If youre looking for a new job, as more Americans are these days, there couldnt be a surer bet than the health-care sector. Of the 665,000 jobs the economy added in 2012, 158,000 of them have been in health care. Even when the economy was shedding huge numbers of jobs in 2008 and 2009, the sector was still growing:

The health-care sector keeps getting bigger largely because our health-care needs keep growing: Americans are getting older. At the same time, study after study finds there arent enough doctors to care for them. This all should make a field such as nursing a pretty certain slam dunk, right?

Wrong: David Glenn, a nursing student at University of Maryland who blogs at Notes on Nursing, flags a new study showing that nearly a third of recent nursing graduates are having trouble finding jobs.

The National Student Nurses Association surveyed 3,733 nursing students in September 2011, about four months after their graduation. Among them, 36 percent said they were not yet employed. It wasnt for lack of effort: 26 percent reported difficulty getting a job in their preferred specialty, while 55 percent couldnt find employment in a preferred geographic area.

A lot of this could have to do with older nurses staying, during a tough economy, longer than had been expected. A separate survey, this one of nurses employers, found that the majority of institutions that hire nurses have a pretty low vacancy rate, less than 5 percent. The vacancy rate for bedside nurses continues to be lower than typical and is a clear indication that nurses are binding themselves to the workforce with many delaying retirement, the report from Nursing Solutions, Inc. found.

A lot of it also has to do with geography. As mentioned earlier, more than half of the unemployed nursing school graduates said they couldnt find a job in the geographic region they preferred. In health reform, theres a lot of talk about impending doctor and nurse shortages. But some would argue our problem is less of a shortage and more of a poor distribution of resources: Health-care professionals end up concentrated in metropolitan areas, with few to serve those in rural communities.

That seems to be true for nurses. About 83 percent live in large metropolitan areas, according to the Health Resources and Service Administration. Graduates may encounter more demand looking in more rural areas, such as Nevada, which has 604 nurses for every 100,000 people (one of the countrys lowest rates). The nursing jobs may be available, but not necessarily where theyre desired by recent nursing graduates.

Continued here:

The health-care sector is booming. So why are nurses having trouble finding jobs?

INDIANAPOLIS A dispute over the new health care law's tax hike on medical device-makers became a proxy last week for the larger philosophical differences between Indiana's two U.S. Senate hopefuls.

It started when the Republican candidate, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, said at a stop in Churubusco, Ind., that the tax increase is a "terrible thing that threatens jobs" and linked it to the Democratic candidate, U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly.

Donnelly's camp then responded by accusing Mourdock of distorting the three-term congressman's record. He supported the health care law, but opposed the medical device tax hike and has worked to repeal that portion.

If you're grading the truthfulness of their arguments, both Mourdock and Donnelly get partial credit.

Had Donnelly and some of his conservative Democratic colleagues such as former U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth, who was hammered over this issue in his failed 2010 U.S. Senate campaign, not voted for the health care law in the first place, the medical device tax would not exist.

The 2.3 percent excise tax on sales above $5 million for medical device-makers was expected to raise about $30 billion over a decade an important step toward footing the law's price tag for a major Medicaid expansion and more.

However, Donnelly's been a vocal critic of the tax, which would put the pinch on areas like Warsaw, Ind., that are known as industry hubs. He cites it as the top example of how the health care law needs "fixing."

And he's done something about it. Donnelly co-sponsored a measure approved by the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday that would repeal the tax.

Thus, Indiana Democratic Party spokesman Ben Ray hit Mourdock on Friday over his criticism of Donnelly.

"This attack is dishonest, and it's exactly what's wrong with Richard Mourdock's 'my way or the highway' mentality. Joe Donnelly is working with both Republicans and Democrats to repeal the medical device tax, something that wouldn't be possible if he played by Mourdock's rules," Ray said.

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Medical device tax becomes proxy for philosophical dispute between U.S. Senate candidates

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Treating You Better for Less

Deputy Editorial Page Editor

First, a word about what this weeks column is not about.

Its not about whether Obamacare is the best prescription to cure the drawbacks and disparities in Americas health-care system.

Its not about policy buzzwords like individual mandates, risk pools or severability.

Its about just one question: Can the government order its citizens to act against their religious faith?

You probably thought that question had been answered more than 200 years ago. The Founding Fathers hammered out the First Amendment to the Constitution ensuring the free exercise of religion without government meddling.

The White House thinks otherwise.

PRESIDENT OBAMAS health-care initiative includes a mandate directed at religiously affiliated employers and their health providers. They must offer insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs such as the morning-after pill.

In the words of John Garvey, president of the Catholic University of America: Its like compelling Jehovahs Witnesses to salute the flag, or Quakers to fight, or Jews to eat pork.

Of course such a mandate runs utterly contrary to the Catholic Churchs unwavering respect for human life. Its an unshakable pillar of Catholic faith and a component of its formidable care network 56 Catholic health-care systems nationwide, whose hospitals employ more than 750,000 workers. One in six U.S. patients regardless of faith are treated in Catholic hospitals.

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Health-care mandate is unhealthy for religious expression

31-05-2012 07:40 OSA Health care preview

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OSA Health care preview - Video

Recognition is for quality and safety. The Joint Commission, an independent evaluating and accrediting agency, has awarded Easton Hospital its Gold Seal of Approval for meeting the commission's national standards for health-care quality and safety in hospitals.

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Easton Hospital gets Joint Commission's gold seal

June 1, 2012

By Warren Kagarise

NEW 12:20 p.m. June 1, 2012

In a stop at Issaquah High School early Friday, state Attorney General Rob McKenna defended Washingtons participation in a lawsuit against federal health care law, days before the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling.

Rob McKenna

The top legal officer in the state used the health care lawsuit to illustrate the concept of federalism powers shared by state and federal governments to seniors in Jeremy Ritzers Advanced Placement Government & Politics class.

The lawsuit stems from a provision in the Affordable Care Act a requirement for all Americans to enroll in a health insurance plan or pay a penalty.

Under that mandate, for the first time, Congress is attempting to do something which theyve never tried before in our countrys history, McKenna said. Theyre telling Americans that they have to go into the private markets to buy a commercial product health insurance with their own money.

If the Supreme Court upholds the health care law, the individual mandate is scheduled to go into effect in 2014.

The real motivation is to get younger, healthy people to subsidize everybody elses health insurance for them, McKenna said.

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Rob McKenna defends health care lawsuit in Issaquah High School stop

Political leaders across Canada are teaming up with doctors and nurses for the first time to develop national standards for delivering primary health-care services, including treating chronic diseases.

The goal is to protect the countrys cherished universal system at a time when chronic disease is on the rise and provinces are under pressure to rein in health-care costs. But the initiative runs the risk of stalling unless the Ontario government ends its bitter standoff with the provinces doctors over fees.

We are not going to transform health care for the benefit of Canadians unless there is a co-operative approach, Canadian Medical Association president John Haggie said on Friday at a meeting of provincial and territorial health ministers in Toronto. You cant coerce goodwill from people, and you cant make a system change by fiat.

The health-care practitioners with the knowhow and the politicians with the power to make change all need to be in the same room, Dr. Haggie said at a news conference.

In an effort to create momentum, the meeting was led by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz, co-chairs of a working group on health-care innovation. Mr. Wall pledged during the news conference to move quickly and deliver a report to his provincial colleagues in July at the premiers annual meeting.

It cant just be a report that gathers dust, he said.

This is not the first time premiers have tried to develop a pan-Canadian approach to health care. At their annual meeting in 2010, they unveiled plans to set up a national agency that would be responsible for purchasing prescription drugs. But Mr. Wall and Mr. Ghiz both expressed frustration that little progress has been made in using the provinces combined purchasing power to lower drug costs.

The premiers are now turning their attention to improving primary health care and clinical practices as most regions confront an aging population, coupled with a growing numbers of Canadians suffering from diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Judith Shamian, president of the Canadian Nurses Association, told reporters this country is very good at delivering acute care in hospitals. But it lags other developed countries in primary care, including services to keep seniors in their homes longer.

Dr. Shamian acknowledged that the collaborative initiative could have started sooner. But better later than never, she said.

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Initiative seeks pan-Canadian approach to health care

by Jennifer Gollan for California Watch

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An effort to impose spending restrictions on California's taxpayer-funded health care districts is on hold until next year.

Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, said he plansto introduce a bill in January requiring more "transparency" and more "accountability" from those districts. The new legislation would mandate how much tax revenue districts must spend on community health care programs.

The state's 74 health care districts were created to provide medical care to low-income and rural communities, but a recent Bay Citizen investigation found about 30 of those districts no longer run hospitals. Instead, some districts are managing real estate, stockpiling cash and pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into dubious projects at the expense of community health care programs.

But lawmakers failed to take action on his bill last week, after some Assembly members said that some districts could not afford to comply with the bill's reporting requirements.The Assembly Appropriations Committee had estimated those requirements would cost districtsmore than $100,000.

The lawmakers who opposed the bill were in session yesterday and unavailable for comment.

Gordon said he would consider ways to bring down those costs before he introduces his new bill.

"It gives us an opportunity to say how can we make this bill better," said Gordon,who co-authored the legislation withAssemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento. "I remain concerned that health care districts, particularly those that are no longer running hospitals, should guarantee that tax dollars are being well spent."

Supporters of Gordon's bill were disappointed that lawmakers chose not to vote on his legislation.

"It's unfortunate," said Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a nonprofit health advocacy organization based in Sacramento. "It was a common sense reform. The bill that was introduced was reflective of new scrutiny that is on these districts. We hope that legislators will continue to look at this issue, especially as the state continues to make very tough cuts."

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Ccalifornia health care district reforms are on hold

A contract dispute that prevented patients covered by insurance policies from Coventry Health Care from using HCA Virginia Health System hospitals has been resolved.

HCA is the parent company of Salem-based LewisGale Regional Health System. Because of the expired contract, patients with Coventry insurance were told that they could not seek inpatient treatment at any of the for-profit system's hospitals, including the four in Southwest Virginia.

The two reached an agreement Wednesday, two months after the previous contract expired, LewisGale spokeswoman Nancy May said. The contract dispute did not affect outpatient services at surgery centers, imaging centers or physician offices, May said.

The new contract covers hospital services for all Coventry products, which are known by names, including Southern Health and CareNet.

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Coventry Health Care, HCA Virginia Health System settle insurance coverage dispute - http://www.roanoke.com

State health officials announced Friday they have fined the operator of Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta $100,000 for a violation involving a fetal death in 2010.

The fine against Southwest Healthcare System was the highest among penalties levied by the California Department of Public Health on 13 hospitals around the state as a result of Southwest having incurred numerous violations over a three-year period.

The most recent fine resulted from the failure of a nurse to notify a physician of an abnormal fetal heart pattern shortly before a woman was to give birth, according to the health department's report.

Upon delivery, the baby was not breathing and lacked a heart beat, the report states, and resuscitation efforts failed.

The doctor who performed the delivery told state investigators there was a partial separation of the placenta that had disrupted the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus.

Riverside County coroner's officials determined the delay in notifying the physician and in performing emergency measures contributed to the death.

The health department concluded the hospital was at fault.

"Based on interview(s), record review and facility document review, the facility failed to ensure the labor and delivery nurses provided emergency measures in order to sustain life," the report states.

In response to the incident, the hospital's Women's Services management introduced an educational program for nurses on fetal assessment and instituted stricter monitoring in advance of child birth.

Also, the report states the nurse responsible for the error resigned after going through educational counseling at the hospital.

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MURRIETA: Health-care provider fined $100,000

BOISE, Idaho -- Several times a week, health care workers show up on Tom Thompson's doorstep south of Boise.

A nurse and health care worker make sure that Thompson, 82, is taking the right medications and that his breathing isn't too labored from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.

Thompson won't recover from his disease, and he's already made choices about the end of his life: no artificial means.

Being able to leave detailed instructions is possible thanks to a relatively new and sophisticated approach that is making Idaho one of the most advanced states in the nation for helping residents get exactly the care they want at the end of their lives.

Idahoans now have access to a detailed form approved by the state to be filled out with the help of health care professionals. Once signed by a doctor or nurse practitioner, the document is legally binding. Patients can register the document with the secretary of state, making it available online to any provider.

Thompson got assistance with his form from workers at Boise's Life's Doors Hospice and Home Health Care.

"I don't want to be on life-support garbage," Thompson said. "I don't want to live longer than my kids. I've signed it all."

When many Idaho residents approach the end, they want to know that their wishes for care -- or the lack thereof -- are respected and followed.

For a while, that was a problem. As recently as 2002, Idaho received a D-plus grade from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation when it came to looking after the wishes of elderly and dying patients.

Until 2007, Idaho offered only the form known as Comfort One, a do-not-resuscitate form. Such DNRs, as they are known, inform doctors and nurses when a patient doesn't want heroic measures to prolong life.

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Idaho leads at helping people die their own way

By JOY BROWN

STAFF WRITER

Regardless of the politics involved, the 2010 federal health care law has put a necessary spotlight on medical drawbacks in this country, two hospital administrators told a Findlay audience Friday.

Speaking personally rather than as representatives of their organizations, Dr. William Kose and Chris Press said changes must be made to address health care's efficiency, expense and effectiveness.

Kose, chief quality officer for the nonprofit Blanchard Valley Health System and a former physician, said he thinks the federal health care law, intended to overhaul insurance coverage, reduce costs and prevent fraud, may be repealed.

"But we're still going to have to do something as a society," Kose said at a Republican Party First Friday lunch.

The hospital administrators used the recent case of a 93-year-old Blanchard Valley Hospital patient with back problems to advocate health care reform.

Kose said the woman was diagnosed with a collapsed vertebrae. Traditional treatment for the elderly with this condition includes bed rest and pain management.

But the woman didn't meet the criteria for a three-day hospital admission which, under Medicare rules, would have qualified her for subsequent placement in a nursing home.

The patient also had no family living nearby who could take her in, Kose said. Keeping her in the hospital as an "observation patient" who didn't merit serious medical intervention would have been more costly than actual admission, he said, and would risk a hefty Medicare penalty for not adhering to standards.

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Health care officials say changes needed

Editors note: One in a series of activities for youth available this summer.

Two camps for teenagers set for July will offer a look at health care careers and a little bit extra.

Not only will our camps be free, but participants will get paid, said Lisa Wade Raasch, the executive director of the Eastern Oklahoma Health Care Coalition.

The coalition is sponsoring the two camps with Indian Capital Technology Center and the Northeast Area Health Education Center. The camps will take place at the ICTC Muskogee campus, 2401 N. 41st St. N.

Students in grades 10-12 can take part in the MASH Camp the week of July 9-13. MASH stands for Muskogee Area Science and Health.

Students in grades seven through nine can take part in Camp MD (Medical Detective).

Applications are due by June 11, and space is limited, Raasch said.

The camps are geared to interest kids interested in health care careers. Part of the camps professional atmosphere includes payment of a stipend to students of $25 to $50, depending on what the budget allows, Raasch said.

ICTC health care instructor Andrea McElmurry said: There is a big demand for health care professionals in the area. And there are so many different careers.

Participants will get How to Examine Patients kits that contain authentic medical devices such as stethoscopes, she said.

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Health care career camps target teens

By David Williamson | More Articles May 31, 2012 |

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which health care editor/analyst David Williamson discusses topics across the investing world.

In today's edition, we put the three health care components of the Dow head to head to determine which is the best stock. Will it be highly diversified Johnson & Johnson, radically revamping Pfizer, or lurking big pharma member Merck? The answer may surprise you.

Health care investors are always looking for the next big breakthrough. Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner recently identified a small-cap health care company that he believes is poised for monster returns. To uncover this top pick today, enjoy the special free report "Discover the Next Rule-Breaking Multibagger."Don't miss out on this limited-time offer and your opportunity to discover this game-changing company before the market does. Click here to access your report -- it's totally free.

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Dow Health Care Smackdown

Story by Jennifer Gollan

An effort to impose spending restrictions on California's taxpayer-funded health care districts is on hold until next year.

Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, said he plansto introduce a bill in January requiring more "transparency" and more "accountability" from those districts. The new legislation would mandate how much tax revenue districts must spend on community health care programs.

The state's 74 health care districts were created to provide medical care to low-income and rural communities, but a recent Bay Citizen investigation found about 30 of those districts no longer run hospitals. Instead, some districts are managing real estate, stockpiling cash and pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into dubious projects at the expense of community health care programs.

Gordon had co-sponsored legislation earlier this yearrequiring those districts to spend at least 95 percent of their annual tax revenue on community health programs and tosubmit detailed financial reports to local oversight agencies.

But lawmakers failed to take action on his bill last week, after some Assembly members said that some districts could not afford to comply with the bills reporting requirements.The Assembly Appropriations Committee had estimated those requirements would cost districtsmore than $100,000.

The lawmakers who opposed the bill were in session yesterday and unavailable for comment.

Gordon said he would consider ways to bring down those costs before he introduces his new bill.

It gives us an opportunity to say how can we make this bill better, said Gordon,who co-authored the legislation withAssemblyman Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento. I remain concerned that health care districts, particularly those that are no longer running hospitals, should guarantee that tax dollars are being well spent.

Supporters of Gordon's bill were disappointed that lawmakers chose not to vote on his legislation.

Continued here:

Health care district reforms are on hold

The best outcome for most health-care stocks would be if the Affordable Care Act were upheld by the Supreme Court, analysts say.

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Health-care Stocks: Best outcome for health stocks? Uphold law

I am sitting in the radiology department reception area at Mt. Sinai Hospital waiting for my name to be called. Two weeks ago, my doctor ordered a CT scan to explore some back pain she assumed would turn out to be an ovarian cyst or a stress fracture. Instead, it turned up kidney cancer.

Now, I am about to undergo a test to map out the topography and blood flow of my kidneys, which my surgeon will use to guide him to the lesion and safely remove it. When the nurse calls my name, I head up to the check-in desk.

"I'm sorry," she says as she lowers her eyes and hands me the phone.

On the other end of the line, a woman identifies herself as a "third-party intermediary" for my insurance company. She says she is calling to inform me that the procedure I am scheduled to have in just a few minutes has been approved and the facility I have selected is in network. However, my chosen provider is more expensive than other options and may result in a higher co-payment.

"You may cancel your test and reselect a cheaper provider," she tells me.

I am stunned. Then, I ask the obvious question: "If I stay, how much will it cost me?"

Her answer is that she is not authorized to give me that information and, no, she cannot tell me the price differential between staying and going somewhere else. For that, I will have to speak to my insurance company directly.

I decide to do just that. As the nurse behind the reception desk dials the number for me, she mentions how these third-party calls have been escalating in frequency.

"What do most people do?" I ask her.

"A lot of them hang up and walk out," she says.

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Health Care: What Will You Pay?

The Health Care sector (XLV) showed little movement on a trading day that saw S&P 500 fall 0.2%.

While being down today, the ETF, as a proxy for sector performance, tracked closer to the overall market today than over the past month. Entering today's trading, XLV was down 4% over the last thirty trading days while the S&P 500 was down 6.6%.

Increasing 15.6% (+65 cents) to close at $4.81, Synta Pharmaceuticals (SNTA) was a major gainer in the sector. Today, 2.1 million shares traded hands. The stock traded in a range of $4.19 to $5.10. Shares price has risen 91 cents (23.3%) from $3.90 on May 23, 2012.

Osiris Therapeutics (OSIR) was one of the sector's big losers, as its price dropped 9.3% (-65 cents) to close at $6.33. 562,837 shares of the stock moved. The stock traded between $6.22 and $6.84. The stock has risen $1.63 (34.7%) over the last three months from a price of $4.70 on March 5, 2012.

BG Medicine (BGMD) rose 7.2% to close at $5.35, cross its 50-day moving average of $5.08 and 200-day moving average of $5.61.

MAP Pharmaceuticals (MAPP) rose 4.4% to close at $11.77, approaching its 50-day moving average of $12.37. It has also moved closer to its 200-day moving average of $14.03. Alexion Pharmaceuticals (BMRN) fell 1.2% to close at $90.57, moving closer to its 50-day moving average of $89.44. Also, the stock moved closer to its 200-day moving average of $34.95.

Utah Medical Products (UTMD) hit a new 52-week high today, reaching $34.10 to top the previous high of $33.71.

Shire Plc. (SHPGY) hit a new 52-week low today, hitting $83.88 to fall below the previous low of $85.60.

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Health Care Sector Wrap

There's been a jump in the number of Queenslanders complaining about the quality of their health care.

Almost 2700 people lodged complaints with the independent health watchdog, the Health Quality and Complaints Commission (HQCC), in 2011 - up seven per cent on 2010.

The HQCC's annual snapshot has been released amid claims it is failing patients.

Independent MP Peter Wellington has referred medical misconduct allegations involving seven doctors in four Queensland hospitals to the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

He said there is strong evidence to suggest regulatory bodies, including the HQCC, are failing in their duties and allowing doctors accused of gross medical negligence to continue practising.

In releasing the 2011 snapshot, HQCC chief executive Cheryl Herbert said complaints about the quality of treatment were the most common (61 per cent).

'Complainants cited concerns about inadequate treatment or care, diagnosis, unexpected outcomes or complications, and wrong or inappropriate treatment,' she said in a statement.

Complaints about public hospitals far outstripped those for private hospitals (62 per cent to 9.5 per cent).

Doctors and dentists attracted the most complaints among registered healthcare practitioners.

Prof Herbert said they provided more complex, and therefore higher risk, services than other providers and patients often viewed them as the people primarily responsible for their healthcare.

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Jump in health care complaints in Qld