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Hospitals turn to luxury services to entice patients

Hospitals around the country are seeking to attract more paying customers with high-end services while at the same time find ways to cut down expenses from patients who cannot pay their bills.

7 Dec 2010

State roundup: Wash. state to pay most of state worker premiums; Budget cuts and mental health in N.Y.; Idaho fraud

Gov. Chris Gregoire told state workers for months that they'd have to pay a bigger share of health-care costs — equal to 26 percent of their health-insurance premiums — because of a looming multibillion-dollar budget shortfall. That all changed when Gregoire's office agreed this week to have workers pay 15 percent of health-care premium costs, with the state picking up the other 85 percent in the next two-year budget (Garber, 12/3).

7 Dec 2010

Today's Op-Eds: ObamaCare and FEHBP; California prisons; and workhorse Medicaid

Even Washington's stupidest scandals can be revealing, and so it is with the liberal cri de snore that Republicans ought to renounce health insurance. Democrats have inadvertently drawn up another indictment of ObamaCare (12/4).

6 Dec 2010

New, HIV-like retroviruses linked to CFS, prostate cancer detected in healthy blood donors

In an unprecedented move, chronic fatigue syndrome patients published a half-page ad in The Washington Post today. The ad brings attention to new, HIV-like retroviruses, including XMRV, which have been linked to CFS and aggressive prostate cancer, and have been detected in healthy blood donors.

6 Dec 2010

Nation's top insurance lawyer suggests people to take steps before changing health insurance policy

By now, Americans everywhere are receiving premium increases and new policy choices when it comes to healthcare. Subscribers' rates are increasing and companies are making decisions about what they plan to do with the rising costs heading their way, says Frank N. Darras, the nation's top insurance lawyer.

6 Dec 2010

HHS, U.S. Treasury Department recognize Integrated Medical Systems' technolgy

The medical technology developed by Integrated Medical Systems, Inc., has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Treasury Department as a "qualified therapeutic discovery." The designation earns the company a grant to off-set its development efforts. The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project designation and grant is provided for under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

6 Dec 2010

Researchers show link between accepting family attitudes, behaviors towards LGBT children

For the first time, researchers have established a clear link between accepting family attitudes and behaviors towards their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children and significantly decreased risk and better overall health in adulthood.

6 Dec 2010

Texas gov. Perry backs away from Medicaid dropout threat

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program are breaking the state's budget, but opting out of the federal programs would have a devastating effect on health care delivery in Texas, according to a state report issued Friday. The report said most of the methods for fixing Medicaid spending in Texas will require acts of Congress, not the Legislature, to give the state greater flexibility in how the programs are run and a greater share of the national Medicaid financing.

6 Dec 2010

Health insurance news: Conn. rejects Anthem BC/BS rate increase, stock prices 'steady' despite reform law

The state Insurance Department refuted charges Friday by a nonprofit health-policy research group that Connecticut insurance regulators are understaffed and approve only minor changes to health-insurance rate hikes. Acting Insurance Commissioner Barbara C. Spear reacted to a report released this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation that said the state Department of Insurance 'has only one full-time actuary on staff' assigned to review rate filings for both the individual and small-group markets. ... 'Staffing levels do not have anything to do with the thoroughness of our rate review process,' Spear said." (Sturdevant, 12/13).

6 Dec 2010

Symposium to highlight aggression nurses experience in workplaces and lives

Nurses will use the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women to shine a spotlight on the aggression nurses and other health-care professionals experience in their workplaces and lives.

4 Dec 2010

HSS creates Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research

Hospital for Special Surgery announced the creation of the Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research to translate information collected from an extensive patient population into studies that will guide experts in preventing, diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal disorders.

4 Dec 2010

THCA has serious concerns regarding any effort to drop elders out of federal Medicaid program

On behalf of an aging Texas elderly population who depend upon adequate Medicaid funding to meet their growing care needs, and on behalf of the staff and facilities that are a mainstay of local economies throughout the state, THCA has serious concerns regarding any effort to drop out of the federal Medicaid program.

4 Dec 2010

HCW, CAI invite NC employers to participate in Healthcare Benefits & Cost Survey

Hill, Chesson & Woody and Capital Associated Industries have launched their sixth annual Healthcare Benefits & Cost Survey, and all N.C.-based employers are invited to participate and strengthen the sample by visiting the surveys tab on CAI's Web site, www.capital.org.

4 Dec 2010

Wide-scale study of flu vaccine's effectiveness in European children needed

A wide-scale study of the effectiveness of flu vaccine in children is needed in Europe to fully assess the benefits, not only in keeping the kids from getting sick, but limiting the spread of flu to adults.

4 Dec 2010

African, Caribbean, Pacific, EU leaders meet to discuss maternal mortality, climate change, other issues

Leaders from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of nations and the European Union launched "wide-ranging talks" in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reports. Approximately 450 lawmakers from 110 countries attended the opening.

4 Dec 2010

Debt panel members vote today; Some say recommendations will shape future efforts to reduce health costs

News outlets report that as the presidential debt commission plans to vote today, the final recommendations could shape the debate on how budgeteers treat Medicare, Medicaid and health care costs in the future -- regardless of the vote tally.

4 Dec 2010

HIV prevention programs worldwide are missing MSMs, survey finds

An online survey of men who have sex with men and their health service providers shows that the majority of respondents said most "gay men worldwide don't have access to HIV testing, counseling or free condoms and lubricant, a new study finds," according to a report by the Global Forum on MSM & HIV, HealthDay/Businessweek reports.

4 Dec 2010

NFID supports CDC's National Influenza Vaccination Week

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual observance of National Influenza Vaccination Week to communicate the importance and availability of influenza vaccination into the winter months and beyond. It is critical that physicians and patients, especially parents of pediatric patients, remain vigilant about flu protection this and every year.

4 Dec 2010

Minnesota pilot project seeks to save Medicare money by addressing readmission rates; MedPac offers draft payment recommendations

Last February, Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina set out to try to reduce readmissions for Medicare patients as part of a pilot project with UCare, a small Minnesota health plan. The result: The 30-day readmission rate dropped by 44 percent. ... It's one way, experts say, that Medicare hopes to save billions of dollars (Lerner, 12/2).

4 Dec 2010

Health experts discuss how to prepare for future dengue immunization programs

AsiaOne examines how groups are working to prepare policy makers for the availability of a dengue vaccine in the future, following a three-day meeting on the virus held in Singapore this week (Chan, 12/3).

4 Dec 2010

Health Care News and Research

Hospitals turn to luxury services to entice patients

State roundup: Wash. state to pay most of state worker premiums; Budget cuts and mental health in N.Y.; Idaho fraud

Today's Op-Eds: ObamaCare and FEHBP; California prisons; and workhorse Medicaid

New, HIV-like retroviruses linked to CFS, prostate cancer detected in healthy blood donors

Nation's top insurance lawyer suggests people to take steps before changing health insurance policy

HHS, U.S. Treasury Department recognize Integrated Medical Systems' technolgy

Researchers show link between accepting family attitudes, behaviors towards LGBT children

Texas gov. Perry backs away from Medicaid dropout threat

Health insurance news: Conn. rejects Anthem BC/BS rate increase, stock prices 'steady' despite reform law

Symposium to highlight aggression nurses experience in workplaces and lives

HSS creates Center for Musculoskeletal Outcomes and Patient Oriented Research

THCA has serious concerns regarding any effort to drop elders out of federal Medicaid program

HCW, CAI invite NC employers to participate in Healthcare Benefits & Cost Survey

Wide-scale study of flu vaccine's effectiveness in European children needed

African, Caribbean, Pacific, EU leaders meet to discuss maternal mortality, climate change, other issues

Debt panel members vote today; Some say recommendations will shape future efforts to reduce health costs

HIV prevention programs worldwide are missing MSMs, survey finds

NFID supports CDC's National Influenza Vaccination Week

Minnesota pilot project seeks to save Medicare money by addressing readmission rates; MedPac offers draft payment recommendations

Health experts discuss how to prepare for future dengue immunization programs

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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