Arthritis, psoriasis drugs may lower diabetes risk (Morning Read)

Current medical news from today, including: a new way to lower diabetes risk, a glitch in health reform, and why consumers prefer "hospital" to "medical center."

Current healthcare news and unique business news for anyone who cares about the healthcare industry.

A new way of lowering diabetes risk? A new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that patients on one of three rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis drugs — Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade, Abbott Laboratories’ Humira or Amgen’s Enbrel — had a 38 percent lower risk of developing diabetes. The treatments may fight diabetes by suppressing the immune system or slowing the body’s metabolism of insulin, a researcher said.

The big “glitch”: Under a glitch in the federal health overhaul, a married couple could have an annual income of about $64,000 and still be eligible to enroll in Medicaid. The issue is that Social Security benefits would no longer be counted as income for determining eligibility.

Just call it a hospital: Consumers prefer the name “hospital” to “medical center,” associating hospitals with more services, better care, new medicine, and expert physicians, compared to medical centers’ offerings, according to a new survey.

Score one for the American public: Despite lawmakers’ frequent (and laughable) claims that the U.S. has the best healthcare system in the world, only 24 percent of Americans view it as even among the world’s best systems, according to a new report.

Thumbs down for Novartis: An FDA advisory committee voted 11-1 against approving a gout-pain drug from Novartis, called Ilaris. Patients receiving just one injection had a higher rate of serious infections in clinical studies.

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