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Proposed rule for health law's CLASS Act expected in October

Federal officials plan to issue a proposed rule in October that will make major changes to the controversial Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) program, Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee said Thursday.

27 May 2011

Senate Democrats pressure states to maintain funding for Planned Parenthood

Some Democratic senators are asking a top government health official to warn states that if they try to exclude family planning clinics like Planned Parenthood from Medicaid and Title X funding, they'll face penalties from the federal government (5/27).

27 May 2011

AACE applauds legislation for preservation of access to osteoporosis testing for Medicare beneficiaries

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) applauds the introduction of legislation in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate that will preserve patient access to osteoporosis testing and treatment services under the Medicare program.

27 May 2011

Despite Senate vote on House-passed budget, Ryan presses forward on debt reduction

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan was unbowed Thursday after the expected, but nonetheless stinging, rejection of his budget and Medicare proposal by the Senate. Ryan told NPR reporters he would do it all over again.

27 May 2011

CMS announces dollars doled out to encourage docs, hospitals to adopt electronic health records

The Boston Globe reports on Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which is one of the facilities that received one of these grants.

27 May 2011

Candidate Pawlenty says he would sign Ryan budget plan

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, praised the courage and leadership displayed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., with his budget plan.

27 May 2011

Report: Budget impact of health law defunding unclear

A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation found the actual impact of GOP proposals to defund the health law "unclear" because too many variables are involved in the calculation.

27 May 2011

States struggle to rein in medical costs

About half of all states are cutting public health care, an area that is already stretched thin by previous cuts in 31 states and a spike in Medicaid enrollment induced by high unemployment. Services for mental health, abused children, the elderly and the underinsured are the primary targets (Hube, 5/27).

27 May 2011

Roundup: Calif., Iowa hope to streamline mental health care delivery; Wis. battle with public employee unions continues

Over and over yesterday, in two separate Health and Human Services budget subcommittee hearings, officials insisted that eliminating the California Department of Mental Health was not a diminishment of services, but rather a reorganization.

27 May 2011

Severe drought in China putting pressure on drinking water, agriculture

"Chinese authorities will step up the release of water from the Three Gorges Dam in a bid to tackle a drought in southern China which has put pressure on drinking water, crops, shipping lanes and electricity production in what is traditionally China's most water-abundant region," the Financial Times reports.

27 May 2011

Fallout from NY-26 election makes Dems gleeful, Republicans defensive

The results from the special congressional election in New York earlier this week have caused Democrats to feel that their political fortunes may be turning on the issues of the GOP proposal to revamp Medicare. Republicans are scrambling to refine their message.

27 May 2011

Kenya considers how PEPFAR technical guidance on MSM squares with laws against homosexuality

PEPFAR's recent release of its "Technical Guidance on Combination HIV Prevention" (.pdf) for men who have sex with men (MSM) "could force countries like Kenya who are strongly opposed to men having sex with men to backtrack," Nairobi Star/allAfrica.com reports. Because homosexual acts are illegal in some countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, "there are no policies or services targeting HIV interventions towards them," according to the publication.

27 May 2011

Phadia ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test used in largest cross-sectional allergy study

Phadia, the worldwide leader of in vitro allergy diagnostics, is pleased to contribute to the largest cross-sectional allergy study ever conducted through the use of its ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test, the market leading in vitro allergy diagnostic test.

27 May 2011

Nature special issue focuses on vaccines

The May 26 issue of Nature explores vaccines, which the journal says "are responsible for some of the world's greatest public health triumphs." Though new vaccines for deadly diseases have been developed in the past 10 years, and more are in development, "funding is tight, and unfounded doubts about the safety of vaccines persist." The issue features stories on polio, measles, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as issues surrounding vaccine rejection and hysteria about risk.

27 May 2011

Everyone has an opinion about Dems' NY victory impact on Medicare, politics

Sooner or later, Democrats will have to admit that Medicare cannot keep running as it is — its medical costs are out of control ... not all Medicare cuts are the same.

27 May 2011

California's largest non-profit insurer releases details of executive pay

For the first time, California's largest nonprofit health insurer has released the salaries of its 10 highest-paid executives in response to a new state law intended to keep health care insurance costs under control.

27 May 2011

Switching to a newer electronic health record system reduces prescription errors

As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the government is investing billions of dollars to encourage health care providers to use electronic health record systems. Many providers will probably switch from older systems to new systems to qualify for the federal incentives, but whether the upgrade improves patient care and safety has remained an open question.

27 May 2011

Senate Democrats force a vote on House-passed Republican budget, put GOP in hot seat

Just a day after Democrats claimed an upset win in the New York special election to fill a historically Republican-controlled congressional seat, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., held a vote on the GOP budget as a means to force Republicans to go on the record with their support. They responded by standing by the plan to revamp Medicare.

27 May 2011

First Edition: May 27, 2011

Kaiser Health News' Insuring Your Health columnist Michelle Andrews talks with Jackie Judd about the provisions in the health law that provide for free preventive tests. While the law doesn't apply to all insurance plans, it should cut costs for many people.

27 May 2011

ASH announces approval of official health care taxonomy code for Designated Specialists

Today the American Society of Hypertension, Inc. (ASH) and the ASH Specialist Program Inc. announced the approval of an official health care taxonomy code for Designated Specialists in Clinical Hypertension from the American Medical Association National Uniform Claims Committee.

27 May 2011

Health Care News and Research

Proposed rule for health law's CLASS Act expected in October

Senate Democrats pressure states to maintain funding for Planned Parenthood

AACE applauds legislation for preservation of access to osteoporosis testing for Medicare beneficiaries

Despite Senate vote on House-passed budget, Ryan presses forward on debt reduction

CMS announces dollars doled out to encourage docs, hospitals to adopt electronic health records

Candidate Pawlenty says he would sign Ryan budget plan

Report: Budget impact of health law defunding unclear

States struggle to rein in medical costs

Roundup: Calif., Iowa hope to streamline mental health care delivery; Wis. battle with public employee unions continues

Severe drought in China putting pressure on drinking water, agriculture

Fallout from NY-26 election makes Dems gleeful, Republicans defensive

Kenya considers how PEPFAR technical guidance on MSM squares with laws against homosexuality

Phadia ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test used in largest cross-sectional allergy study

Nature special issue focuses on vaccines

Everyone has an opinion about Dems' NY victory impact on Medicare, politics

California's largest non-profit insurer releases details of executive pay

Switching to a newer electronic health record system reduces prescription errors

Senate Democrats force a vote on House-passed Republican budget, put GOP in hot seat

First Edition: May 27, 2011

ASH announces approval of official health care taxonomy code for Designated Specialists

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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