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Hospice and Palliative care

The word hospice originated from the Latin hospitium, which means "to host or offer a place of shelter." In 2009, an estimated 1.56 million patients, more than 40 percent of deaths, received hospice services in the United States.

14 Mar 2011

GOP's new short-term budget fix does not include health cuts

Buying more time for budget talks, the House Appropriations Committee unveiled a three-week stop-gap bill Friday that will carry the government through April 8 while Republicans and the White House try to hammer out a spending plan for the second half of this fiscal year.

14 Mar 2011

External panel issues draft report saying WHO response to H1N1 lacked cohesion, clarity

An independent panel of experts commissioned by the WHO to probe its response to the H1N1 pandemic on Thursday released a draft report stating that while the organization performed well in many ways, it made "crucial mistakes" and "warned tens of millions could die if there is a severe flu outbreak in the future," the Associated Press reports.

14 Mar 2011

FY12 State Department funding request cannot be fulfilled, House Foreign Ops committee chair says

It "will not be possible" to meet the funding request for the State Department in President Barack Obama's FY12 budget proposal, Rep. Kay Granger, chair of the House State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee, said at a hearing on Thursday, CQ reports.

14 Mar 2011

Several Republican members of Congress urge Obama administration to deny North Korean food aid request

Several Republican lawmakers said Thursday that the Obama administration should "deny North Korea's request for food aid" because of concerns that it would support Kim Jong-Il's regime, Agence France-Presse reports.

14 Mar 2011

Home genetic tests need medical supervision: Expert panel

According to an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, genetic tests sold directly to consumers that might help to predict health risks may need to be supplied through doctors. An official, Alberto Gutierrez, director of the FDA office that regulates diagnostic screening tools reported that the Molecular and Clinical Genetics Advisory Panel concluded two days of hearings on the increasingly popular tests and had come to this resolution.

14 Mar 2011

Federal appeals court agrees to expedite Florida suit against health law

A federal appeals court has agreed to act swiftly in considering a Florida judge's ruling that President Obama's health care overhaul is unconstitutional. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said Friday that it had agreed to expedite the appeal, setting a faster timetable than even the federal government had requested.

14 Mar 2011

UnitedHealth Group ranked No. 1 on FORTUNE's 2011 'World's Most Admired Companies'

Diversified health and well-being company UnitedHealth Group earned the top overall ranking among insurance and managed care companies in FORTUNE's 2011 "World's Most Admired Companies" list, featured in the magazine's March 21 issue.

11 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Health law's individual mandate, fighting the deficit by pinching health care pennies

Like anyone who writes regularly about what passes for economic and fiscal debate in American politics, I've developed a strong tolerance for nonsense. After all, if I got upset every time powerful people were illogical and/or dishonest, I'd spend every waking hour in a state of raging despair. ... if you're serious about deficits, you shouldn't be pinching pennies now; you should be looking for ways to rein in health spending over the long term.

11 Mar 2011

Roundup: Poll finds satisfaction with Mass. health coverage; Kan. Gov. seeks Medicaid block grant

The first survey of consumers who receive subsidized health insurance through the state's Health Connector shows most give it high marks, according to results released yesterday by the Connector Authority. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed said they were pleased with the range of services covered and the quality of care available, and 82 percent had similar feelings about their choice of doctors.

11 Mar 2011

Research Roundup: Mass. medical bankruptcies; Palliative care teams work; Innovative health IT

The theme for the current issue of Health Affairs Is "Profiles of Innovation in Health Care Delivery."

11 Mar 2011

Polyglot Systems, CCNC offer Meducation technology to North Carolina residents

Polyglot Systems, Inc. recently partnered with Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), a Raleigh based health network operated by physicians, hospitals, health departments, and departments of social services, to offer Meducation® technology to support North Carolina residents who are considered low-health literate.

11 Mar 2011

Longer looks: Best health policy picks from thought-provoking publications

Every Thursday, KHN's Jessica Marcy compiles this selection of interesting perspectives, from a variety of publications, on health care in America.

11 Mar 2011

GOP budget choices: Offer politically risky cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or 'play it safe'?

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan signals that he is "ready to take on health programs" as Capitol Hill continues to struggle with long-term spending concerns. Meanwhile, lawmakers continue talks regarding the current year spending measure still under consideration. A new continuing resolution that would fund government operations until April 8 has emerged.

11 Mar 2011

Health care experts, lawmakers discuss the overhaul's future

News outlets offer various perspectives on how the health law will hold up in the face of its current and future legislative, economic and judicial challenges.

11 Mar 2011

CBO deficit-reduction options include billions in Medicare, Medicaid cuts

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a list of deficit-cutting options Thursday that includes hundreds of billions in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. The two programs account for 38 percent of mandatory spending — more than Social Security — and face a visit to the chopping block as Americans across the political spectrum clamor for the government to keep its spending under control.

11 Mar 2011

Analysis: 1 in 20 American adults is a cancer survivor

A new report from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that nearly 12 million people in the U.S. have survived a bout with this disease.

11 Mar 2011

Abortion wars continue: Funding and insurance coverage issues are among key battlegrounds

News outlets report on the latest developments related to congressional Republican efforts to cut Planned Parenthood funding and state efforts to prohibit health insurance plans sold in their new marketplaces from covering abortion services.

11 Mar 2011

Without fix, docs face 30% Medicare pay cut in 2012

This new figure, updated yesterday by Medicare officials from the previous 28.3 percent "cliff," means the president's plan to keep physician payments flat for the next two years will exceed — by as much as a billion dollars — the funding requested in his 2012 budget proposal.

11 Mar 2011

HHS unveils proposed waiver regs for states

The guidance is designed to help implement the health law's waiver provision for state innovation, which would allow some states flexibility as long as they meet key conditions related to coverage, benefits and cost.

11 Mar 2011

Health Care News and Research

Hospice and Palliative care

GOP's new short-term budget fix does not include health cuts

External panel issues draft report saying WHO response to H1N1 lacked cohesion, clarity

FY12 State Department funding request cannot be fulfilled, House Foreign Ops committee chair says

Several Republican members of Congress urge Obama administration to deny North Korean food aid request

Home genetic tests need medical supervision: Expert panel

Federal appeals court agrees to expedite Florida suit against health law

UnitedHealth Group ranked No. 1 on FORTUNE's 2011 'World's Most Admired Companies'

Viewpoints: Health law's individual mandate, fighting the deficit by pinching health care pennies

Roundup: Poll finds satisfaction with Mass. health coverage; Kan. Gov. seeks Medicaid block grant

Research Roundup: Mass. medical bankruptcies; Palliative care teams work; Innovative health IT

Polyglot Systems, CCNC offer Meducation technology to North Carolina residents

Longer looks: Best health policy picks from thought-provoking publications

GOP budget choices: Offer politically risky cuts to Medicare, Medicaid or 'play it safe'?

Health care experts, lawmakers discuss the overhaul's future

CBO deficit-reduction options include billions in Medicare, Medicaid cuts

Analysis: 1 in 20 American adults is a cancer survivor

Abortion wars continue: Funding and insurance coverage issues are among key battlegrounds

Without fix, docs face 30% Medicare pay cut in 2012

HHS unveils proposed waiver regs for states

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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