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State highlights: Medicaid bankruptcy ruling could save some nursing homes; high HIV rates in Southern states

A federal judge's recent ruling blocking Medicaid officials from cutting off a struggling nursing home could help troubled health care facilities survive using bankruptcy, according to restructuring professionals.

23 Sep 2014

Court dumps Obamacare lawsuit brought by doctors

A federal appeals court in Chicago tosses a lawsuit challenging the administration's delay of the health law's employer mandate -- a case similar to the one that House Republicans plan to file.

23 Sep 2014

Police, parents learning to better handle mental illness

And in Arizona, a judge approved an agreement to expand services for the people with serious mental illnesses, ending a 30-year-old class action lawsuit.

23 Sep 2014

Rutgers awarded $2 million NIH grant to prepare students for academic research careers

Rutgers is one of seven institutions in the country selected by the National Institutes of Health to receive this year's BEST Award - a $2 million grant designed to expose many of the university's most promising biomedical sciences graduate trainees to career opportunities that go beyond the academic path that they have traditionally taken.

23 Sep 2014

University of Louisville School of Medicine completes renovation of instructional building

Ushering in a new era in medical education, officials with the University of Louisville School of Medicine formally celebrated the completion of a $9 million renovation of the school's 40-year-old instructional building.

23 Sep 2014

New study reveals differences in payment and income between physicians

A surprising new study pulls back the curtain on one of the most contentious issues in health care: differences in payment and income between physicians who perform operations, procedures or tests, and those who don’t.

23 Sep 2014

Poll survey shows majority of uninsured Americans unaware of individual mandate and state exchanges

While the percentage of Americans without health insurance has fallen from 22 to 15 percent over the past 11 months, a new Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of the national non-profit Transamerica Center for Health Studies (TCHS) found that nearly half (46 percent) of those who remain uninsured have still not heard of the individual mandate, and 43 percent have not heard of the Exchanges where they may be eligible to purchase health insurance.

23 Sep 2014

Study: Ebola outbreak could infect more people unless rigorous control measures are implemented

Unless Ebola control measures in West Africa are enhanced quickly, experts from the World Health Organization and Imperial College, London, predict numbers will continue to climb exponentially, and more than 20,000 people will have been infected by early November, according to a new article in the New England Journal of Medicine released six months after WHO was first notified of the outbreak in West Africa.

23 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: CHIP funding needed; GOP's flawed plan to make 'the pill' OTC; millennials' health issues

Federal financing for a beneficial health insurance program for low-income children, known as the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP, will run out next year unless Congress agrees to extend it. Bills are pending in both the House and the Senate to extend financing for four years, to 2019. Congress should approve the extension in the lame-duck session after the midterm elections so that families and state officials will know what the future holds. The program needs to be maintained amid uncertainty as to whether other good coverage will be available for these children (9/21).

23 Sep 2014

Two recent GAO reports help GOP refocus health law opposition

Lifted by a pair of federal audits that found major flaws with the law's implementation, Republicans see their first chance in months to launch a serious attack against the law. ... One report by the independent Government Accountability Office found that some insurers were ignoring federal rules that prevented women from paying for abortions through their subsidized plans – one of the most divisive pieces of the law. A second GAO report found security weaknesses in healthcare.gov, the website for the federal exchange. GOP lawmakers and activists say the reports lend legitimacy to their opposition of the law, even if they are no longer talking about a repeal (Ferris, 9/21).

23 Sep 2014

Highlights: Hawaii public hospital cuts; La. struggles with state worker health program costs; aging in Ky.

Public hospitals across Hawaii are finding ways to reduce staff and cut services because they don't have enough money to make ends meet. Executives from the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. told lawmakers Friday that even after layoffs they are facing a $30 million deficit in 2015. One hospital on Maui chose to close its adolescent psychology unit because it couldn't sustain the appropriate staffing levels to provide the services. It's also considering cuts to oncology and dialysis services if the situation doesn't improve (9/20).

23 Sep 2014

Premium rate reviews saved $1 billion for consumers, HHS says

The health law mandated that state regulators review health insurance increases of 10 percent or more.

23 Sep 2014

New Medicaid enrollees pleased with coverage, but note they still face obstacles

Focus-group research finds that people who received Medicaid coverage under the health law's expansion are generally happy but find roadblocks to getting care, The Washington Post reports.

23 Sep 2014

UHC participates in three-year project to improve quality of care and reduce overall costs

UHC will be participating in a three-year project, funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, that aims to improve the quality of care and the patient experience while reducing the overall cost of care by enhancing communication and coordination between primary care physicians and specialists.

23 Sep 2014

Daktari receives NIH SBIR grant to develop point-of-care sickle cell diagnostic test

Daktari Diagnostics, in collaboration with Harvard University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of Zambia in Lusaka, is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research grant by the National Institute of Health for a point-of-care sickle cell diagnostic test.

23 Sep 2014

Despite FDA warning, many gynecologists still using controversial surgical tool

Federal officials warned in April that the tool, called a morcellator, can spread undetected cancer.

23 Sep 2014

Congress approves measure to tighten scrutiny, inspections of hospices

Hospice agencies must subject themselves to government inspections at least once every three years under new legislation approved by Congress, part of a measure that addresses concerns about substandard operators in the booming industry.

23 Sep 2014

'Drive-by doctoring' during surgery can add a surprise to the bill

The New York Times examines the growing -- and lucrative -- practice among doctors to call in colleagues to consult during a surgery or afterward. The need is sometimes questionable, and patients often don't even know the second doctor was involved until the bill arrives.

23 Sep 2014

Medicare experiment shows initial promise

Accountable care organizations, an Affordable Care Act model that rewards providers who produce better quality at lower cost, are showing promise in Wisconsin and Iowa. Meanwhile, a top Medicare adviser outlines other needed changes.

22 Sep 2014

Feds vow improved, but not perfect, HealthCare.gov

Officials running the federal health insurance website hope to resolve glitches before open enrollment begins Nov. 15, but warn consumers not to expect a seamless experience. Meanwhile, the unusually low enrollment in Obamacare plans in Iowa and South Dakota stemmed from one insurer's business decisions.

22 Sep 2014

Health Care News and Research

State highlights: Medicaid bankruptcy ruling could save some nursing homes; high HIV rates in Southern states

Court dumps Obamacare lawsuit brought by doctors

Police, parents learning to better handle mental illness

Rutgers awarded $2 million NIH grant to prepare students for academic research careers

University of Louisville School of Medicine completes renovation of instructional building

New study reveals differences in payment and income between physicians

Poll survey shows majority of uninsured Americans unaware of individual mandate and state exchanges

Study: Ebola outbreak could infect more people unless rigorous control measures are implemented

Viewpoints: CHIP funding needed; GOP's flawed plan to make 'the pill' OTC; millennials' health issues

Two recent GAO reports help GOP refocus health law opposition

Highlights: Hawaii public hospital cuts; La. struggles with state worker health program costs; aging in Ky.

Premium rate reviews saved $1 billion for consumers, HHS says

New Medicaid enrollees pleased with coverage, but note they still face obstacles

UHC participates in three-year project to improve quality of care and reduce overall costs

Daktari receives NIH SBIR grant to develop point-of-care sickle cell diagnostic test

Despite FDA warning, many gynecologists still using controversial surgical tool

Congress approves measure to tighten scrutiny, inspections of hospices

'Drive-by doctoring' during surgery can add a surprise to the bill

Medicare experiment shows initial promise

Feds vow improved, but not perfect, HealthCare.gov

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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