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Obama to nominate Morgan Stanley COO for deputy Secretary of State for management and resources post

The White House on Wednesday announced President Barack Obama's intention to nominate Thomas Nides, chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley, "to be the next deputy Secretary of State for management and resources, replacing Jack Lew, who is waiting to be confirmed to be the director of the Office of Management and Budget," Foreign Policy's blog "The Cable" reports (Rogin , 9/29).

1 Oct 2010

GHI won't compromise PEPFAR, Global AIDS Coordinator says at House Foreign Affairs' Committee hearing

During a House Committee on Foreign Affairs' hearing on the future of PEPFAR Wednesday, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby assured lawmakers that the decision by President Barack Obama to make PEPFAR part of the president's Global Health Initiative (GHI) would not compromise "the widely praised plan," CQ HealthBeat reports.

1 Oct 2010

Neb. insurer launches pilot program to cut costs, improve health; W.Va. Medicaid official defends no-bid contract

Lincoln Journal Star: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, the state's largest health insurer, is establishing a new pilot program that seeks to give doctors better patient information so that they can deal more effectively with patients' needs and help lower costs. The pilot will use a web-based program that officials hope can take disparate medical records and produce "tailored patient checklists" that doctors can use.

1 Oct 2010

House passes health bill for 9/11 workers, grandfathering resolution fails in Senate

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog: The House Wednesday approved a bill to cover the health care costs for emergency workers who responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "The tally was 268 to 160, with 17 Republicans supporting the measure and three Democrats voting against it. … House passage followed months of contentious debate over whether the federal government has an obligation to pay emergency workers sickened by the smoke, debris and toxic fumes caused by the attacks of 9/11.

1 Oct 2010

McDonald’s says reform law provision threatens employee health coverage

The Wall Street Journal: "McDonald's Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers' health plans as the law ripples through the real world.

1 Oct 2010

Researchers study gene interactions for personalized drug prescriptions

The University of Alaska Fairbanks will study how the genetics and diet of Yup'ik Eskimos affect the blood-thinning properties of a common drug used by heart and stroke patients.

1 Oct 2010

Health law's boost for ACOs gains momentum but faces possible legal hurdles

News outlets report on possible obstacles to the formation of accountable care organizations - hospitals and physicians working together to improve the quality of patient care while controlling costs.

1 Oct 2010

HHS announces $473 million grant to help people make effective healthcare decisions

HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality today announced the award of $473 million in grants and contracts to support projects that will help people make health care decisions based on the best evidence of effectiveness. The funding announced today covers all of AHRQ's allocation and $173 million administered for the HHS Secretary by AHRQ.

1 Oct 2010

Study finds benefits of mammograms for women in their 40s, sparking disagreement

The New York Times: "Researchers reported Wednesday that mammograms can cut the breast cancer death rate by 26 percent for women in their 40s. But their results were greeted with skepticism by some experts who say they may have overestimated the benefit.

1 Oct 2010

Experts to discuss impact of health information technology on pediatric practice

David Blumenthal, MD, will discuss the impact of health information technology on pediatric practice during a "Pediatrics for the 21st Century" symposium at 1 p.m. PT Friday, Oct. 1, as part of the National Conference and Exhibition of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in San Francisco.

1 Oct 2010

Antiretroviral therapy does not reduce risk of HIV transmission

For married couples in which one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative, antiretroviral therapy (ART) does not reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to the uninfected partner, according to a study from China in the October issue of JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

1 Oct 2010

Medicare now required check for fraud before paying claims

The Miami Herald: "The behemoth Medicare bureaucracy will have to act more like a credit card company in flagging suspicious bills under a new federal law that could save taxpayers billions of dollars a year in wasteful government healthcare spending.

1 Oct 2010

World Bank President calls for new, more open approach to economic development

"World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Wednesday called on economists to rethink the way they look at issues affecting developing nations and said he was overhauling the way his institution approached research," Reuters reports (Wroughton, 9/29).

1 Oct 2010

Today's Opinions: Concerns about ACOs; Obama challenged on health care claims; Scare tactics

There is a very real danger that by the time policy makers get around to reading and understanding this section of law (on accountable care organizations) that the health care marketplace will have irreversibly changed (Dustin Corcoran, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

New legislation introduced to assess critical care services in the U.S.

Yesterday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Member Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced legislation to assess and critical care health services in the United States.

1 Oct 2010

KHN column: The NAIC's effort to find balance in its medical loss ratio regulation

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Timothy Jost writes that the development of this draft rule is not a contest with winners and losers, but an effort to create a framework to press insurers to spend less money on bureaucracy and more on health care in a way that benefits consumers and keeps insurance markets viable (9/30).

1 Oct 2010

RN expert provides an overview on healthcare quality measurement

Students at Louisiana State University today heard an executive with Baton Rouge-based Amedisys talk about how quality is measured in health care and why it should matter to all Americans. Amedisys is the largest home health care and hospice company in the U.S., providing care to more than 35,000 patients every day.

1 Oct 2010

States cutting Medicaid benefits as they stagger under economic downturn

Kaiser Health News writer Phil Galewitz reports on a new study that finds Medicaid programs across the country cutting back benefits.

1 Oct 2010

HIV/AIDS researchers, government officials track progress, forecast challenges for HIV vaccine development

More than 1,000 researchers, government officials and advocates are gathering in Atlanta this week to discuss the progress and future challenges in the development of a vaccine that protects against HIV, FierceVaccines reports (Carroll, 9/29). The AIDS Vaccine 2010 meeting, which kicked off Tuesday, will run through Friday, according to the website for the meeting (undated).

1 Oct 2010

Lawmaker proposes trust fund for veterans' growing health costs

"A new study estimates that health costs for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans could top $900 billion, and [Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif.] wants to set up a trust fund to make sure the bill will be paid," The Associated Press reports.

1 Oct 2010

Health Care News and Research

Obama to nominate Morgan Stanley COO for deputy Secretary of State for management and resources post

GHI won't compromise PEPFAR, Global AIDS Coordinator says at House Foreign Affairs' Committee hearing

Neb. insurer launches pilot program to cut costs, improve health; W.Va. Medicaid official defends no-bid contract

House passes health bill for 9/11 workers, grandfathering resolution fails in Senate

McDonald’s says reform law provision threatens employee health coverage

Researchers study gene interactions for personalized drug prescriptions

Health law's boost for ACOs gains momentum but faces possible legal hurdles

HHS announces $473 million grant to help people make effective healthcare decisions

Study finds benefits of mammograms for women in their 40s, sparking disagreement

Experts to discuss impact of health information technology on pediatric practice

Antiretroviral therapy does not reduce risk of HIV transmission

Medicare now required check for fraud before paying claims

World Bank President calls for new, more open approach to economic development

Today's Opinions: Concerns about ACOs; Obama challenged on health care claims; Scare tactics

New legislation introduced to assess critical care services in the U.S.

KHN column: The NAIC's effort to find balance in its medical loss ratio regulation

RN expert provides an overview on healthcare quality measurement

States cutting Medicaid benefits as they stagger under economic downturn

HIV/AIDS researchers, government officials track progress, forecast challenges for HIV vaccine development

Lawmaker proposes trust fund for veterans' growing health costs

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