doing for your Peripheral Neuropathy has show any cessation or reversal of the disease. Then sit back and watch how they react.



So, what exactly am I saying? Are there any drugs out there that cure Peripheral Neuropathy?



Ready for this? Absolutely no medication can cure your Peripheral Neuropathy.



Yes, there are drugs that can alleviate your symptoms, however your Peripheral Neuropathy is still there and odds are it is getting worse by the day.



Why is it that your Peripheral Neuropathy continues to progress even though you take the drugs your medical doctor has prescribed you and have changed your diet? Because in medicine the rule of thumb is to treat the diseases symptoms and due to the insurance companies rules, the doctor has no incentive to find out what is the true cause of your Peripheral Neuropathy. This is because they must follow a type of treatment protocol that does not take into account the individuality of the patient, instead it looks at the grouping of symptoms and basis the treatment solely on that.



If someone goes to their MD and asks them to prescribe something to make them able to feel their feet again, guess what? The doctor is not going to be able to do that. Sure, they can give you something to decrease the brains perception of the pain of Peripheral Neuropathy, these drugs that numb the brains ability to perceive the nerve damage that is happening all day every day, but that is about all they can do.



Remember, currently, ordinary medicine has NO cure for Peripheral Neuropathy. The extremely powerful drugs dispensed to patients DO NOT TREAT the NERVE DAMAGE! They numb the brain to numb the pain. Most patients cannot tolerate a drugged existence but feel they have NO OTHER OPTION against this horrifying pain.



Do not lose sight of common sense. Think of this: If your refrigerator began to malfunction, causing your food to spoil, and you called on a service man to repair it and a week, day, hour, minute later it broke down again, ruining all of your food, would you call on that same service man to repair it for a new charge? Of course you wouldn’t, then why in the world do you continue to go to the same doctors, receiving the same care with little to no results?



If it is because that is who is on your insurance coverage let me say this. Insurance companies keep inept doctors in practice. In other areas of business, those that can’t produce or offer what the public expects do not thrive in business. If a doctor where to solely rely on patients to pay for their care out of their own pockets, how long do think it would take before the doctor whom never changes the treatment plan for the patient, and in reality has a “cookie cutter” approach to their treatment of patients with Peripheral Neuropathy went out of business?



Don’t treat your health and life less than that of an ordinary kitchen appliance…One definition of insanity is doing the same thing, over and over, and expecting a different result…..

neuropathy

Read More

About Houston Peripheral Neuropathy Doctor

Peripheral Neuropathy Doctor In Houston Texas Area.

Dr. Walter K. Crooks  has dedicated his life to having a maximum positive influence on everyone he meets.

He has spent countless hours pouring over the newest research regarding Peripheral Neuropathy. 

He has treated Peripheral Neuropathy sufferers of all ages and races, men and women. 

He has seen first hand what Peripheral Neuropathy does to a person's ability to live a productive and fulfilling life.

This is why he has made it his mission to help those suffering with Peripheral Neuropathy to overcome this debilitating condition.

Post Graduate Accomplishments: 

• Pioneered The Peripheral Neuropathy Neuro-Metabolic Recovery System
• Is a Certified Chiropractic Clinical  Neurologist. 
• Is board eligible for the Diplomate in Chiropractic Neurology. 
• Has been certified by a Texas Criminal Court as an Expert Witness in Neurology and has testified in criminal cases as such.
• Trained in Video Nystagmography.
• Trained in Intervertebral Disc Decompressive Traction
• Trained in the Enhancement of  the Brain's Neuronal Activation and Coordination via the Interactive Metronome
• Extensive Background in Functional Neurology, Functional Endocrinology and Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis

Professional Affiliations:

• Founder of the Life Changing Care of Texas
• Member of the Texas  Chiropractic Association
• Member of  Dr. Michael Johnson's Neurology  Group
• On the Board of Directors for A Women's Haven

Dr. Walter K. Crooks spends countless hours every week, reviewing the newest research out on peripheral neuropathy.  He does this to ensure that the care he gives his patients is of the highest caliber and achieves real and lasting results. 

When you have been told there is nothing that can be done for your peripheral neuropathy and that you just have to learn to live with it, remember there is always hope, and sometimes it takes someone such as Dr. Walter K. Crooks to "think outside the box" with his peripheral neuropathy transformation system. 

Using this forward type thinking, which is based on the latest scientific information out at this time, he has given that hope back to those that have been downtrodden and neglected with their current care programs, which are basically pretty much all the same...Drugs and that's about it, and if you have been in the system long enough you know the terrible side affects of those drugs and to add insult to injury, those drugs don't really do anything for the causes of your peripheral neuropathy, they only allow you to somewhat manage with the severe pain, and even then, that doesn't always work either.

Don't you think that if you were to have a car that would break down, and each time you took it to a mechanic that sort of fixed it but told you that you would have to just live with the uncertainty of the cars performance and just keep bringing it back to that shop over and over, all the while being charged to "fix it".  Would you even consider going back there at all? 

Then why in the world, whenever it comes to your health and peripheral neuropathy, do you continue to go to the same peripheral neuropathy doctors that tell you there is nothing they can do?
peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral Neuropathy Doctor In Houston Texas Area.

Dr. Walter K. Crooks  has dedicated his life to having a maximum positive influence on everyone he meets.

He has spent countless hours pouring over the newest research regarding Peripheral Neuropathy. 

He has treated Peripheral Neuropathy sufferers of all ages and races, men and women. 

He has seen first hand what Peripheral Neuropathy does to a person's ability to live a productive and fulfilling life.

This is why he has made it his mission to help those suffering with Peripheral Neuropathy to overcome this debilitating condition.

Post Graduate Accomplishments: 

• Pioneered The Peripheral Neuropathy Neuro-Metabolic Recovery System
• Is a Certified Chiropractic Clinical  Neurologist. 
• Is board eligible for the Diplomate in Chiropractic Neurology. 
• Has been certified by a Texas Criminal Court as an Expert Witness in Neurology and has testified in criminal cases as such.
• Trained in Video Nystagmography.
• Trained in Intervertebral Disc Decompressive Traction
• Trained in the Enhancement of  the Brain's Neuronal Activation and Coordination via the Interactive Metronome
• Extensive Background in Functional Neurology, Functional Endocrinology and Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis

Professional Affiliations:

• Founder of the Life Changing Care of Texas
• Member of the Texas  Chiropractic Association
• Member of  Dr. Michael Johnson's Neurology  Group
• On the Board of Directors for A Women's Haven

Dr. Walter K. Crooks spends countless hours every week, reviewing the newest research out on peripheral neuropathy.  He does this to ensure that the care he gives his patients is of the highest caliber and achieves real and lasting results. 

When you have been told there is nothing that can be done for your peripheral neuropathy and that you just have to learn to live with it, remember there is always hope, and sometimes it takes someone such as Dr. Walter K. Crooks to "think outside the box" with his peripheral neuropathy transformation system. 

Using this forward type thinking, which is based on the latest scientific information out at this time, he has given that hope back to those that have been downtrodden and neglected with their current care programs, which are basically pretty much all the same...Drugs and that's about it, and if you have been in the system long enough you know the terrible side affects of those drugs and to add insult to injury, those drugs don't really do anything for the causes of your peripheral neuropathy, they only allow you to somewhat manage with the severe pain, and even then, that doesn't always work either.

Don't you think that if you were to have a car that would break down, and each time you took it to a mechanic that sort of fixed it but told you that you would have to just live with the uncertainty of the cars performance and just keep bringing it back to that shop over and over, all the while being charged to "fix it".  Would you even consider going back there at all? 

Then why in the world, whenever it comes to your health and peripheral neuropathy, do you continue to go to the same peripheral neuropathy doctors that tell you there is nothing they can do?
peripheral neuropathy

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Risk factors for FIP in Australian cats

Worthing KA, Wigney DI, Dhand NK, et al. Risk factors for feline infectious peritonitis in Australian cats. J Feline Med Surg 2012;14:405-412.
 
The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient signalment (age, breed, sex, and neuter status) is associated with naturally-occurring feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) in cats in Australia. FIP is a feline coronavirus-induced disease. There have been several risk factors discussed in association with the development of FIP. The disease is more frequent in cats less than 2 years of age, cats that reside in multi-cat environments, and in pedigreed cats. Early studies suggested FIP has a bimodal age distribution, though recent studies do not support this observation. In this study, the patient signalment of 382 confirmed cases of FIP were compared with a general cat population. Younger cats were significantly over-represented among FIP cases and a bi-modal age distribution was not found. Pedigreed cats were significantly over-represented and domestic crossbreeds under-represented in FIP cases. Several breeds were over-represented, including British Shorthair, Devon Rex, and Abyssinian. Male cats had a significantly higher proportion of representation than female cats. Domestic crossbred, Persian, and Himalayan cats were significantly under-represented in the FIP cohort of this study. [VT]

See also: Pesteanu-Somogyi L, Radzai C, Pressler B. Prevalence of feline infectious peritonitis in specific cat breeds. J Feline Med Surg 2006;8:1-5.

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Read the Cat Health News Weekly
Join us on Google+

Worthing KA, Wigney DI, Dhand NK, et al. Risk factors for feline infectious peritonitis in Australian cats. J Feline Med Surg 2012;14:405-412.
 
The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient signalment (age, breed, sex, and neuter status) is associated with naturally-occurring feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) in cats in Australia. FIP is a feline coronavirus-induced disease. There have been several risk factors discussed in association with the development of FIP. The disease is more frequent in cats less than 2 years of age, cats that reside in multi-cat environments, and in pedigreed cats. Early studies suggested FIP has a bimodal age distribution, though recent studies do not support this observation. In this study, the patient signalment of 382 confirmed cases of FIP were compared with a general cat population. Younger cats were significantly over-represented among FIP cases and a bi-modal age distribution was not found. Pedigreed cats were significantly over-represented and domestic crossbreeds under-represented in FIP cases. Several breeds were over-represented, including British Shorthair, Devon Rex, and Abyssinian. Male cats had a significantly higher proportion of representation than female cats. Domestic crossbred, Persian, and Himalayan cats were significantly under-represented in the FIP cohort of this study. [VT]

See also: Pesteanu-Somogyi L, Radzai C, Pressler B. Prevalence of feline infectious peritonitis in specific cat breeds. J Feline Med Surg 2006;8:1-5.

More on cat health:
Winn Feline Foundation Library
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Read the Cat Health News Weekly
Join us on Google+

Read More

Swine flu killed nearly 300,000 worldwide, study finds

The swine flu of 2009, often referred to as H1NI, killed an estimated 284,500 people, making it 15 times more deadly than it was thought at the time of the pandemic, a new study has found. The report, published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, said the numbers might be eventually be  as high as 579,000 people. The original count, tabulated by the World Health Organization, was a mere 18,500.

Those nearly 300,000 deaths were confirmed by lab testing, which the WHO warned vastly underestimated the situation "because the deaths of people without access to the health system go uncounted, and because the virus is not always detectable after a victim dies," reports Sharon Begley for Reuters. In Kentucky, the Department for Public Health reported there were 41 confirmed H1N1-related deaths, said spokeswoman Beth Fisher.

More than 50 percent of swine flu deaths were in Africa and southeast Asia, though they only account for 38 percent of the world's population. Because vital statistics data are either non-existent or incomplete in poorer countries, researchers had to rely on estimates and assumptions but did start with hard data, including the number of health workers who went door-to-door to ask about flu-like symptoms in rural areas and obtained nasal and throat swab samples. They used these numbers to get an estimate on the proportion of a country's population infected with H1N1. Results show the flu killed two to three times more people in Africa than elsewhere. It infected children most, adults moderately and the elderly hardly at all. (Read more)

The swine flu of 2009, often referred to as H1NI, killed an estimated 284,500 people, making it 15 times more deadly than it was thought at the time of the pandemic, a new study has found. The report, published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, said the numbers might be eventually be  as high as 579,000 people. The original count, tabulated by the World Health Organization, was a mere 18,500.

Those nearly 300,000 deaths were confirmed by lab testing, which the WHO warned vastly underestimated the situation "because the deaths of people without access to the health system go uncounted, and because the virus is not always detectable after a victim dies," reports Sharon Begley for Reuters. In Kentucky, the Department for Public Health reported there were 41 confirmed H1N1-related deaths, said spokeswoman Beth Fisher.

More than 50 percent of swine flu deaths were in Africa and southeast Asia, though they only account for 38 percent of the world's population. Because vital statistics data are either non-existent or incomplete in poorer countries, researchers had to rely on estimates and assumptions but did start with hard data, including the number of health workers who went door-to-door to ask about flu-like symptoms in rural areas and obtained nasal and throat swab samples. They used these numbers to get an estimate on the proportion of a country's population infected with H1N1. Results show the flu killed two to three times more people in Africa than elsewhere. It infected children most, adults moderately and the elderly hardly at all. (Read more)

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Expert: Health care landscape already changed, despite what Supreme Court decision is this week

Whether or not the federal health-care reform law is upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow, initiatives are already in place that will change the way health care is delivered, an expert said at a Lexington conference Tuesday. Gregg Nunziata, senior director at research and consulting firm The Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., "said the burgeoning number of baby boomers entering retirement, the ever-accelerating advances in technology and the increasing public health crisis that finds more and more Americans with chronic illness such as diabetes, are fundamentally changing how health care works in America," reports Mary Meehan for the Lexington Herald-Leader. As people age, they are "demanding a different kind of care, and they will be living long into their golden years," he said. When they become seniors, who already tend to cast their vote, they will become a powerful voting bloc.

Health officials are looking at ways to cut down on costs, which is necessary because "the government is the major funding source, and the major funding source is broke," Nunziata said. To cut costs, the government and insurers are looking at new ways to pay for health care. One example is the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare scoring hospitals based on their performance and paying them accordingly. "A low score could reduce payments by only 1 percent or 2 percent," Meehan reports, but that can translate to a multi-million dollar loss. "Every hospital is being judged and Washington is keeping score," he said.
Bundling payments is another method being tried, in which one flat fee covers all of the care that is provided in a procedure. "The idea would be to force more efficient and cost-effective care by encouraging cooperation," Meehan reports. (Read more)

Whether or not the federal health-care reform law is upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow, initiatives are already in place that will change the way health care is delivered, an expert said at a Lexington conference Tuesday. Gregg Nunziata, senior director at research and consulting firm The Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., "said the burgeoning number of baby boomers entering retirement, the ever-accelerating advances in technology and the increasing public health crisis that finds more and more Americans with chronic illness such as diabetes, are fundamentally changing how health care works in America," reports Mary Meehan for the Lexington Herald-Leader. As people age, they are "demanding a different kind of care, and they will be living long into their golden years," he said. When they become seniors, who already tend to cast their vote, they will become a powerful voting bloc.

Health officials are looking at ways to cut down on costs, which is necessary because "the government is the major funding source, and the major funding source is broke," Nunziata said. To cut costs, the government and insurers are looking at new ways to pay for health care. One example is the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare scoring hospitals based on their performance and paying them accordingly. "A low score could reduce payments by only 1 percent or 2 percent," Meehan reports, but that can translate to a multi-million dollar loss. "Every hospital is being judged and Washington is keeping score," he said.
Bundling payments is another method being tried, in which one flat fee covers all of the care that is provided in a procedure. "The idea would be to force more efficient and cost-effective care by encouraging cooperation," Meehan reports. (Read more)

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Pharmacies to offer free HIV tests as part of pilot program; no Ky. locations chosen yet

Getting tested for HIV may soon be as easy as going to the pharmacy to get a flu shot or blood pressure check. Pharmacies in 24 cities and rural communities will offer rapid HIV tests free of charge as part of a $1.2 million program. Testing is already available in Washington, D.C., Oakland, Calif., and an Indian health service clinic in Montana. The remaining 17 locations will soon be chosen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The test involves swabbing the inside of a person's mouth and preliminary results take about 20 minutes. Makers of the test say it is accurate 99 percent of the time. "If the test is positive for the AIDS virus, pharmacy employees will refer customers to a local health department or other health care providers for a lab blood test to confirm results, counseling and treatment," The Associated Press reports. "The workers are expected to deliver the news face-to-face and give customers privacy."

According to the CDC, there are about 1.1 million Americans who are infected with HIV, but up to 20 percent of them don't know they have it. Since 2006, the CDC has recommended all Americans ages 13 to 64 get tested at least once, but fewer than half of adults under the age of 65 have done so. (Read more)

Getting tested for HIV may soon be as easy as going to the pharmacy to get a flu shot or blood pressure check. Pharmacies in 24 cities and rural communities will offer rapid HIV tests free of charge as part of a $1.2 million program. Testing is already available in Washington, D.C., Oakland, Calif., and an Indian health service clinic in Montana. The remaining 17 locations will soon be chosen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The test involves swabbing the inside of a person's mouth and preliminary results take about 20 minutes. Makers of the test say it is accurate 99 percent of the time. "If the test is positive for the AIDS virus, pharmacy employees will refer customers to a local health department or other health care providers for a lab blood test to confirm results, counseling and treatment," The Associated Press reports. "The workers are expected to deliver the news face-to-face and give customers privacy."

According to the CDC, there are about 1.1 million Americans who are infected with HIV, but up to 20 percent of them don't know they have it. Since 2006, the CDC has recommended all Americans ages 13 to 64 get tested at least once, but fewer than half of adults under the age of 65 have done so. (Read more)

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