Health Care News and Research

RSS

U.S. food prices could rise up to 4%, USDA says

U.S. food prices will "rise as much as 4% this year, more than the 2% to 3% estimated last month, after a surge in prices for farm goods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture" forecast Thursday during the agency's outlook conference in Washington, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.

28 Feb 2011

Governors want flexibility from federal officials on health issues

The National Governors Association is meeting in Washington this weekend and some of the state leaders spoke out about their difficulties funding health programs and flexibility and changes they would like to see from the federal government.

28 Feb 2011

Temporary budget compromise would not defund health law

News outlets covered the ongoing saga of whether Congress and the president will avert a government shutdown.

28 Feb 2011

Progressive groups offer support for maintaining Medicaid requirements

The nation's governors are will be in Washington this weekend for the National Governors Association winter meeting. Budget issues, especially related to Medicaid spending and other health costs, will be a hot topic.

28 Feb 2011

New study: Little historical evidence justifies economic downturns linked with large cuts in health aid

The World Bank and World Health Organization have voiced fears that policymakers will break their commitments to support desperately needed global health services in low- and middle-income countries because of the ongoing global economic downturn. Yet, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health, there is surprisingly little historical evidence to justify reversing these commitments.

28 Feb 2011

House, Senate leaders continue negotiations on FY11 budget; global health advocates protest spending cuts

Federal budget negotiations continued on Thursday, "as Senate Democrats looked for targets for cuts in the remaining months of fiscal 2011 and House Republicans appeared ready to unveil a stopgap plan that would make deep reductions over the next two weeks," CQ reports.

28 Feb 2011

Study: Kinship caregivers receive fewer support services than foster parents

Children who are placed with a relative because of mistreatment at home fare better in some areas than those placed in foster care, but they may have a higher risk of substance use and teenage pregnancy.

28 Feb 2011

New study identifies recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users

Botulism is a rare disease and recurrent botulism even more rare. However, in California, recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users has been on the rise and makes up three-quarters of reported cases in the United States.

28 Feb 2011

Medical malpractice system heading for a change

Medical malpractice laws and the system are perceived to be severely flawed. Many patients with legitimate claims never see a dollar of what they are owed, and many doctors who've done nothing wrong are sometimes found liable for enormous settlements. now efforts are being made to correct the situation both for patients and doctors.

28 Feb 2011

Experts offer myth-busting advice to fight against spring allergies

Millions of Americans sneeze and wheeze March through June when they use misinformation to manage their spring allergies.

27 Feb 2011

Takeda receives FDA approval for EDARBI to treat hypertension in adults

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved EDARBI for the treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure, in adults.

27 Feb 2011

Research Roundup: Health costs at life's end; Assessing hospital quality; Surgeons' burnout; Per capita Medicaid spending

Annals of Internal Medicine: Determinants Of Medical Expenditures In The Last 6 Months Of Life - Identifying factors about patients in the final six months of life that affect the level of care needed "may reveal opportunities for patient-centered interventions to predict and to reduce medical costs," write the authors, while noting that the study had "a large proportion of unexplained variation."

25 Feb 2011

State News: Ga. Senate oks insurance mandates bill; Va. Assembly says abortion clinics should be regulated as hospitals

State agencies, county prosecutors, insurance companies, and health care employers and associations are mandatory reporters — they're required to report potentially dangerous and unprofessional doctors to medical regulators, who can bar the doctors from practicing and keep patients out of harm's way. But the mandatory reporters sound few alarms, and when they do, regulators rarely take action, the Tribune found.

25 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: WSJ on Medicare Advantage, Texas Gov. Perry on 'Fed inroads,' Med students' health policy ignorance

The White House has apparently decided that it won't enforce the unpopular parts of its health-care plan until after the 2012 election. The latest evidence is its decision not to slash Medicare Advantage, the program that Democrats hate because it lets seniors choose private insurance options. ... Would this be the same Medicare Advantage that candidate Barack Obama vowed to eliminate, saying in 2007 that "We shouldn't be rewarding the insurance industry for deceiving and defrauding our seniors"? (2/25).

25 Feb 2011

Affordable Care Act provides states with flexibility and resources to improve health care benefits

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today released a new report showing that the Affordable Care Act provides states with significant flexibility and resources to improve health care benefits and protect consumers. Already, the law has provided or offered $2.8 billion in funding to States. This is a fraction of the total funding available under the law to help States implement new consumer protections, expand health coverage, and improve health care quality.

25 Feb 2011

Hospitals and health system innovations designed to increase efficiency, improve outcomes

News outlets report on how certain health care models are performing in these difficult economic times.

25 Feb 2011

HHS offers new grants to help states with insurance rate reviews

These grants are designed to assist states in creating or enhancing their reviews of the premiums charged by health insurance companies.

25 Feb 2011

Humana CEO hails the importance of the health care consumer

But on Capitol Hill, Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., released a fact sheet detailing the profits earned by the nation's five largest insurers — including Humana — and touted health law provisions that would increase transparency from the insurance industry.

25 Feb 2011

New York's Medicaid advisory panel approves plan to cut health spending

The panel's compromise includes an annual spending cap and across-the-board Medicaid provider cuts. Meanwhile, other states also struggle with the rising cost of Medicaid and its impact on the budget.

25 Feb 2011

Poll finds 1 in 5 Americans think health law was repealed

Coverage continues regarding a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Thursday that found a surprising degree of confusion about the status of the federal health overhaul.

25 Feb 2011

Health Care News and Research

U.S. food prices could rise up to 4%, USDA says

Governors want flexibility from federal officials on health issues

Temporary budget compromise would not defund health law

Progressive groups offer support for maintaining Medicaid requirements

New study: Little historical evidence justifies economic downturns linked with large cuts in health aid

House, Senate leaders continue negotiations on FY11 budget; global health advocates protest spending cuts

Study: Kinship caregivers receive fewer support services than foster parents

New study identifies recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users

Medical malpractice system heading for a change

Experts offer myth-busting advice to fight against spring allergies

Takeda receives FDA approval for EDARBI to treat hypertension in adults

Research Roundup: Health costs at life's end; Assessing hospital quality; Surgeons' burnout; Per capita Medicaid spending

State News: Ga. Senate oks insurance mandates bill; Va. Assembly says abortion clinics should be regulated as hospitals

Viewpoints: WSJ on Medicare Advantage, Texas Gov. Perry on 'Fed inroads,' Med students' health policy ignorance

Affordable Care Act provides states with flexibility and resources to improve health care benefits

Hospitals and health system innovations designed to increase efficiency, improve outcomes

HHS offers new grants to help states with insurance rate reviews

Humana CEO hails the importance of the health care consumer

New York's Medicaid advisory panel approves plan to cut health spending

Poll finds 1 in 5 Americans think health law was repealed

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

Latest News