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Viewpoints: Daschle says health law still has 4 hurdles; Commentators from states such as Calif., Texas and Florida wrestle with options

The GOP-controlled U.S. House plans to hold what can only be called symbolic votes on repealing the sweeping reforms they deride as "Obamacare." Meanwhile, at least 15 governors are said to be leaning toward refusing to expand state Medicaid programs -- a key part of the reform's strategy to provide some form of health insurance to the 32 million people now going without coverage.

10 Jul 2012

Humana acquires national chronic-care provider, SeniorBridge

Humana Inc. announced today it has completed its acquisition of SeniorBridge, a national chronic-care provider best known for providing in-home care management and caregiving services for seniors.

9 Jul 2012

NPR series examines global progress against AIDS

In a special series called "AIDS: A Turning Point," NPR reports on global progress against HIV/AIDS ahead of the AIDS 2012 conference taking place in Washington, D.C., this month. As part of the series, NPR's "Morning Edition" examines Botswana's response to the epidemic, writing, "A decade ago, Botswana was facing a national crisis as AIDS appeared on the verge of decimating the country's adult population.

9 Jul 2012

Planners defend goals of London Summit on Family Planning

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "tried to deflect controversy" surrounding the London Summit on Family Planning to take place this week, stating that "giving women better access to contraception had become her lifetime's work," the Guardian reports (McVeigh, 7/7). "

9 Jul 2012

Modest sums of U.S. foreign aid have saved lives on an 'unprecedented scale'

In this New York Times opinion piece, columnist Nicholas Kristof examines the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid, writing, "In this election year in the United States, there'll be bitter debates about what should be cut from budgets, and one thing Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on is that foreign aid is bloated."

9 Jul 2012

For states, High Court's Medicaid ruling creates choices, makes waves

States are responding to the court's decision in varying ways. Some interpretations are leading states to pare back their existing Medicaid programs, according to the Wall Street Journal. Others find themselves in limbo.

9 Jul 2012

Health law debate returns to center stage in House

With lawmakers returning to Washington this week after the July 4 break, Republican leaders in the House have scheduled a vote -- the 31st such attempt -- to repeal the health law. The effort is unexpected to get any traction in the Democrat-led Senate.

9 Jul 2012

Airline files suit to stop providing health benefits to current retirees

American Airlines and its parent company are suing to stop providing health care and life insurance benefits to current retirees. AMR Corp. and American filed the lawsuit Friday as part of their bankruptcy case in federal court in New York.

9 Jul 2012

Consumer Reports investigates hospital safety

The magazine offers its rankings of the safest and most dangerous hospitals based on six criteria.

9 Jul 2012

Nurses complain about underemployment

Ever found yourself stuck in a hospital bed, pushing that little "help" button and then waiting... waiting... waiting for a nurse? That's when all the headlines about a "nursing shortage" in this country hit home, right?

9 Jul 2012

Cardinal Health to introduce new services for hospitals to leverage outpatient pharmacies

Cardinal Health will this week introduce new services that help hospitals leverage outpatient pharmacies to address two of the their most significant challenges: how to expand the quality care they provide to patients and how to increase revenue.

9 Jul 2012

Political cartoon: 'Hope He Has Insurance'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Hope He Has Insurance" by Chris Weyant.

9 Jul 2012

New hemoglobin monitoring system for anemia screening introduced by OrSense Ltd.

OrSense Ltd., developer of monitors for non-invasive measurements of various blood parameters, introduced today at the 32nd International Congress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), in Cancun, Mexico, GlasswingTM, its next-generation, wireless, non-invasive hemoglobin (Hb) measurement system for anemia monitoring, hemorrhage detection and pre-donation screening.

9 Jul 2012

ReDent Nova reaches new global agreement with Henry Schein

Henry Schein, Inc., the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, medical and animal health practitioners, and ReDent Nova, a Tel Aviv-based dental company, have reached a new global agreement.

9 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 9, 2012

Kaiser Health News "Insuring Your Health" columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about doctors who charge extra fees for more personalized care.

9 Jul 2012

Medicare cuts, competing views on overhaul keep health issues hot in campaign

"Obamacare cuts Medicare - cuts Medicare - by approximately $500 billion," Mr. Romney has told audiences. That is a reprise of Republicans' mantra of the 2010 midterm elections, which gave them big gains at both the state and federal levels and a majority in the House.

8 Jul 2012

Extra weight not necessarily linked with higher risk of death

An evaluation of national data by UC Davis researchers has found that extra weight is not necessarily linked with a higher risk of death.

7 Jul 2012

Prominent Chinese scholars issue open letter calling for rethink of country's family planning laws

"A group of 15 prominent Chinese scholars issued an open letter on Thursday calling for a rethink of [the] country's family planning laws, arguing that the law in its present form is incompatible with China's increasing respect for human rights and need for sustainable economic development," according to the Wall Street Journal's "China Real Time Report."

7 Jul 2012

Health officials working to identify respiratory illness responsible for deaths of more than 60 Cambodian children

WHO and Cambodian health officials are investigating "the source of an unidentified illness" -- characterized by high fevers, severe respiratory problems, "and in some cases neurological symptoms" -- that has killed more than 60 children in the country since April, NPR's health blog "Shots" reports (Hensley, 7/5). "

7 Jul 2012

Research roundup: Crowded emergency departments, expensive HIV drugs, high deductible insurance plans

Skin In The Game: How Consumer-Directed Plans Affect The Cost And Use Of Health Care -- Consumer-directed health plans, which feature lower premiums and higher deductibles than traditional plans, are designed to reduce costs by discouraging unnecessary care. This brief describes a study of more than 800,000 households that switched from a traditional employer-based plan to a consumer-based plan.

7 Jul 2012