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First Edition: September 19, 2012

Today's headlines include a series of reports detailing who makes up Romney's so-called "47 percent" who get tax breaks and what federal assistance they receive -- whether it is Medicare, Medicaid or another entitlement program.

19 Sep 2012

Tranexamic acid: an interview with Prof Ian Roberts

Tranexamic acid is a medicine that reduces blood clot breakdown. In this way it helps in patients with bleeding.

19 Sep 2012

VP candidate Ryan levels sharp critique of Obama abortion position

The GOP vice presidential candidate made these comments while speaking to a conservative audience at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood was quick to hit back.

18 Sep 2012

Medicaid primary care pay raise 'coming soon,' according to CMS official

Details on increasing Medicaid payments to primary care providers starting next year will soon be announced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency said Thursday. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid rates for pediatricians, general internists, family physicians, and those who work under their supervision are to be set at Medicare's December 2009 levels beginning in Jan. 2013 and going through 2014.

18 Sep 2012

Mass. high court upholds dismissal of lawsuits challenging Medicaid reimbursements

The Massachusetts' court has upheld the dismissal of lawsuits brought by some hospitals alleging the state's 2006 health law didn't reimburse them enough for caring for Medicaid patients.

18 Sep 2012

News from the Hill: GOP lawmakers continue to investigate aspects of the health law's implementation

House Republican lawmakers are questioning hiring practices at the Department of Health and Human Services as well as how the Internal Revenue Service will enforce provisions of the health law.

18 Sep 2012

OMB report on budgetary impact of sequestration estimates global health funding would decrease by 8.2%

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Friday released a report (.pdf) describing the budgetary impacts of sequestration "mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act," which would require an annual reduction in government spending of $109 billion per year for nine years, National Journal reports.

18 Sep 2012

States watch Calif. as it builds exchange; Red state officials wrestle with opposition to law and need to implement it

News outlets report on both the progress and difficulties states are facing as they attempt to establish health exchanges and meet other health law requirements. Meanwhile, Vermont is hoping to move beyond the federal law as it tries to set up a single payer system.

18 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Dragging the 'C word' -- cost -- out of hiding; Elton John on discrimination against state prisoners with HIV

We need death panels. Well, maybe not death panels, exactly, but unless we start allocating health care resources more prudently -- rationing, by its proper name -- the exploding cost of Medicare will swamp the federal budget.

18 Sep 2012

Roundup: Mont. settlement money to pay for uninsured's prescription drugs; Physician assistants' role in Mass.; Atlanta to cut worker premiums

The Montana attorney general's office says nearly $1 million collected in drug company settlements will be used to help pay for prescription medicine for people who are uninsured and underinsured. Attorney General Steve Bullock said in a statement Thursday the money came from settlements dating back to 2010 with four drug companies accused of inflating the wholesale prices of drugs paid by Medicare and Medicaid.

18 Sep 2012

Apixaban offers minor added benefit for adult patients after hip replacement

The clot-inhibiting drug apixaban was approved in May 2011 for the prevention of thrombosis (blood clots) after operations to replace a hip or knee joint.

18 Sep 2012

Fall prediction and prevention technology: an interview with Rob Goudswaard and Heribert Baldus from Philips

Falls in the elderly are a major health problem. It is has emerged from data in the US that roughly 1 in 3 people over 65 fall at least once a year. Half of them experience the same again the next year.

18 Sep 2012

Two abnormalities associated with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes

A new University of Iowa study suggests there are two root causes of a type of diabetes associated with cystic fibrosis (CF). The findings, which already have sparked a clinical trial, may guide development of new treatments or even help prevent diabetes in patients with CF.

18 Sep 2012

HSS recognizes Kaiser Permanente Colorado as a 2012 Hypertension Control Champion

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recognized Kaiser Permanente Colorado as a 2012 Million Hearts Hypertension Control Champion. Million Hearts is a national public-private initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

18 Sep 2012

Healthcare costs could total more than household assets for elderly at end of life

For more than 25% of elderly US citizens, healthcare costs incurred during the last 5 years of life will amount to more than their total household assets, show data reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

17 Sep 2012

UnitedHealth to become part of Dow Jones industrial average

The inclusion of the nation's largest health insurer in the prestigious market index reflects the importance of health care spending on the economy.

17 Sep 2012

Mo. college files its own lawsuit over contraception mandate

A Missouri Christian college is joining the fight against the health law's mandate that insurance plans cover contraception by filing its own lawsuit.

17 Sep 2012

Improve domestic health care worker recruiting, training in U.S. to improve economy, global health

"Today about 12 percent of the health work force [in the U.S.] is foreign-born and trained, including a quarter of all physicians," Kate Tulenko, senior director of health system innovation at IntraHealth International, writes in a New York Times opinion piece, adding, "That's bad for American workers, but even worse for the foreign workers' home countries, including some of the world's poorest and sickest, which could use these professionals at home."

17 Sep 2012

Medicare upcoding could be adding to health care costs

The Center for Public Integrity reports on a trend in which many physicians and other medical professionals are billing Medicare for complicated and costly care. Some say this pattern signals an increase in medical billing abuse while others maintain it reflects seniors' need for more complex care.

17 Sep 2012

New development goals should acknowledge health, education, aid, but focus on economic reform

Noting the 67th session of the U.N. General Assembly begins on September 25, Charles Kenny, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and a Schwartz Fellow at the New America Foundation, writes in his Bloomberg Businessweek blog, "Small World," "Accompanying the usual podium speeches will be the start of backroom discussions as to what will replace the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], a set of targets for global progress agreed to at the 2000 General Assembly meetings."

17 Sep 2012

Health Care News and Research

First Edition: September 19, 2012

Tranexamic acid: an interview with Prof Ian Roberts

VP candidate Ryan levels sharp critique of Obama abortion position

Medicaid primary care pay raise 'coming soon,' according to CMS official

Mass. high court upholds dismissal of lawsuits challenging Medicaid reimbursements

News from the Hill: GOP lawmakers continue to investigate aspects of the health law's implementation

OMB report on budgetary impact of sequestration estimates global health funding would decrease by 8.2%

States watch Calif. as it builds exchange; Red state officials wrestle with opposition to law and need to implement it

Viewpoints: Dragging the 'C word' -- cost -- out of hiding; Elton John on discrimination against state prisoners with HIV

Roundup: Mont. settlement money to pay for uninsured's prescription drugs; Physician assistants' role in Mass.; Atlanta to cut worker premiums

Apixaban offers minor added benefit for adult patients after hip replacement

Fall prediction and prevention technology: an interview with Rob Goudswaard and Heribert Baldus from Philips

Two abnormalities associated with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes

HSS recognizes Kaiser Permanente Colorado as a 2012 Hypertension Control Champion

Healthcare costs could total more than household assets for elderly at end of life

UnitedHealth to become part of Dow Jones industrial average

Mo. college files its own lawsuit over contraception mandate

Improve domestic health care worker recruiting, training in U.S. to improve economy, global health

Medicare upcoding could be adding to health care costs

New development goals should acknowledge health, education, aid, but focus on economic reform

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