Health Care News and Research

RSS

Stakeholders anxiously await high court health law review

Insurers are on the lookout for what they view as the worse-case scenario. Meanwhile, some state attorneys general are watching developments surrounding this case to see if it might fuel other such state challenges to federal laws.

5 Nov 2011

Health Net selected as double-winner in 18th annual National Health Information Awards

Health Net, Inc. was selected as a double-winner in the 18th annual National Health Information Awards. The program is coordinated by the Health Information Resource Center, a national clearinghouse that recognizes the nation's best consumer health information programs and materials.

5 Nov 2011

Super committee progress appears to be at 'impasse'

As the clock ticks toward the panel's Thanksgiving deadline, the question of raising taxes continues to be a sticking point. Republicans and Democrats appear to be trying to "horsetrade" revenue increases for entitlement program cuts. In the background, 33 Republican senators sent a letter to the committee insisting on "no net tax increase."

5 Nov 2011

Global Task Force report presents 'compelling' action on cancer care, control

"More than 50 percent of all new cancers and two-thirds of the annual cancer mortality worldwide happen in low-income and middle-income countries," a Lancet editorial states and describes how the recently released report Closing the Cancer Divide, by the Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, "presents a compelling case for comprehensive action on expanded access to cancer care and control with realistic recommendations that will be beneficial beyond cancer."

5 Nov 2011

Romney calls for increase in Medicare eligibility age

Mitt Romney unveiled a sweeping budget-cutting plan today that would increase the eligibility age for Social Security and cap Medicaid payments to states. Romney's plan would also increase the eligibility age for Medicare and allow seniors to choose between the government-sponsored plan and private insurance.

5 Nov 2011

Vertex announces 16 grant recipients of Hep-C Circle of Care program

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that it has awarded 16 grants totaling approximately $1.5 million to a variety of academic, patient and community groups as part of the Vertex Hep-C Circle of Care program, a pilot competitive grants program designed to foster innovative approaches to patient care and support people living with chronic hepatitis C.

5 Nov 2011

Appropriate tests, treatments needed for pediatric TB

In this post on the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog, Grania Brigden, the tuberculosis adviser to the Medecins Sans Frontieres Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, writes that while "[t]his year's Global Tuberculosis Control report shows the beginning of a decline in the global tuberculosis epidemic, ... there is a stark lack of data for children," continuing, "Without a clear estimate of the magnitude of the problem it is hard to motivate governments, researchers and donors."

5 Nov 2011

Political cartoon: 'Bulk Discounts'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Bulk Discounts" by Bob and Tom Thaves.

5 Nov 2011

NCQA recognizes three additional MetCare centers as PPC-PCMH

Metropolitan Health Networks, Inc., a leading provider of health care services in Florida, today announced that an additional three of its centers have been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as Physician Practice Connections - Patient-Centered Medical Homes.

5 Nov 2011

Romney details his deficit-reduction plans

Media outlets also report on how the abortion issue might impact GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, fact checks and news from Iowa about Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum also are in the headlines.

5 Nov 2011

Global food prices drop but still high; market remains volatile, food indexes show

"The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization FAO index of global food prices hit an 11-month low in October, reflecting sharp falls in grain, sugar and oils prices, the U.N. food agency said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

5 Nov 2011

IAFN to celebrate 'Forensic Nurses Week' on Nov. 7-11

"You are safe" are often the first words heard by survivors of violent acts when Forensic Nurses are present to provide care in hospitals, clinics, jails and community settings around the world. Forensic Nurses are nurses with advanced education and training, giving them the skills to deal with the immediate health care consequences of violence. On November 7-11, the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) will celebrate "Forensic Nurses Week" to recognize these nurses who provide exceptional care to victims and perpetrators of abuse and violence.

5 Nov 2011

Governors raise concerns about insurance exchanges

Some of the federal healthcare law's requirements related to insurance exchanges threaten the autonomy of U.S. states, which need more support in establishing the marketplaces, state governors said in a letter released on Thursday. "The decision to implement health insurance exchanges requires a number of complex policy decisions amid aggressive timelines," wrote the National Governors Association in a letter to U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius dated Nov. 2.

5 Nov 2011

Janssen receives FDA approval for Xarelto to prevent stroke in people with AF

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the anti-clotting drug Xarelto (rivaroxaban) to reduce the risk of stroke in people who have abnormal heart rhythm.

5 Nov 2011

KFH/HP reports total operating revenue of $11.9B for third quarter 2011

Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and their respective subsidiaries (KFH/HP) reported today a combined total operating revenue of $11.9 billion for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, compared to $11.1 billion in the same period in 2010.

5 Nov 2011

Women's groups in Somali town push for law banning female genital mutilation/cutting

"Women's groups in the Somali town of Galkayo are lobbying the authorities in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland to enact a law banning female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), saying the practice was becoming widespread," IRIN reports.

5 Nov 2011

Obesity affecting wealthy, middle classes more than poor in developing countries, study says

"'First world' health problems such as obesity and heart disease may be gaining ground in developing nations, but they are mostly afflicting the rich and middle class while poor people remain undernourished and underweight," according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Reuters reports.

5 Nov 2011

VA announces 13 new awards in 2010 Industry Innovation Competition

The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced 13 new awards in the agency's 2010 Industry Innovation Competition. The new projects will give VA an opportunity to evaluate new ways to enhance care and benefits for Veterans.

5 Nov 2011

Education for women, girls a more effective strategy than family planning to solve global problems

In a post in the National Review's "The Corner," Christopher White, international director of operations for the World Youth Alliance, responds to a New York Times opinion piece published Wednesday in which columnist Nicholas Kristof hailed family planning as a solution to "many of the global problems that confront us."

5 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Romney's plan to cut the debt; congressional squabbles on spending; spurning insurers' concerns about new labels

First, eliminate every government program that is not absolutely essential. There are many things government does that we may like but that we do not need. … For example: Repeal ObamaCare, which would save $95 billion in 2016. …Eliminate Title X family planning programs benefiting abortion groups like Planned Parenthood. … Second, return federal programs to the states where innovation, cost management and reduction of fraud and abuse can far exceed what Washington achieves. I will block grant Medicaid and workforce training, saving well over $100 billion in 2016.

5 Nov 2011