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Portable ultrasound can help better detect fluid in the lungs of patients with end-stage kidney disease

A portable ultrasound can help nephrologists better detect fluid in the lungs of patients with end-stage kidney disease, according to a study by physicians at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

22 Feb 2018

Study reveals HCT as effective treatment for NHL patients regardless of age

Results from a retrospective study of 1,629 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma showed that survival at 4 years following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for patients age 65 years and older is comparable to patients age 55 to 64 years.

21 Feb 2018

Lay-health workers may be able to reduce hospital readmissions rates, study suggests

A recent study published in Health Education Research suggests that lay-health workers may be able to significantly reduce readmissions rates to hospitals for high-risk patients following surgery.

21 Feb 2018

Bad bedside manna: Bank loans signed in the hospital leave patients vulnerable

Laura Cameron, then three months pregnant, tripped and fell in a parking lot and landed in the emergency room last May — her blood pressure was low and she was scared and in pain. She was flat on her back and plugged into a saline drip when a hospital employee approached her gurney to discuss how she would pay her hospital bill.

21 Feb 2018

Trump administration proposes rule to loosen curbs on short-term health plans

Insurers will again be able to sell short-term health insurance good for up to 12 months under a proposed rule released Tuesday by the Trump administration that could further roil the marketplace.

20 Feb 2018

Report identifies potentially modifiable factors that may contribute to persistent risk of SUID

An analysis of trends in sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) over the past two decades finds that the drop in such deaths that took place following release of the 1992 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) "back to sleep" recommendations, did not occur in infants in the first month of life.

14 Feb 2018

Trump’s budget proposal swings at drug prices with a glancing blow

President Donald Trump's new budget proposal flirts with combating high prescription drug prices, but industry watchers say the tweaks to Medicare and Medicaid do little more than dance around the edges of lowering the actual prices of drugs.

13 Feb 2018

Bipartisan Senate budget deal boosts health programs

In a rare show of bipartisanship for the mostly polarized 115th Congress, Republican and Democratic Senate leaders announced a two-year budget deal that would increase federal spending for defense as well as key domestic priorities, including many health programs.

8 Feb 2018

Many epilepsy patients receive interacting drug combinations

In an Epilepsia analysis of 2008-2010 Medicare claims data, one in four older Americans with new-onset epilepsy and more than one-third with prevalent epilepsy received a combination of antiepileptic drugs and non-epilepsy drugs that could interact to alter the effectiveness of the non-epilepsy drugs.

7 Feb 2018

Community health centers caught in ‘Washington’s political dysfunction’

As lawmakers face another deadline this week for passing legislation to keep the federal government open, one of the outstanding issues is long-term funding for a key health care safety-net program.

5 Feb 2018

Indiana gets federal approval for Medicaid plan that could slice enrollment

Indiana on Friday became the second state to win federal approval to add a work requirement for adult Medicaid recipients who gained coverage under the Affordable Care Act, but a less debated "lockout" provision in its new plan could lead to tens of thousands of enrollees losing coverage.

2 Feb 2018

Stalled health programs await a green light on the hill

With the clock ticking on the current stop-gap bill that funds the federal government through Feb. 8, Congress is steeling itself to consider another must-pass budget bill. And, once again, health care could be caught in the crosshairs.

2 Feb 2018

Researchers evaluate need for biopsies during follow-up care for breast cancer patients

In an analysis of more than 120,000 women diagnosed with and treated for early-stage breast cancer, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center determined the rate of additional breast biopsies needed for these patients during their follow-up care.

31 Jan 2018

After polyps are detected, patients may no longer qualify for free colonoscopies

Insurance coverage of colonoscopies to screen for colorectal cancer is a frequent source of frustration for consumers, including a reader who asks about his situation.

30 Jan 2018

Death in the family: An uncle’s overdose spurs Medicaid official to change course

Andrey Ostrovsky's family did not discuss what killed his uncle. He was young, not quite two weeks past his 45th birthday, when he died, and he had lost touch with loved ones in his final months. Ostrovsky speculated he had committed suicide.

29 Jan 2018

New method may help improve patients' chances of receiving life-saving kidney transplants

A new method may be useful for assessing dialysis facilities' performance concerning referrals to transplant centers.

27 Jan 2018

A push to get older adults in better shape for surgery

Surgery can be hard on older adults, resulting in serious complications and death far more often than in younger patients. But many seniors aren't adequately prepared for the risks they might face.

25 Jan 2018

CHIP renewed for six years as Congress votes to reopen Federal government

A brief, partial shutdown of the federal government was resolved Monday, as the Senate and House approved legislation that would keep federal dollars flowing until Feb. 8, as well as fund the Children's Health Insurance Program for the next six years.

23 Jan 2018

$Study finds considerable variation in hip fracture rates across nursing homes$

Study finds considerable variation in hip fracture rates across nursing homes

In a nationally representative study, researchers found considerable variation in the rates of hip fractures across US nursing home facilities.

22 Jan 2018

Home care agencies often wrongly deny Medicare help to the chronically ill

Colin Campbell needs help dressing, bathing and moving between his bed and his wheelchair. He has a feeding tube because his partially paralyzed tongue makes swallowing "almost impossible," he said.

18 Jan 2018

Medicare News and Research

Portable ultrasound can help better detect fluid in the lungs of patients with end-stage kidney disease

Study reveals HCT as effective treatment for NHL patients regardless of age

Lay-health workers may be able to reduce hospital readmissions rates, study suggests

Bad bedside manna: Bank loans signed in the hospital leave patients vulnerable

Trump administration proposes rule to loosen curbs on short-term health plans

Report identifies potentially modifiable factors that may contribute to persistent risk of SUID

Trump’s budget proposal swings at drug prices with a glancing blow

Bipartisan Senate budget deal boosts health programs

Many epilepsy patients receive interacting drug combinations

Community health centers caught in ‘Washington’s political dysfunction’

Indiana gets federal approval for Medicaid plan that could slice enrollment

Stalled health programs await a green light on the hill

Researchers evaluate need for biopsies during follow-up care for breast cancer patients

After polyps are detected, patients may no longer qualify for free colonoscopies

Death in the family: An uncle’s overdose spurs Medicaid official to change course

New method may help improve patients' chances of receiving life-saving kidney transplants

A push to get older adults in better shape for surgery

CHIP renewed for six years as Congress votes to reopen Federal government

Study finds considerable variation in hip fracture rates across nursing homes

Home care agencies often wrongly deny Medicare help to the chronically ill

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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