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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

Global health, development issues not likely to be focus of Deauville G8 meeting, IPS reports

"When leaders of the Group of 8 (G8) industrialised nations meet in Deauville, France, later this week, there is a strong possibility that politics will take precedence over traditional socioeconomic issues like food security and development aid, which are being overshadowed by the Arab revolution and Palestinian statehood," Inter Press Service writes of the G8 meeting, which begins on Thursday.

27 May 2011

Quest Diagnostics announces results of largest ImmunoCAP cross-sectional allergy study

ImmunoCAP, the worldwide leader of in vitro allergy diagnostics, is pleased to present the results of the largest cross-sectional allergy study ever conducted. The landmark study, announced today by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information, and services, includes test results from over 2 million patients.

From Quest Diagnostics 27 May 2011

India pledges $5B in aid to Africa to help continent reach MDGs

India on Wednesday at the conclusion of the second India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pledged $5 billion in aid to Africa to help the continent reach the Millennium Development Goals, the Guardian reports. The amount is nearly equal to India's annual health care budget of $5.9 billion, according to the newspaper.

27 May 2011

Parties differ on selling insurance across state lines

Basic consumer protections that exist in almost every state would be eroded if insurance companies could sell policies across state lines, Democrats said Wednesday.

27 May 2011

Sanofi-Aventis, Medtronic under scrutiny in press reports

ProPublica details alleged activities by Sanofi-Aventis to influence regulators regarding its brand-name blood thinner, Lovenox, while other news outlets report on Medtronic's activities related to a biological agent used in back surgery.

27 May 2011

Health Care News and Research

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

Global health, development issues not likely to be focus of Deauville G8 meeting, IPS reports

Quest Diagnostics announces results of largest ImmunoCAP cross-sectional allergy study

India pledges $5B in aid to Africa to help continent reach MDGs

Parties differ on selling insurance across state lines

Sanofi-Aventis, Medtronic under scrutiny in press reports

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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