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Senate hearing urges action on Obama mental health care agenda

Democrats and Republicans expressed concerns about gaps in the system at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

28 Jan 2013

Roundup: Lessons from Mass. health reform; Berwick moves closer to gov. bid; Jindal reverses Medicaid hospice cut

When Massachusetts adopted its landmark health care law in 2006, the goals were ambitious and the potential solutions complex. ... What are they getting in return?

25 Jan 2013

Neurolysis combats hip replacement sciatic nerve pain

Preliminary research suggests that neurolysis can significantly reduce neuropathic pain in patients who develop sciatic nerve palsy after total hip replacement.

14 Jan 2013

Liberal Dems line up against raising Medicare's eligibility age

Proposals to raise the eligibility age continue to get traction in the fiscal negotiations between the White House and Congress. But liberal Democrats oppose it and express concern that President Barack Obama has not ruled out.

14 Dec 2012

Roundup: Mass. a template for controlling health care costs?; Fewer than expected use Minn. health care vouchers; Blue Shield in Calif.'s proposed rate hikes

This simple shift in how health care is paid for -- long seen as key to taming costs -- has been occurring in pockets of the country. But nowhere is it happening more systematically than in Massachusetts, the state that blazed a trail in 2006 by guaranteeing its residents health insurance. Now Massachusetts, a model for President Obama's 2010 national health care law, may offer another template for national leaders looking to control health spending.

13 Dec 2012

Fiscal crisis, thoughts of sequestration cause provider angst

If the "fiscal cliff's" scheduled cuts take effect, physicians will face a 2 percent reduction in Medicare reimbursements. Separately, however, they also are confronting a 27 percent pay cut as a result of the failure to fix the Medicare physician payment formula.

1 Dec 2012

USAID launches '16 Days of Activism' for Elimination of Gender Violence

"This week we launch the 16 Days of Activism for the Elimination of Gender Violence, which runs from November 25 to December 10," Carla Koppell, senior coordinator for gender equality and women's empowerment at USAID, writes in the agency's "IMPACTblog."

28 Nov 2012

Federal judge grants temporary injunction in Bible publisher's contraception rule challenge

In separate action, another judge ruled against Hobby Lobby's effort to be exempted from the contraception mandate.

21 Nov 2012

Republicans consider old, new ways to hinder health law implementation

Some Republicans and religious leaders are following through with challenges to the law's contraception coverage mandate, looking for ways to repeal a Medicare cost-cutting board and trying further to delay implementation.

9 Nov 2012

Exercise not superior to physiotherapy for neck pain

Both exercise-based interventions and physiotherapy are effective for reducing pain in patients with nonspecific neck pain, UK researchers have found, but adherence to such treatments remains a challenge.

6 Nov 2012

New anterior approach in hip-replacement surgery results in less pain, faster recovery

The morning after undergoing a total hip replacement, Sean Toohey walked up half a flight of stairs at the hospital. That afternoon, he progressed from a walker to crutches to a cane. And 15 days after his surgery, he returned to work, no longer hobbled by a severely arthritic hip that had been bone-on-bone.

6 Nov 2012

House Republicans appear to have thwarted Democratic attack on Medicare

Attacking Paul Ryan's Medicare plan -; once seen as the most potent weapon in House Democrats' campaign arsenal -; is turning out to be a dud. Democratic leaders have hit Medicare harder than any other issue for more than a year, even calling Ryan's plan a "majority-maker."

4 Nov 2012

$Arthroscopy best for scaphoid fracture assessment$

Arthroscopy best for scaphoid fracture assessment

Research shows that radiographs and computed tomography cannot replace arthroscopy for the diagnosis of unstable and displaced fractures of the scaphoid wrist.

15 Oct 2012

Hip arthroscopy traction weight key to nerve outcome

Minimizing traction weight during hip arthroscopy in the lateral position may protect against sciatic nerve injury, report US surgeons.

12 Oct 2012

Rainbow, Amarantus report joint venture agreement for NuroPro Parkinson's diagnostic platform

Rainbow Coral Corp. biotech subsidiary Rainbow BioSciences and Amarantus Biosciences have moved into the final stages of the terms for a deal. The pending joint venture agreement will see the two entities working together to move the Amarantus NuroPro Parkinson's diagnostic platform towards commercialization.

8 Oct 2012

Autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis halted in mice

Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have developed a gene-based therapy to stop the rodent equivalent of the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis by specifically targeting the destructive immune response the disorder triggers in the body.

1 Oct 2012

Report: Medical home model should have physician at the helm

A report issued Tuesday by the American Academy of Family Physicians urges the concept of medical homes as a solution to the looming primary care shortage, but argues that such practices should still be led by doctors.

20 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 19, 2012

Today's headlines include a series of reports detailing who makes up Romney's so-called "47 percent" who get tax breaks and what federal assistance they receive -- whether it is Medicare, Medicaid or another entitlement program.

19 Sep 2012

Weekly campaign highlights: Races in Penn., Iowa, Miss., and Mich.; Reports on voter-access issues

As election day approaches, Kaiser Health News' Sarah Barr will sample news coverage each week from swing states around the country – how health policy developments, and other political issues, are playing in this year's vote.

14 Sep 2012

Romney says health law isn't 'all bad'

In Sunday news appearances, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that if elected, he would dismantle the health care law, but retain some of the more popular provisions, including coverage of pre-existing conditions for those who had had continuous health insurance.

10 Sep 2012