Jeb Bush is stepping down from the board of a health care company that has reportedly profited from Obamacare, a move that comes as the Republican explores a run for the presidency.

The former Florida governors resignation from the board of directors of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. is effective Dec. 31, a Bush aide confirmed Thursday. The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on his departure.

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Bushs business record is considered a potential area of vulnerability for him should he decide to run in 2016. He has been involved in a range of ventures, including private equity funds. Those links have drawn comparisons to Mitt Romney, the GOPs 2012 nominee for president, who was attacked during his campaign over his financial entanglements.

Bushs decision on Tenet is consistent with reviewing all of his commitments as part of actively exploring a potential run, his aide said in a statement to POLITICO.

It is a natural next step as he turns his focus to more actively considering a campaign for the presidency.

According to various media reports, Tenet backed President Barack Obamas health reform act and has seen its revenues rise from it. Bushs involvement with Tenet could give ammunition to conservatives in the GOP who view him as too moderate particularly those who despise the Affordable Care Act.

The L.A. Times report noted that Bush earned cash and stock awards worth nearly $300,000 from Tenet in 2013 and sold $1.1 million in Tenet stock that year. Tenet media officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Bush would be stepping down as a paid adviser to the British bank Barclays by years end. Aides to Bush have also said he has stopped delivering highly paid speeches; the Republican has plans to travel across the country to meet with voters as he mulls a White House run.

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Jeb Bush leaving health-care company

Health care has so much going on that it is hard to choose just 10 stories that had the most impact. Health care providers are learning new ways to do everything that we do. The transitions in health care are technology related, system structured and necessary due to the increasing cost of health care.

Here are the 10 stories that will likely have an effect for many years to come.

1. Non-physician graduates exceed physician graduates in the United States. Of the 43,000 new American graduates entering the workforce each year, only about half are physicians, the other half are nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA). Future physicians will be at an increasingly smaller percentage. New NP and PA programs have opened up at an incredibly fast rate. Some of these programs have the ability to train almost entirely via the Internet. This nontraditional training style is transforming health care education and contributed to the increased number of non-physician providers.

2. Marijuana moves towards an alcohol equivalent. All told, 23 states have approved the legalized use of marijuana in some regard. The shredded leaves of cannabis sativa have become a medical issue Physicians are now working to better understand the medicinal drug uses, their role on prescribing or recommending treatments and how society will address cannabis usage as well as consequences of its use are increasing in importance.

3. Obamacare enrollment starts and system consolidation occurs. Obamacare is the political term for four major health care reforms: insurance reform; creation of health insurance exchanges; Medicaid expansion; and creation of accountable care organizations.

The implementation had a rocky start, which diverted attention from positive changes in the focus of the delivery of health care. Medical care is now a right, and everyone has to contribute to the system. The issues hotly debated include what services should be covered and who pays for services prior to $5,000 deductibles being met for services not covered. What the cost of this program is for individual Americans is only now becoming clear. Let the tweaking commence (once the shouting stops).

4. Assistant Physicians licensed in Missouri without residency training. Medical school graduates will be able to practice medicine without any graduate medical education for the first time due to the new legal definition created by the Missouri state legislature.

A hallmark of medical education is the slow and supervised entry into the health care system. Gradually increasing levels of responsibility with oversight insures patient care is deliberate, careful and gives opportunities for self-correction without harm. As the shortage of primary care physicians becomes increasing evident, new laws will allows physicians to practice sooner. It is a new and different world, and the experimentation has begun.

5. Sugar-sweetened beverages increase risk of coronary heart disease. The jury is back and the decision from a meta-analysis is that early and continued exposure to high-fructose corn syrup beverages will lead to an increase in coronary heart disease. While this knowledge should mean that the use of high-fructose corn syrup in the future will become more limited in its use, the result is still unclear. The first step is knowing, and now we know.

6. Ebola: Health care workers on the front lines. The most likely contact for the Ebola virus in America is a health care provider. Rare but fatal (mortality rate of 50 percent) this RNA virus is not easily contracted. The lack of infrastructure, public health or knowledge of the illness has left health care providers as a major risk group. Lack of preparedness has caused healthcare providers to feel abandoned, and vulnerable

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Dr. Tyler Cymet: 2014s top 10 health care stories

Christmas is a holiday I enjoy through the celebration and joy of others. And I love it the time of giving and singing and being with family and thinking of people who are needy.

Which is why Im thinking of what the U.S. desperately needs, and what other countries have: a universalhealthcare plan. One that Obamacare might have been, but so far isnt: a system that provides appropriate medical care to everyone who needs it, without possibly causing their debt or bankruptcy of those who are ill.

The ideal system would lack all the paperwork, except for medical records. Yourhealthinformation, including past x-ray and MRI results, pathology reports and images, doctors notes, lab tests for Lyme disease and your blood type basically everything would be accessible to all doctors who have your consent to look at them, and to you, the patient.

There would be no bills, and no billers, and no insurance companies to choose from. That whole industry and the amount of dollars, computers, Cloud-space and workers could be put to other use. Yes, Im dreaming

Photo credit: Kevin Kay/Wikimedia Commons

A few days back the State of Vermont realized or decided that its single-payer system wasnt working. The gist of the reasons Vermont gave up on this potentially wonderful program (if only it were a health care tech start-up!) was economic. Part of the problem was that the Vermont plan posed a burden to local businesses, including a hefty pay-roll tax.

And thats similar to the problem were encountering nationally that businesses dont want to provide insurance for their employees. The reason is simple: its too expensive. So companies are opting out, or offering cheaper plans that may not sufficiently help people when theyre ill and may need a lot of care, including critical aid from specialists at hospitals that may not accept their insurance.

Im concerned that the U.S. Supreme Court is taking up a new threat to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the case of King vs. Burwell. The issue has to do with the legality of federal subsidies for states that have declined to set up ACA insurance exchanges.

Which leads me to the key question, about which we all might agree: Can and should health care be run as a business?

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A Gift? Health Care Without The Business

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Very sick children with complex chronic illnesses can receive effective, less expensive care from a clinic that functions as a "medical home," with easy access to a team of dedicated health care professionals, a new study shows.

Children were less likely to become seriously ill and need either hospitalization or a trip to the emergency room when they received treatment at an enhanced medical home clinic at the University of Texas in Houston versus usual care, according to a report published in the Dec. 24/31 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"These are very complex children at high risk, and we don't wait until they're really sick for them to get treatment," said study author Dr. Ricardo Mosquera, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical School. "We save money because these patients are not often in the hospital," he added.

The patient-centered medical home is a concept that has become more popular with the advent of health-care reform. In a medical home, each person has a primary care physician who oversees their medical care, coordinating with specialists and any other health care workers that might be needed to keep them healthy.

This new study focused on an enhanced version of the medical home concept, Mosquera said, in which children with severe chronic illnesses were enrolled in intense coordinated care through the University of Texas, Houston, High-Risk Children's Clinic.

The researchers felt that medical homes' greatest potential might be in the treatment of patients with severe chronic illness, given that their care often is piecemeal, expensive and unlikely to prevent future illness.

Mosquera and his colleagues randomly assigned 105 high-risk children with chronic illness to receive comprehensive care, including treatment from primary care doctors and specialists in the same clinic. Another 96 high-risk children received regular care from doctors or clinics.

Patients were defined as high-risk with chronic illness if they had three or more emergency department visits, two or more hospitalizations, or one or more pediatric intensive care unit admissions during the previous year, and a greater than 50 percent estimated risk for hospitalization, the researchers said.

The children most often suffered from multiple illnesses, including respiratory and neurological disorders, Mosquera said.

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Coordinated Care Through 'Medical Home' Best for Chronically Ill Kids: Study

Impact of New Cholesterol Guidelines: Getting a Baseline
CSWN interviews Thomas M. Maddox, MD, MSc, of the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver, about the implications of the ACC/AHA cholesterol guidelines in a recent analysis of NCDR.

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Impact of New Cholesterol Guidelines: Getting a Baseline - Video

Why The United States Needs Healthcare Reform
First off, before I get into the question of why our healthcare system needs reform, I would like to point out that it is not because of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or unofficial...

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Our CULTURE is our BRAND ~ Atal Bihari Vajpayee
connect +919711572735 http://gplus.to/urtsam , http://www.urtsam.com http://www.fb.com/urtsam , http://www.scribd.com/urtsam You can change friends but not neighbours ~ Atal Bihari...

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Why changes in health care costs vary widely around the U.S.
More than 2.5 million people have selected a health care plan through the federal health exchange so far in the new enrollment season. This year, signing up on HealthCare.gov has been easier,...

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Why changes in health care costs vary widely around the U.S. - Video

Skip the grid PV for Phebe Hospital Liberia RREAL
Empower West Africa Health Care with Solar Power! Solar electricity for rural off-grid hospital in Liberia, West Africa: PV for Phebe.

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Skip the grid PV for Phebe Hospital Liberia RREAL - Video

the senate finance comm opened hearings today national health care plan
"farmers insurance" "health insurance" "nationwide insurance" "auto insurance" "life insurance" "car insurance quotes" "insurance quotes" "insurance companies" "general insurance" "cheap auto...

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the senate finance comm opened hearings today national health care plan - Video

uaw president woodcock urges oreorganization of health care system
"farmers insurance" "health insurance" "nationwide insurance" "auto insurance" "life insurance" "car insurance quotes" "insurance quotes" "insurance companies" "general insurance" "cheap auto...

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uaw president woodcock urges oreorganization of health care system - Video

DES MOINES | Isaiah Newsome likes to play sports and hang out with friends like any 17-year-old. But most of the time those activities are cut short as his body, stricken with sickle cell anemia since birth, fills with pain.

It just randomly happens, said Newsome, of Des Moines. Theres no really preventing it or seeing it coming.

Getting insurance to cover his health care has never been easy, but at least he has had insurance the past year. Many low-income African-American families in Iowa do not.

A University of Iowa Public Policy Center study in December 2013 found African-American and Latino Iowans do not have the same access to health care as Asian and white Iowans. The report, which used data from a survey conducted in fall 2010 and spring 2011, also found African-Americans and Latinos are more likely to need medical care.

The disparities are a result of many factors, including a lower quality of care in general; higher-than-normal unmet need for care; poor diets; a higher likelihood to seek care from a hospital emergency room; and fewer safe and supportive neighborhoods.

Social aspects including poverty level, neighborhood, culture or race, account for 90 percent of what affects health status, the studys authors concluded.

The causes of health disparity vary, but we need to look beyond health care, said Dr. Peter Damiano, director of Iowa Public Policy Center and also its health policy research program. Iowa needs to be looking at behavior, genetics and environment.

Newsomes mother, Charice Williams, did not have health insurance for herself or her children until she signed up under the Affordable Care Act in 2013.

Even though I am low income, I am still over income for things. Everything goes by your gross income instead of what you really bring home as your net pay, said Williams, who works part-time for the city of Des Moines so that she can spend time caring for her son.

The study focused on the several factors that create a disparity in care, including overall health status, insurance coverage, need and access to care, lifestyle and family and social environment.

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Iowa minority access to health care tough

Top Health Care Stocks

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Health care stocks were posting big rebounds Wednesday following yesterday's declines, with the NYSE Health Care Sector Index jumping nearly 0.8% and shares of health care companies in the S&P 500 up 1.2% as a group.

In company news, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. ( BCRX ) rose Wednesday after the company's BCX4161 experimental medication received orphan drug designation from U.S. regulators to prevent the rapid swelling of skin tissue in patients with hereditary angioedema.

BCX4161 works by selectively inhibiting plasma kallikrein and suppressing production of bradykinin, which is a peptide that causes blood vessels to dilate and smooth muscle to contract.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants orphan drug status for drugs intended to treat diseases affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans. The designation provides federal grants, tax credits, fee waviers and other incentives to support development in addition to a seven-year exclusivity period to market the drug without competition.

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Health Care Sector Update for 12/24/2014: BCRX,ACHN,BLRX,NVS

WASHINGTON (AP) The second sign-up season under President Barack Obama's health care law is off to a good start but has a way to go to make it a success, administration officials said Tuesday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said 1.9 million new customers have picked a plan as of Dec. 19 through the federal insurance market that serves 37 states. Another 4.5 million have renewed existing coverage, with most automatically re-enrolled.

The numbers don't include states running their own insurance exchanges, including California and New York. The administration will release a full 50-state report next week, Burwell said.

"We still have a lot of work to do," she said. "But this is an encouraging start."

At her year-end news conference, Burwell dodged questions about a Supreme Court case seen as the most serious threat left to Obama's law. The case, King v. Burwell, will be argued in early March.

The health care law provides taxpayer-subsidized private insurance to people who don't have access to coverage through their jobs.

Plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case argue that the law, as written, only allows subsidies in states that have established their own insurance markets. Supporters of the law say that while the text may be confusing, Congress clearly intended to subsidize coverage in all 50 states.

Burwell wouldn't outline any contingency plans in the event the court rules against the administration.

"We believe that our position is the position that is correct and accurate," she said.

More than 8 in 10 customers in the insurance markets receive subsidies. Without them millions would be unable to afford their premiums. If the court's ruling goes against the administration, it's unclear if there would be a grace period while officials pursue a legislative fix or other solutions.

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Officials cite progress on health care enrollment

By Staff Writer Bryan Construction to build new medical building

Bryan Construction won a $3.5 million contract to build the core and shell of a new 34,000-square-foot medical office building in southeastern Colorado Springs.

After tenant finishes, the two-story structure will ultimately house several medical tenants and specialties, including imaging, primary care, lab services, urgent care, physical therapy and orthopedics.

The Broadmoor Commons Medical Office Building will be built on Lake Plaza Drive, off the intersection of Lake Avenue and Venetucci Boulevard. Construction is expected to begin in January with completion in September, said Jennifer Taylor, manager of marketing and business development at Bryan Construction.

Weve successfully completed hundreds of thousands of square feet of medical space, said Doug Woody, executive manager for Bryan Construction. There should be little to no impact on the neighbors or traffic flow.

The contractor built the Harrison School District 2 Administration Building and is remodeling the interior of a medical building for the Kaiser Fountain Health Plan east of Memorial Park. It has finished projects at Fort Carson, Memorial Hospital, Penrad Imaging, Premiere Army Medical Clinic and more.

Marija B. Vader

The Tri-Lakes Health Pavilion in Monument will celebrate a community grand opening from 10 a.m.1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, with building tours, health and fitness testing, demonstrations and family activities.

The residents of northern El Paso County may see a different way of health care delivery and fitness through a collaborative network of health, wellness and preventive services.

The new pavilion will integrate advanced, individualized exercise and fitness programs, pediatric medicine, adult primary care, family nutrition, orthopedic medicine, radiology, urgent care, occupational therapy and more, all in one location. The new 50,000-square-foot building, developed by a partnership of The YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region, Centura Health and the Wisconsin-based Boldt Company, is connected to the existing Tri-Lakes YMCA, located at 17230 Jackson Creek Parkway.

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Health Care Briefs

Car Accident Personal Injury Treatment in Boynton Beach, Fl - Chiropractic Neurology
Injury Treatment - Choice Medical Center: Phone 561-736-8060 http://www.choicemedicalcenters.com/location/ Chiropractic Neurology - Florida Orthopedic Health Care.

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Car Accident Personal Injury Treatment in Boynton Beach, Fl - Chiropractic Neurology - Video

Delray Beach, Fl: Car Accident Personal Injury Treatment | Chiropractic Neurology
Injury Treatment - Choice Medical Center: Phone 561-736-8060 http://www.choicemedicalcenters.com/location/ Chiropractic Neurology - Florida Orthopedic Health Care.

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Delray Beach, Fl: Car Accident Personal Injury Treatment | Chiropractic Neurology - Video

Omega Rehab and Sport
At Omega Rehab Sport we are invested in providing the best of two distinct yet complimentary health care paradigms in solving and preventing musculoskeletal conditions and disorders: Physical...

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Omega Rehab and Sport - Video

Mercy Hospice Cares Pet Peace of Mind program receives award - Javon Bea
http://javonrbea.net/mercy-pet-peace-mind-program-gets-national-honors/ Mercy Health System is proud to announce that Mercy Hospice Care #39;s Pet Peace of Mind program in Janesville has earned...

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Mercy Hospice Cares Pet Peace of Mind program receives award - Javon Bea - Video

Sharing Korean medical insurance know-how with world
Korea is one of the few countries in the world that offers universal health insurance to its people, and it took just 12 years to provide it. Now, it is sharing its expertise with African countries...

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Sharing Korean medical insurance know-how with world - Video