How 60 of the nation’s biggest employers are uniting to fight the benefits status quo

By Kathryn Mayer

benefitnews.com – When Josh Riff was leading benefits for Target, he found himself increasingly frustrated that he wasn’t able to take more of a lead when it came to managing the healthcare of his employees. 

“All the ideas, all the innovation, everything came through [our carrier],” he says. “We were on the hook to pay for our healthcare, but we weren’t doing anything proactive to change the trend or the curve except for what our provider was telling us to do.”

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Measles cases rose nearly four-fold in first quarter 2019: WHO

By Karen Schwartz

reuters.com –GENEVA (Reuters) – The number of measles cases worldwide nearly quadrupled in the first quarter of 2019 to 112,163 against the same period last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, citing provisional data. 

Higher rates of the preventable but contagious disease – which can kill a child or leave it blind, deaf or brain-damaged – have been recorded in all regions, the United Nations agency said in a statement, appealing for better vaccination coverage.

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Smile Builders: Leader on Dental Tourism in Mexico 

Prunderground.com – Mexico City. A couple of days ago, our Smile Builders Mexican dentist, Ricardo Guevara had a meeting with the Mexican Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marques, to dialogue how important is Dental Tourism in Mexico and how Smile Builders is helping patients from all parts of the world on their oral health.

According to statistical data from Patients Beyond Borders, in 2017 Mexico attracts from 422,000 to more than one million foreign patients a year, many of whom mainly come from the states of California, Arizona, and Texas.

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Air Pollution: U.S. Ranks World’s Third Worst In Study on Asthma in Children

By Kashmira Gander 

Newsweek.com – About 4 million children develop asthma each year because they breathe in polluted air, with the U.S. ranking third worst in the world when it comes to suffering the burden of minors being exposed to traffic fumes. That’s according to new research. 

Since the 1950s, pediatric cases of asthma—which can cause wheezing, breathlessness and potentially fatal attacks—have spiked. Asthma is now the most common non-communicable disease affecting children. Existing research suggests the air pollution caused by traffic could cause the airways to become inflamed, which could, in turn, trigger asthma in those who are at genetic risk of developing the condition.

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