Health Headlines for Thursday, December 10

New York State places 13th in two health care rankings

Newsday

New York has been placed 13th nationwide in two separate health rankings.

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U.S. Reports a New Low in Deaths of Infants

New York Times

Infant mortality in the United States fell to its lowest level ever in 2014, according to new federal data, as one of the biggest risk factors for infant deaths — preterm births — continued to fall.

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Empire BlueCross BlueShield names CEO

Crain’s New York Business

Lawrence Schreiber, 52, will take over as CEO of Empire, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based insurance giant Anthem, on Dec. 28.

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Happiness Doesn’t Bring Good Health, Study Finds

New York Times

Go ahead and sulk. Unhappiness won’t kill you. A study published on Wednesday in The Lancet, following one million middle-aged women in Britain for 10 years, finds that the widely held view that happiness enhances health and longevity is unfounded.

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Affordable Care Act Plans Get 1 Million New Subscribers

New York Times

A million new customers have signed up for health insurance during the Affordable Care Act’s third open-enrollment season, Obama administration officials said on Wednesday, and call centers have been deluged with requests from others eager to enroll.

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