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Conservatives' mixed message on health care mandate

The New York Times explores the history of the individual mandate. In other health law articles, a Gallup poll finds small business owners worried about the costs they will incur and some doctors in favor of a single payer health system file a brief with the Supreme Court opposing the federal law.

16 Feb 2012

Hospitals would have to voluntarily return overpayments under new proposal

Even as officials announced record recoveries of fraudulent Medicare claims, they proposed new rules to force providers to voluntarily return overpayments within 60 days of discovering them. The proposal is intended to cut down on the need for criminal or civil investigations.

16 Feb 2012

Reid will allow repeal vote on contraception mandate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will allow a vote on a Republican amendment to allow employers to opt out of health coverage mandates - including one requiring free coverage of birth control for women - that they find immoral.

16 Feb 2012

Tentative deal reached to prevent physician pay cuts, preserve payroll tax cut

One day after House Republican leaders made a major concession on the payroll tax cut, congressional negotiators struck a tentative deal that also would extend long-term unemployment benefits and prevent drastic reductions in doctors' Medicare payments.

16 Feb 2012

CMS signals it may delay deadline on new codes to be used by doctors, hospitals

Acting Director Marilyn Tavenner says the agency will re-examine the October 2013 deadline for the coding system, known as ICD-10. It expands the number of codes used for billing medical services.

16 Feb 2012

Drilling down into Obama's budget

The Wall Street Journal reports the plan would scale back money for public health and prevention programs; The Associated Press covers the debate about the proposed defense budget, which would scale back retirees' health coverage.

16 Feb 2012

Reuters examines upcoming WHO meeting to discuss debate over bird flu research

Bird flu experts are scheduled to begin a two-day meeting at the WHO in Geneva on Thursday "to try to settle an unprecedented row over a call to censor publication of two scientific studies which detail how to mutate H5N1 bird flu viruses into a form that could cause a deadly human pandemic," Reuters reports in an article describing the debate in detail.

16 Feb 2012

Small cash transfers to young women may help them avoid HIV infection, study suggests

Cash transfer programs involving small amounts of money paid to schoolgirls and their families who live in low-income settings can help the young women "resist the attentions of older men and avoid HIV infection, according to a new study" published online Wednesday in the Lancet, the Guardian reports.

16 Feb 2012

Researchers share libraries of chemical compounds to spur development of drug candidates

Nature reports how "in the hunt for drugs that target diseases in the developing world, ... pharmaceutical companies are making entire libraries of chemical compounds publicly available, allowing researchers to rifle through them for promising drug candidates."

16 Feb 2012

Seven Sahel region nations declare emergencies with at least 12M people threatened by hunger

"Seven out of the eight governments in Africa's Sahel ... have taken the unprecedented step of declaring emergencies as 12 million people in the region are threatened by hunger," Inter Press Service reports.

16 Feb 2012

Impact of child malnourishment similar to that of AIDS

"Globally, malnutrition is the most important cause of illness and death," Jeremy Laurance, health editor at the Independent, writes in this editorial. Laurance details the physical effects of malnutrition on a child and notes, "Malnutrition contributes to more than half of child deaths worldwide. ... It affects virtually every organ system," and "its impact on the immune system is similar to that of AIDS."

16 Feb 2012

One quarter of young children worldwide suffer effects of malnutrition, Save the Children survey shows

"Malnutrition is the root cause of the deaths of 2.6 million children each year, and the bodies and brains of 450 million more will fail to develop properly due to inadequate diet over the next 15 years unless immediate action is taken, according to a survey published Wednesday by" Save the Children, the Guardian reports.

16 Feb 2012

Hospital news: Colorado hospital settles suit with Indian tribe; In Dallas, 'problems persist' at Parkland

Two years ago, a Cortez hospital turned away a Ute Mountain Ute woman who was seeking treatment because she allegedly had been raped. ... The settlement inked this week between the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Southwest Health Systems Inc., the company which operates Southwest Memorial Hospital, establishes new policies to ensure tribal members who come off reservations for medical treatment aren't discriminated against.

16 Feb 2012

State roundup: Legislatures tackling abortion restrictions, Medicaid cuts/revamps, Rx drug abuse

A Republican supermajority has muscled two of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in years through the Virginia House, including one that would all but outlaw the procedure in the state by declaring that the rights of persons apply from the moment sperm and egg unite. The bills passed over bitter yet futile objections from Democrats. And one GOP delegate caused the House to ripple when he said most abortions come as "matters of lifestyle convenience." ... The bills now go to the Senate

16 Feb 2012

Zimbabwean officials call for improvements to water, sanitation systems to prevent further typhoid outbreaks

Zimbabwean health officials responding to typhoid outbreaks in the capital of Harare that have affected more than 2,000 people "have called on the local and central governments to overhaul water and sanitation systems" to stem the spread of the disease, VOA News reports.

16 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Health law in 'red and blue' states; OpEds slam Obama compromise on birth control; Illinois' Medicaid disaster

More than one in six Americans younger than 65 could have access to help with their health insurance costs as a result of the health law. Red and blue congressional districts look remarkably similar here. Republican districts have, on average, an estimated 18 percent of the nonelderly people eligible for help with health insurance costs under the reform law. Democratic districts have about the same, 17 percent.

16 Feb 2012

African-American children tend to be diagnosed later for autism

The rate of diagnosis for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the same among all racial groups — one in 110, according to current estimates. However, a study by a Florida State University researcher has found that African-American children tend to be diagnosed later than white children, which results in a longer and more intensive intervention.

16 Feb 2012

Report illustrates great potential of integrative medicine in chronic health issues

A new survey of 29 integrative medicine centers around the U.S. found that 75 percent reported success using integrative practices to treat chronic pain and more than half reported positive results for gastrointestinal conditions, depression and anxiety, cancer and chronic stress.

16 Feb 2012

Mencap accuses hospitals of discriminating against patients with learning disabilities

Mencap - a charity organization claimed today that 74 NHS patients with learning disabilities have needlessly died in the last decade because of discrimination. It accused the health system of failing to provide adequate care to those with learning disabilities.

15 Feb 2012

St. Jude Medical to examine cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided therapy in Australia, Asia

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, announced today it will evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness of Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR)-guided treatment for patients with multivessel coronary artery disease in Japan, China, India, Korea, and Australia.

15 Feb 2012

Health Care News and Research

Conservatives' mixed message on health care mandate

Hospitals would have to voluntarily return overpayments under new proposal

Reid will allow repeal vote on contraception mandate

Tentative deal reached to prevent physician pay cuts, preserve payroll tax cut

CMS signals it may delay deadline on new codes to be used by doctors, hospitals

Drilling down into Obama's budget

Reuters examines upcoming WHO meeting to discuss debate over bird flu research

Small cash transfers to young women may help them avoid HIV infection, study suggests

Researchers share libraries of chemical compounds to spur development of drug candidates

Seven Sahel region nations declare emergencies with at least 12M people threatened by hunger

Impact of child malnourishment similar to that of AIDS

One quarter of young children worldwide suffer effects of malnutrition, Save the Children survey shows

Hospital news: Colorado hospital settles suit with Indian tribe; In Dallas, 'problems persist' at Parkland

State roundup: Legislatures tackling abortion restrictions, Medicaid cuts/revamps, Rx drug abuse

Zimbabwean officials call for improvements to water, sanitation systems to prevent further typhoid outbreaks

Viewpoints: Health law in 'red and blue' states; OpEds slam Obama compromise on birth control; Illinois' Medicaid disaster

African-American children tend to be diagnosed later for autism

Report illustrates great potential of integrative medicine in chronic health issues

Mencap accuses hospitals of discriminating against patients with learning disabilities

St. Jude Medical to examine cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided therapy in Australia, Asia

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

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Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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