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Democrats may be giving up on medicare chief's confirmation

Senate Democrats have given up on confirming Don Berwick as CMS administrator in the wake of a letter from 42 Republican senators opposing the nomination, sources tell POLITICO. Citing the GOP letter, a person familiar with the situation said Senate Democrats and the White House "can do the arithmetic" and now see that there's no way for Berwick to get the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate.

8 Mar 2011

LA Times: New nursing home paperwork may be a positive

Los Angeles Times: New Nursing Home Paperwork Is Worth The Effort.

8 Mar 2011

UNICEF requests $1.4b to assist women, children in humanitarian crises worldwide

UNICEF on Sunday released the Humanitarian Action for Children Report, 2011 (.pdf) "requesting $1.4 billion in its appeal to donors to assist children and women caught in the throes of crises.

8 Mar 2011

Debate continues regarding certain medical tests

News outlets report on how discussion continues to swirl around the use of the so-called "PSA velocity" test and mammography guidelines.

8 Mar 2011

Scientists integrate stretchable electronics technology with balloon catheters for cardiac procedures

Cardiologists may soon be able to place sensitive electronics inside their patients' hearts with minimal invasiveness, enabling more sophisticated and efficient diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias.

8 Mar 2011

FAO report says reducing gender gap in agriculture could help increase food supplies worldwide

Increasing women's access to land, technology and other agricultural resources could significantly reduce the number of hungry people worldwide, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said on Monday in a report, the Associated Press/FoxNews.com reports.

8 Mar 2011

Also in global health news: EU-India talks; China's health system funding; water in Ethiopia; nonprofit offering health services abroad to sell off assets; polio in India

BMJ News Examines Ongoing EU-India Trade Talks' Impact On Access To Affordable Medicines

8 Mar 2011

New screening program to identify children with behavioral, emotional problems

A study published in the March 2011 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine shows that Massachusetts' new court-ordered mental health screening and intervention program led to more children being identified as behaviorally and emotionally at risk. The program is called the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI).

8 Mar 2011

Patent woes likely to trigger drug co. losses

At the end of November, Pfizer stands to lose a $10-billion-a-year revenue stream when the patent on its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor expires and cheaper generics begin to cut into the company's huge sales

8 Mar 2011

New clinical trial to assess antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected individuals based on CD4 counts

A major new clinical trial seeks to determine whether HIV-infected asymptomatic individuals have less risk of developing AIDS or other serious illness if they begin taking antiretrovirals sooner rather than later, based on their level of CD4+ T-cells.

8 Mar 2011

Politico: Conservative justices face attacks from the left

Politico: The Liberal Campaign Against SCOTUS Conservatives.

8 Mar 2011

Study: Physicians' empathy can improve patients' positive clinical outcomes

It has been thought that the quality of the physician-patient relationship is integral to positive outcomes but until now, data to confirm such beliefs has been hard to find. Through a landmark study, a research team from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University has been able to quantify a relationship between physicians' empathy and their patients' positive clinical outcomes, suggesting that a physician's empathy is an important factor associated with clinical competence.

8 Mar 2011

Medicaid pressures push governors to consider ways to stretch their dollars

Across the U.S., governors are contemplating ways to ease the fiscal pressure Medicaid has placed on their state budgets. The approaches currently on the table include freezing the enrollment of childless adults, transforming Medicaid into a block grant program and convincing Congress to give states more flexibility to administer the program.

8 Mar 2011

Researchers find new strategy for long-term care of seniors

America's 75 million aging adults soon will face decisions about where and how to live as they age. Current options for long-term care, including nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, are costly and require seniors to move from place to place.

8 Mar 2011

Humana joins with iCan to offer new individual healthcare plans

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) has teamed with the iCan Benefit Group to offer a new line of discounted products for individual consumers. Effective immediately, people can access a variety of discounted packages that include dental, vision and pharmacy products.

8 Mar 2011

Health law funding again in play as Congress seeks current-year spending deal

With lawmakers trying to reach a compromise to avert a government shutdown and set the federal government's spending for the rest of the year, funding for the health law could face challenges in the House and the Senate.

8 Mar 2011

GOP presidential hopeful Romney continues defense of Mass. health overhaul

In defending the reform he oversaw as the state's governor, he continues to draw differences between that plan and the federal health law.

8 Mar 2011

State roundup: Mass. effort to manage care for chronically ill; promoting organ donations

For a glimpse of the future of Massachusetts health care as Gov. Deval Patrick envisions it, consider Phyllis Minsky. At 82, Phyllis is complex. Medically, that is. ... Older patients with multiple chronic diseases are the biggest consumers of health care; some 15 percent of Medicare patients make up over 75 percent of health care spending.

8 Mar 2011

AstraZeneca grants $2.5 million to 14 U.S.-based organizations to improve cardiovascular health

The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation today announced grants totaling more than $2.5 million to 14 U.S.-based nonprofit organizations from Maine to California dedicated to improving cardiovascular health in local communities.

8 Mar 2011

Costs and profits: News from the hospital industry

The Boston Globe reports on how Children's Hospital Boston is zeroing in on its costs. Meanwhile, the LA Times reports on another example of regional variation in the cost of care.

8 Mar 2011