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New American Cancer Society report calls diagnosis of childhood cancer

A new report from the American Cancer Society outlines progress made and -more importantly-challenges that remain in fighting childhood cancer. The report estimates the number of new cancer cases and deaths for children and adolescents in the United States, summarizes the most recent and comprehensive data on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival, and outlines what is known and where answers are still needed for childhood cancers.

31 Jan 2014

Dems trade barbs on botched insurance exchange rollouts

In Maryland and Oregon, Democratic politicians are blaming each other for problems with state-run exchanges.

31 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 31, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the retirement announcement by Rep. Henry Waxman and the health policy legacy he will leave behind.

31 Jan 2014

Minn. workers got bonuses for work on troubled exchange; Colo. reports robust Jan. enrollment

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on the bonuses awarded to 14 managers before the insurance website went live. In other state marketplace news, Colorado officials say about 67,000 people and businesses signed up for coverage this month. Exchanges also make news in Maryland, Massachusetts and Oregon.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers find no benefit in replacing fructose with glucose

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have found there is no benefit in replacing fructose, the sugar most commonly blamed for obesity, with glucose in commercially prepared foods.

31 Jan 2014

Report highlights recommendations to advance safety of childbirth in Indonesia

Indonesia is a fast-rising economic power that has made significant progress toward key development goals including reducing child mortality. But for reasons outlined in a National Academy of Sciences report by U.S. and Indonesian experts, the nation's estimated rates of maternal and neonatal mortality remain tragically high.

31 Jan 2014

Viewpoints: Obama drops 'grand bargain' talk; Mitch Mcconnell in tough spot on health law

What didn't make the cut? ... A "grand bargain": For three years, Obama pursued a big fiscal deal that would have traded higher taxes (a Democratic goal) for cuts in long-term spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security (a Republican goal).

31 Jan 2014

For some state legislatures, Medicaid expansion will be a hot 2014 topic

With state legislatures kicking off their 2014 sessions, the Medicaid expansion is back in play. Twenty-six states had signed onto the Medicaid expansion at the start of this year -- and that leaves nearly half the country deciding whether to make a go of it in the future.

31 Jan 2014

State highlights: N.Y. insurer will reinstate young adult coverage

A selection of health policy stories from New York, California, Virginia, South Carolina, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Georgia and Colorado.

31 Jan 2014

Prediction models can be useful for heart team to determine best treatment strategy

Detailed prediction models that project long-term patient mortality following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery can be useful for the heart team when determining the best treatment strategy for individual patients, according to a study in the February 2014 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

31 Jan 2014

Longer looks: Doctor guilt; an abortion provider's hidden record

Okay, I know I'm a health writer, but I really don't like going to the doctor. Part of it is an unshakeable, irrational certainty that they will find something horribly wrong with me that I'd rather not know about, and part of it is a rational certainty that they will find something mildly wrong with me that is my fault and chastise me for it - drinking too much, not exercising enough, whatever. One should be able to talk to one's doctor about these things - the aspects of one's lifestyle that maybe aren't so great. ... But in 2009, a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego found that half of the patients surveyed had experienced shame as a result of something a doctor said to them.

31 Jan 2014

Clonidine before surgery may control post-surgical pain and child's anxiety

Managing a child's pain and distress after surgery is an essential part of recovery. However, using strong painkilling medications post-surgery can put kids at risk for side effects and other complications.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers identify components of C. diff bacteria that can be used to develop better treatment

Rhode Island Hospital researchers have identified components in Clostridium difficile (C. diff) that may lead to new diagnostic tools, and ultimately more timely and effective treatment for this often fatal infection. C. diff is a spore-forming bacterium that causes severe diarrhea and is responsible for 14,000 deaths annually in the U.S. The study is published online in advance of print in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

31 Jan 2014

The health law factors heavily into Senate political calculations

Vulnerable Senate Democrats may seek chances to vote on efforts to fix the overhaul, CQ HealthBeat reports; while the New York Times examines where GOP candidates need to win.

31 Jan 2014

Many questions linger about who are the 9 million people Obama said are getting insurance through the health law

In his State of the Union address, the president touted successes in signing people up for private insurance or Medicaid. But critics suggest that the number is lower than expected, and no one yet knows how many of those people were previously uninsured.

31 Jan 2014

Study finds health law may reduce income inequality

New research suggests the health law will boost the economic fortunes of people on the bottom one-fifth of the income ladder while slightly reducing average incomes for those above. Other stories look at a health plan cost calculator designed for the chronically ill, the debate over insurance risk corridors and union displeasure with the law.

31 Jan 2014

Poll: Health law support declining among the uninsured

The Kaiser Family Foundation's monthly tracking poll found that 47 percent of the uninsured said they have unfavorable views of the law -- an increase since December. Most were also unaware of many of the law's benefits.

30 Jan 2014

First Edition: January 30, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about a new poll examining how uninsured people -- one of the groups the health law was designed to help -- view the overhaul.

30 Jan 2014

American Cancer Society, SU2C partner to fight against cancer

The American Cancer Society, the largest voluntary health organization in the world dedicated to eliminating cancer, and Stand Up To Cancer, the charitable initiative supporting groundbreaking research aimed at getting new treatments to patients in an accelerated timeframe, announced today an historic collaboration in the fight against cancer, which takes more than 585,000 lives in the U.S. each year and nearly 8 million worldwide.

30 Jan 2014

Heart transplantation continues to be "gold standard" treatment for end-stage heart failure

Heart transplantation continues to be the "gold standard" treatment for end-stage heart failure, and a large number of patients now live 20 years or more after surgery, according to a study in the February 2014 issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

30 Jan 2014