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Candidates in Monday's GOP debate clash on health reform, Medicare, vaccines

One of the questions emerging in this primary contest is whether entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security will continue to be a political "third rail," or if public concerns about government spending have overcome this conventional wisdom.

14 Sep 2011

Bausch + Lomb to launch VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Platform for cataract surgery

Bausch + Lomb, the global leader in eye health, and Technolas Perfect Vision GmbH (TPV), a leading ophthalmology laser company, plan to introduce the VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Platform at the upcoming XXIX Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

14 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

Sometimes they challenged Perry from the left (on Social Security and Medicare) and sometimes from the right (on immigration, taxes and mandatory vaccines), but it all came back to the same thing: The frontrunner was befuddled – seemingly stunned that his rivals would question his right to the Republican presidential nomination.

14 Sep 2011

U.S. officials step up enforcement of 'responsible corporate officer doctrine' to pursue violations of federal food and drug laws

Use of this doctrine allows federal officials to hold health care executives personally and criminally responsible for corporate violations. Meanwhile, in other news related to health care fraud and abuse, a number of states have reached settlements with firms accused of defrauding the Medicaid program.

14 Sep 2011

Rehabilitation the ‘great missing link’ in the healthcare system Leading physicians convene in Brisbane today

The lack of publically funded community-based rehabilitation and restorative programs is one of the great missing links in the Australian health care system, according to leading Australian physicians.

13 Sep 2011

Roundup: Ga. rejects rule to curb dental hygienists' work; Ohio high-risk pool faces higher than expected costs

The Georgia Board of Dentistry on Friday rejected a proposed rule that public health officials feared would have restricted dental hygienists' work with low-income patients. Several health groups had said the provision, if approved, would require a dentist to examine a patient before a hygienist can apply sealants, clean teeth and perform other preventive dental services in a public health setting.

13 Sep 2011

Transcendental Meditation practice reduces health care costs

According to a study published this week in the September/October 2011 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, people with consistently high health care costs experienced a 28 percent cumulative decrease in physician fees after an average of five years practicing the stress-reducing Transcendental Meditation technique compared with their baseline.

12 Sep 2011

State-by-state scorecard shows which states are best at long-term care support

The report, developed by AARP and the SCAN Foundation, found that Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Maine are performing best in a variety of ways, but still have room to improve.

9 Sep 2011

AARP strategist moves on to health care coalition

After 27 years at AARP, John Rother will move on to head up the National Coalition on Health Care. He says his new position will give him a platform to take on health care costs, as issue he views as central to the nation.

9 Sep 2011

Health law subject to attack during GOP presidential debate

As candidates threw accusations at Democratic policies and each other, they didn't always get the specifics right. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney especially clashed on health policy issues. Meanwhile, Romney expressed his support for Medicaid block grants and Perry blamed the federal government for Texas' high number of people without health insurance.

9 Sep 2011

Seniors, Medicare drug coverage and the doughnut hole

A Kaiser Family Foundation study finds that fewer Medicare drug plan enrollees are hitting the coverage gap. Those who are in it, however, bought fewer drugs.

9 Sep 2011

Longer looks: Unknowns in sports medicine; shackling pregnant prisoners

Medical experts say that multiple futile treatments is all too familiar and points to growing problems in sports medicine, a medical subspecialty that has been experiencing explosive growth. now researchers are questioning many of the procedures, including new ones that often have no rigorous studies to back them up. "Patients come in and say, 'I want the same thing that Tiger Woods had,' " said Dr. McDevitt, the sports medicine orthopedist in Maryland.

9 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 8, 2011

In today's headlines, reports from last night's GOP presidential debate, as well as explorations of what the future might hold for the 'Super Committee' and news developments related to physician payment issues.

8 Sep 2011

Capsules: Deficit hawk or dove? Enzi's autism stance

On Kaiser Health News' news blog, Phil Galewitz examines Sen. Mike Enzi's efforts to provide federal funds for autism research, even as the Wyoming Republican calls for major budget cuts.

8 Sep 2011

Two motion-sensing systems can effectively detect early onset of illness, fall risk in seniors

Many older adults lose their independence as their health declines and they are compelled to move into assisted care facilities. Researchers at the University of Missouri and TigerPlace, an independent living community, have been using motion-sensing technology to monitor changes in residents' health for several years. Now, researchers have found that two devices commonly used for video gaming and security systems are effective in detecting the early onset of illness and fall risk in seniors.

7 Sep 2011

SmokingPaST Framework tool calculates impact of investments in tobacco treatment programs

The newly released Smoking Prevalence, Savings, and Treatment (SmokingPaST) Framework is a tool designed to calculate the impact of investments in tobacco treatment programs on health and medical cost savings.

3 Sep 2011

State roundup: Texas disability fight; rights of fetus asserted in Neb.

For Milla Powell, a 12-year-old from Austin with cerebral palsy, the little things make all the difference. Massage therapy to ease her tightened muscles. Recreational programs, in which therapists take her into the community to help her build her social skills. Music therapy to help Milla, who cannot speak, connect without words. But services like these are on the chopping block for thousands of Texans with disabilities - another casualty of the significant budget cuts that state lawmakers passed in May.

3 Sep 2011

Health care politics: Perry's stem cell controversy, presidential contenders and health law; Biden Medicare fact check

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who recently underwent an experimental injection of his own adult stem cells to relieve back pain, pushed a bill through the Legislature in June that paves the way for a company co-owned by his doctor to become the first state-approved "bank" to store and cultivate such cells for medical treatment that fact illustrates two aspects of his record that are drawing increasing attention as he pursues the presidency: his enthusiasm for ideas that are sometimes outside the scientific mainstream and what critics view as his willingness to use the levers of state government to benefit friends and political benefactors.

3 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 2, 2011

On Kaiser Health News' blog, staff writer Julie Appleby writes: "Insurers who offer 'association health plans,' which are often sold through trade groups or other organizations of affiliated members, will face the same scrutiny of premium rate hikes as other types of insurance, federal officials said Thursday."

2 Sep 2011

Viewpoints: Barrasso on employer insurance; Oberlander on austerity, Jennings on 'pick your poison'; Lamm on your mother

Most American workers value their employer-provided health insurance. It gives them the security of knowing they can get the care they need, from the doctor they want, at a price they can afford. All that will change drastically if the president's health care law remains on the books.

2 Sep 2011

Seniors News and Research

Candidates in Monday's GOP debate clash on health reform, Medicare, vaccines

Bausch + Lomb to launch VICTUS Femtosecond Laser Platform for cataract surgery

Viewpoints: Medicare bigger problem than social security; N.Y.'s long term care 'bad grade'

U.S. officials step up enforcement of 'responsible corporate officer doctrine' to pursue violations of federal food and drug laws

Rehabilitation the ‘great missing link’ in the healthcare system Leading physicians convene in Brisbane today

Roundup: Ga. rejects rule to curb dental hygienists' work; Ohio high-risk pool faces higher than expected costs

Transcendental Meditation practice reduces health care costs

State-by-state scorecard shows which states are best at long-term care support

AARP strategist moves on to health care coalition

Health law subject to attack during GOP presidential debate

Seniors, Medicare drug coverage and the doughnut hole

Longer looks: Unknowns in sports medicine; shackling pregnant prisoners

First Edition: September 8, 2011

Capsules: Deficit hawk or dove? Enzi's autism stance

Two motion-sensing systems can effectively detect early onset of illness, fall risk in seniors

SmokingPaST Framework tool calculates impact of investments in tobacco treatment programs

State roundup: Texas disability fight; rights of fetus asserted in Neb.

Health care politics: Perry's stem cell controversy, presidential contenders and health law; Biden Medicare fact check

First Edition: September 2, 2011

Viewpoints: Barrasso on employer insurance; Oberlander on austerity, Jennings on 'pick your poison'; Lamm on your mother

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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