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HealthSouth plans to construct 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Georgia

HealthSouth Corporation announced today that it plans to build a 50-bed comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Newnan, Ga. [More]
New data highlights urgent crisis posed on US healthcare system by DFUs and VLUs

New data highlights urgent crisis posed on US healthcare system by DFUs and VLUs

Organogenesis Inc., a commercial leader in the field of regenerative medicine, presented new data generated in collaboration with a team of expert economists from Analysis Group (a leading health economics consultancy) demonstrating the significant healthcare resource and economic burden that diabetic foot ulcers and venous leg ulcers place upon the US healthcare system. [More]
First Edition: May 23, 2013

First Edition: May 23, 2013

Today's headlines include various status updates about state activity regarding the health law's online insurance marketplaces. [More]

American Heart Association: Costs to treat stroke may increase to $183.13 billion in 2030

Costs to treat stroke are projected to more than double and the number of people having strokes may increase 20 percent by 2030, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. [More]

Cancer risk to increase following CT scans in younger patients, study reveals

Study leader, Professor John Mathews from the University of Melbourne said this small increase in cancer risk must be weighed against the undoubted benefits from CT scans in diagnosing and monitoring disease. [More]

As Hill panels focus on Medicare, marketplace examines how Part D changed the pharmaceutical industry

Medicare is a topic of conversation on Capitol Hill as a Senate committee holds a hearing on the Medicare Part D drug program. Meanwhile, on the House side, members of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee heard testimony on patient cost-sharing that triggered a broad discussion of health care incentives within the program. [More]
Viewpoints: Mass. experience may not be true test for national health law; 'Dishonest' campaign by medical device makers

Viewpoints: Mass. experience may not be true test for national health law; 'Dishonest' campaign by medical device makers

Massachusetts is often held up as a window into America's health insurance future, because it embarked on what came to be called the Romneycare reform six years ago. Like the Affordable Care Act provisions going into effect nationwide next year, Romneycare aimed to increase the fraction of the population with health insurance by imposing mandates on employers and employees and by subsidizing health insurance plans for middle-class families without employer plans. [More]
Hospitals earn nearly nine times more for treating patients who develop CLABSIs, study reports

Hospitals earn nearly nine times more for treating patients who develop CLABSIs, study reports

Johns Hopkins researchers report that hospitals may be reaping enormous income for patients whose hospital stays are complicated by preventable bloodstream infections contracted in their intensive care units. [More]

Medicaid expansion popular in Southern states, despite govs' opposition

A poll by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies found popular support for this and other health law provisions in five southern states despite the conservative political climate. Meanwhile, expansion supporters are strategizing about their next moves in states where they have not been successful. [More]

Health issues play a part in House immigration talks, budget cuts

Politico reports that issues related to the health benefits made available to undocumented immigrants as they seek citizenship could muddy House negotiations. In addition, House Republicans have pressed forward with budget cuts that would impact Indian health care and a number of other domestic programs. [More]

First Edition: May 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the Medicaid expansion is shaking out in Virginia and Texas, as well as a report about the role health care is playing as the House attempts to negotiate an immigration reform measure. [More]
Viewpoints: Slowing health costs; What causes genetic testing to be so expensive; Iowa governor offers Medicaid supports a 'glimmer of hope'

Viewpoints: Slowing health costs; What causes genetic testing to be so expensive; Iowa governor offers Medicaid supports a 'glimmer of hope'

We have done it. We have decreased the increase in the cost of healthcare. ... Is this decline the desperately needed bend in the healthcare cost curve or just the impact of the depressed economy? ... A slower growth of healthcare cost would mean less burden on the individual family, freeing that family to invest in and live a higher quality of life. [More]

Research suggests that IMRT may not be more effective in patients who had prostatectomy

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy has become the most commonly used type of radiation in prostate cancer, but research from the University of North Carolina suggests that the therapy may not be more effective than older, less expensive forms of radiation therapy in patients who have had a prostatectomy. [More]

New analysis finds more seniors living in poverty

The estimate, which takes health spending and other factors into account, concluded that 1 in 7 seniors lives in poverty. Projections indicate that number could go up if certain Medicare reforms took effect. [More]
First Edition: May 21, 2013

First Edition: May 21, 2013

Today's headlines include stories examining how the approaching implementation of some health law provisions is highlighting key policy questions. [More]

No significant benefit differences between IMRT and CRT therapies after prostatectomy

Use of the newer, more expensive intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and use of the older conformal radiotherapy (CRT) after surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland were associated with similar morbidity and cancer control outcomes, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. [More]

Health law's insurance exchanges are not mirror image of Mass. version

Some of the state's features that advocates say helped consumers make their insurance-purchasing decisions were not included in the the federal health law. [More]

CBO: Obama's budget would reduce Medicare spending by $364B

The Congressional Budget Office estimated Friday that President Obama's budget would reduce Medicare spending by $364 billion over the next decade and would reduce future budget deficits. The White House and Congress will likely soon need to work on a long-term budget solution as the nation again approaches its debt limit. [More]

Employers eye limited plans to avoid health law penalties

The Wall Street Journal reports that "bare-bones" health plans may help some employers avoid the law's fines. Meanwhile, the Journal Sentinel explores how investors are assessing winning or losing stocks as a result of the law's implementation. [More]

Republicans ask GAO to probe Sebelius' fundraising

GOP lawmakers seek an investigation of the Health and Human Services secretary's efforts to secure more funding for a private group that will help with the implementation of the health law. At the same time, an HHS spokesman offered more detail regarding whom she contacted. [More]