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Henry Schein signs agreement to acquire five companies from Arseus

Henry Schein, Inc., the world's largest provider of healthcare products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, today announced the signing of an agreement that will further strengthen its European dental and technology businesses.

6 Jan 2014

Making lists: Parts of the health law to note

A variety of lists detail important provisions of the overhaul and how they might impact the public's feelings about it.

6 Jan 2014

Kentucky Health Cooperative adds more staff to address consumers’ queries related to health insurance

Kentucky Health Cooperative, Inc. is addressing higher call volumes and Kentuckians' interest in enrolling in health plans by extending call center hours and by adding call center staff.

6 Jan 2014

State highlights: Moving Americans out of nursing homes; Kansas to get Medicaid bonus; Va. gov. names mental health task force

For 60 years, Bobbie Jones, 88, had lived in the same Petworth rowhouse where she raised four children -- including one born in an upstairs bedroom -- and became a grandmother to 10 and a great-grandmother to nine. But last year, a stroke and a fall landed her in the hospital and then in a nursing home. In the past, a nursing home might have wound up being where she lived out the rest of her days. But through a new program that helps District residents receive care in their homes and communities, Jones was able to go home. She is among 58 people who have been relocated since the D.C. Office on Aging launched its Nursing Home Transition Program in April (Bahrampour, 1/2).

6 Jan 2014

Kaiser Permanente announces extension of payment deadline related to ACA premium

Kaiser Permanente has extended the deadline to Jan. 15 for receipt of the first month's premium for a Jan. 1 coverage effective date.

6 Jan 2014

For the health law, are the first days the hardest ones?

News outlets take a look at how the health law's implementation is working out on the ground during these first days of January.

6 Jan 2014

Cognitive rest can benefit patients diagnosed with concussion

A study of 335 teen athletes diagnosed with concussion suggests that patients who comply with cognitive rest limits may recover faster than those who engage in increased cognitive activity, such as texting, reading and playing video games.

6 Jan 2014

Gene-based technology for effective weight loss solutions

Losing weight is the most popular New Year's resolution for 2014, but research shows that only eight percent of people are successful in achieving their resolutions.

6 Jan 2014

Koch backed group launches ads against Senators who supported health law

Americans For Prosperity, a group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, said it will spend $2.5 million for TV ads targeting three vulnerable Democrats who supported the health care law -- Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. Other groups are using dueling personal stories to try to sway public opinion.

6 Jan 2014

Who the health law's first wave left behind, and who it embraced

Health law coverage includes how the measure's implementation impacts a variety of different populations, as well as other key policy issues.

6 Jan 2014

Jones Engineering Group to focus on pharmaceutical industries in Saudi Arabia

Jones Engineering Group is continuing to develop its presence in Saudi Arabia with a strategic focus on the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and health care industries. The leading international engineering contracting group has recently signed a deal with a major multinational FMCG client worth an estimated €20 million. Work on the project will commence immediately.

6 Jan 2014

State insurance exchanges continue to struggle even after New Year deadline

The Washington Post Fact Checker takes a closer look at the health law enrollment target the Obama administration is now backing away from. In the meantime, many states continue to confront insurance exchange challenges even after the crush of customers looking to get coverage to start in January.

6 Jan 2014

Confusion for people who enrolled in Medicaid on healthcare.gov

Some people who applied early in the open enrollment period may not actually be signed up for the program and may be flummoxed by federal robocalls encouraging them to apply again directly to state agencies. Also, news outlets offer updates from Missouri, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

6 Jan 2014

Justice dept. defends birth control rule

The administration responded to a lawsuit by a group of nuns challenging how the health law exempts them from the rule.

6 Jan 2014

Insurers express concerns about health law fixes

Some insurers are pushing for a nationwide, as opposed to state-by-state, approach to policy fixes to the Affordable Care Act. Many also report that enrollment data errors remain a problem, despite assurances by the Obama administration.

5 Jan 2014

Medicaid expansion boosted emergency room visits in Oregon, study finds

A new study of a 2008 expansion of Oregon's Medicaid program showed those with new coverage used emergency rooms 40 percent more often than other adults, throwing some water on the long-held argument that expanding Medicaid coverage lowers ER usage and boosts primary care visits.

5 Jan 2014

Parkinson's disease patients from lower socioeconomic status less likely to receive DBS

Among Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, female, black, Asian and patients are substantially less likely to receive proven deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery to improve tremors and motor symptoms, according to a new report by a Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania researcher who identified considerable disparities among Medicare recipients receiving DBS for Parkinson's disease.

5 Jan 2014

Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine selected for 2014 William J. Gies Award

The ADEAGies Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Dental Education Association, has selected Columbia University's College of Dental Medicine for a 2014 William J. Gies Award, for outstanding achievement by an academic dental institution in support of dental education. The award recognizes CDM's Community DentCare program, which provides low- or no-cost dental care to children, adults, and seniors in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx.

5 Jan 2014

House plans vote on setting security requirements for health insurance exchanges

In what will likely be the GOP's first effort in 2014 to undercut the health law, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Thursday he plans to bring up the measure next week.

5 Jan 2014