Health Care News and Research

RSS

New surgical centers open in Penn., faith-based clinic in Michigan

Stand-alone surgical centers in York County as well as the entire state have tripled in the past decade, according to a report released earlier this month by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, The York Dispatch reports.

29 Oct 2010

CNN reports on recent uptick in cholera cases worldwide

CNN's "the chart" blog examines the rising number of cholera cases around the world. In addition to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, "[a]s of this month, four African nations - Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger - have reported more than 40,000 cases of cholera and more than 2,000 deaths. And Pakistan, a country that is still suffering from the effects of horrific floods, also is reporting 100+ cases of cholera since last month."

29 Oct 2010

Outcome-based contract between CIGNA and Merck helps diabetics control blood sugar levels

The first national outcome-based contract between a pharmaceutical company and a pharmacy benefit management company resulted in an increase in the number of people with type 2 diabetes who were able to control their blood sugar levels by taking their medications appropriately.

29 Oct 2010

Agweek examines USAID's food aid purchases

Agweek examines USAID's approach to purchasing food aid. The piece notes USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah's comments from his Oct. 15 remarks at the World Food Prize symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, when he explained that USAID has used $250 million to purchase foodstuffs in developing countries this year.

29 Oct 2010

Countdown on as Republicans ready health repeal agenda, Democrats continue push

Kaiser Health News' Health on the Hill, examines advertisements about the new health law in a video conversation. Many Democrats, concerned that voters view the measure in a negative light, continue to not mention health reform.

29 Oct 2010

Return of the doc cuts threatens access, physician-group lobby says, again

Pending Medicare cuts could mean physician practices would back away from the program, according to a trade group representing these doctor groups, Medscape reports.

29 Oct 2010

With incentives from insurers, pharmacies refocus from snacks to drugs

Drug stores are returning to their roots — drugs, the (Raleigh N.C.) News and Observer/Scripps News reports. "After years of adding everything from groceries to grills to their inventory, drugstore chains are once again emphasizing their pharmacies.

29 Oct 2010

Physician-owned hospitals racing to meet health law deadline

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver, working in collaboration with USA Today, reports: "At the Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital here, construction workers scrambled on a recent day to turn a mud pit into a parking lot and put other finishing touches on the $35 million physician-owned facility" (Weaver, 10/28).

29 Oct 2010

More details of the health law revealed as implementation unfolds

The law imposes stringent restrictions on physician-owned hospitals, which critics say cherry pick the lucrative specialty patients community hospitals depend on to stay afloat, Kaiser Health News/USA Today report.

29 Oct 2010

Health law only small part of insurance rate increases

The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports on a 16.3 percent premium hike this year by Regence BlueShield, Washington state's largest health insurer, which was the "the forth year in a row of double-digit increases." After the increase, "company reserves grew and executive salaries mostly increased, a seattlepi.com review of state documents has found.

29 Oct 2010

Statewatch: D.C poised to approve Johns Hopkins-Sibley deal; Controversial Medicaid cuts in Idaho, Indiana

The Washington Post: "The agreement for Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Health System to acquire Sibley Memorial Hospital is likely to be approved by District officials as soon as Thursday, giving the world-class academic medical center its first foothold in the District. Driven by Sibley's need to ensure long-term financial stability by increasing its volume of patients, the move will allow Hopkins to improve its market position in the Washington-Baltimore region.

29 Oct 2010

KHN Column: What if the President had changed his priorities? A pre-election analysis from an alternate universe

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes, Mere days stand between the Democrats and a major defeat at the polls.

29 Oct 2010

Health on The Hill – October 27, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with The Fiscal Times' Eric Pianin and KFF's Jackie Judd about the latest news in politics and health policy.

29 Oct 2010

Opinions: Defense, diplomacy, development; PMTCT in Africa; perils of DIY aid; cholera in Haiti

In a Foreign Affairs essay, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton writes of the need to elevate diplomacy and development alongside defense a 'smart power' approach to solving global problems.

29 Oct 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Medicare rip-offs; Courts and the individual mandate; Accountable care

Instead of getting hung up on labels adopted in the heat of political battle, they should focus instead on Supreme Court precedents that found that taxes designed to influence behavior, like taxes to deter the sale of particularly dangerous firearms, were constitutional, provided they raised revenue in the process.

29 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 28, 2010

Today's news includes headlines about the reasons behind rising health premiums.

28 Oct 2010

CCS presents new 2010 Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) presented its new 2010 Atrial Fibrillation Guidelines, the first update in six years, at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CCC) in Montreal.

28 Oct 2010

Future of health reform legislation and voting for Congressional elections

A comprehensive review of national opinion polls, including newly released data, shows that those who say they intend to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate in 2010 and those who say they intend to vote for a Republican in their district hold starkly different views of what they want the future of health reform legislation to be, mirroring the divide between Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress on this issue.

28 Oct 2010

Teck donates $2.5M to support emergency programs and services at St. Paul's Hospital

St. Paul's Hospital Foundation today announced that Teck Resources Limited donated $2.5 million to St. Paul's Hospital to complete the remaining funding for its recently renovated and redesigned emergency area. In recognition of Teck's major gift, the area will be named the Teck Emergency Centre. Furthermore, a fund to support research, academic productivity and the development of best practices at the hospital will be called the Teck Emergency Centre Innovation Fund.

28 Oct 2010

Cord Blood America enters new work agreement with Hawaii Medical Service Association

Cord Blood America, Inc., the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life-saving potential of stem cells to families nationwide and internationally, is pleased to announce a new work agreement with the Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the largest and most experienced provider of health care coverage in Hawaii.

28 Oct 2010