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Roundup: Calif. kids' care; high Mass. health workers' costs; Iowa nursing home inspectors

The push is on to enroll thousands of children who previously could not get health coverage or whose parents paid much higher premiums because of their children's pre-existing medical conditions. Under new federal rules that took effect last fall, children with chronic health conditions cannot be denied coverage.

17 Feb 2011

Senate finance leaders push for permanent Medicare 'doc fix'

Both Committee Chair Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are pushing for an overhaul of Medicare's physician payment formula. Meanwhile, Baucus is not "ready to commit" to hold confirmation hearings for the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who has been re-nominated.

17 Feb 2011

World Bank highlights significant food price rises

"Rising food prices pushed tens of millions of people into extreme poverty last year and are reaching 'dangerous levels' in some countries, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Tuesday as he released new data showing that the cost of grain and other staples is near a historic high," the Washington Post reports (Schneider, 2/15).

17 Feb 2011

AHRQ lists SVS as Patient Safety Organization

The Society for Vascular Surgery is now listed as a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, on behalf of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

17 Feb 2011

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Among the strategies being used are efforts to change rules, revise definitions, tighten anti-fraud efforts and cut services.

17 Feb 2011

USAID Administrator discusses global health programs at NIH event

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on Tuesday delivered a speech at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he reaffirmed President Barack Obama's commitment to the 6-year $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI) and discussed the USAID's role in bolstering U.S. global health programs, CIDRAP News reports. During his speech, Shah emphasized the administration's focus on structuring global health programs to be more cost efficient.

17 Feb 2011

Can Obama, GOP find consensus on Medicare, Medicaid spending?

As criticism continues regarding President Barack Obama's budget plan, he acknowledged in a Tuesday speech that more needs to be done to resolve the nation's long-term budget problems and he signaled an interest in working toward a compromise with Republicans. Some GOP Senators responded by challenging Obama to begin such negotiations "swiftly."

17 Feb 2011

Omega fourth quarter net income decreases to $5.0 million

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. today announced its results of operations for the quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. The Company also reported Funds From Operations ("FFO") available to common stockholders for the three months ended December 31, 2010 of $28.4 million or $0.29 per common share.

17 Feb 2011

WH statement says Obama would veto FY11 budget that 'undermines critical priorities or national security'

The Office of Management and Budget released a statement on Tuesday warning that President Barack Obama would "veto the continuing resolution funding bill now being debated in the House if it contains drastic cuts to national security, but it remains unclear if large cuts in diplomacy and foreign aid programs would be enough to force White House action," Foreign Policy's blog "The Cable" reports.

17 Feb 2011

HHS unveils new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of immunization activities

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled a new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of all aspects of federal vaccine and immunization activities. Its goal is to ensure that all Americans can access the preventive benefits of vaccines.

17 Feb 2011

Obama launches push to reform state med-mal laws, curb defensive medicine

Meanwhile, in other news related to health reform, the Internal Revenue Service is seeking $119 million in new funds in order to enforce the tax-related provisions of the health overhaul.

17 Feb 2011

Upcoming Bangladeshi mass cholera vaccine program might shed light on strategy effectiveness

TIME reports on an oral cholera vaccination program to kick off on Thursday in Bangladesh that researchers hope will determine how good of a "weapon" the mass vaccination strategy can be "against an old disease".

17 Feb 2011

GOP presses on with CR budget cuts; Some health programs at risk

House Republican lawmakers are continuing work on ratcheting down spending in the current year continuing resolution to fund the federal government. Some discretionary health programs are feeling the heat.

17 Feb 2011

GOP continues attack on Planned Parenthood, abortion funding

Abortion-rights advocates and abortion-rights opponents don't see eye to eye on much, but they do agree on this: Nobody hates Planned Parenthood quite as much as Mike Pence. The Indiana Republican is on a one-man crusade to deny all federal funding to the group — not just the money it gets for reproductive health and family planning services, but every penny it gets for anything (Kliff, 2/16).

17 Feb 2011

Arrests made in major Medicare fraud case

But CQ HealthBeat reports that the administration's top Medicare and Medicaid fraud buster told a Senate panel that the current-year spending plan being advanced by House Republicans could undermine the fed's efforts to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.

16 Feb 2011

Gov. Brewer: Feds say Arizona can cut Medicaid rolls

In a letter to the governor, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote that a federal waiver is not necessary to proceed with the state's plan. Sebelius did not approve of the waiver request.

16 Feb 2011

New study finds racial disparities among elderly Americans in hospital readmissions

Elderly black patients were more likely to be readmitted to the hospital after a prior hospital stay for a heart attack, heart failure, or pneumonia, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health researchers.

16 Feb 2011

Only hope of future affordability is better utilization of health resources and teamwork among professionals

An article published this month in Canadian Chiropractor Magazine, co-authored by a health economist who had been instrumental in the evolution of Canada's Medicare system, argues that the only hope of future affordability is a better utilization of health resources and teamwork among professionals.

16 Feb 2011

Congress must address unprecedented shortage of primary care physicians

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today told leaders of the House of Representatives that ACP understands the serious financial constraints on the federal budget at this time and supports bipartisan efforts to reduce funding for discretionary programs that do not achieve sufficient value, but firmly believes that Congress must continue on a path towards reversing an unprecedented shortage of primary care physicians in this country.

16 Feb 2011

Racial disparities in readmissions related to both patient race and site of care

Elderly Medicare black patients have a higher 30-day hospital readmission rate for several conditions including congestive heart failure and pneumonia compared to white patients, that is related in part to higher readmission rates among hospitals that disproportionately care for black patients, according to a study in the February 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Feb 2011

Health Care News and Research

Roundup: Calif. kids' care; high Mass. health workers' costs; Iowa nursing home inspectors

Senate finance leaders push for permanent Medicare 'doc fix'

World Bank highlights significant food price rises

AHRQ lists SVS as Patient Safety Organization

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

USAID Administrator discusses global health programs at NIH event

Can Obama, GOP find consensus on Medicare, Medicaid spending?

Omega fourth quarter net income decreases to $5.0 million

WH statement says Obama would veto FY11 budget that 'undermines critical priorities or national security'

HHS unveils new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of immunization activities

Obama launches push to reform state med-mal laws, curb defensive medicine

Upcoming Bangladeshi mass cholera vaccine program might shed light on strategy effectiveness

GOP presses on with CR budget cuts; Some health programs at risk

GOP continues attack on Planned Parenthood, abortion funding

Arrests made in major Medicare fraud case

Gov. Brewer: Feds say Arizona can cut Medicaid rolls

New study finds racial disparities among elderly Americans in hospital readmissions

Only hope of future affordability is better utilization of health resources and teamwork among professionals

Congress must address unprecedented shortage of primary care physicians

Racial disparities in readmissions related to both patient race and site of care

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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