Health Care News and Research

RSS

Asian countries should increase rice reserves to prevent food insecurity, report says

A report released on Monday by the Asia Society and the International Rice Research Institute recommends that Asian countries should increase rice reserves to help stabilize prices and improve food security in the region which is home to about 65 percent of the world's hungry, Bloomberg reports.

29 Sep 2010

Florida likely to seek waiver on medical loss ratio; Ariz. cuts back Medicaid benefits

The Hill Healthwatch: "Florida's 14-member insurance advisory board has unanimously passed a resolution to seek a waiver from the health law's medical loss ratio. An official with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation tells The Hill that the board's vote means it's a 'done deal' that the state will formally seek some kind of waiver but the board is gathering public input through Oct. 8.

29 Sep 2010

New genetic screening program to reduce risk associated with Plavix

Beginning this month, all patients undergoing cardiac catheterization at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will be tested for a genetic variation that can affect their response to Plavix, the most commonly prescribed clot-preventing drug for heart patients and one of the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide.

29 Sep 2010

Health law includes help for young women with breast cancer

Kaiser Health News: "A little-noticed section in the health-care overhaul aims to raise awareness among young women and their doctors about the risk of breast cancer between the ages of 15 and 44. The law directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create education campaigns that will focus on breast cancer and young women, and encourage healthful habits that promote prevention and early detection of the disease.

29 Sep 2010

Mayo Clinic Center forms Social Media Health Network to promote healthcare

The recently formed Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media today announced the formation of the Social Media Health Network, a group dedicated to using social media to promote health, improve health care and fight disease.

29 Sep 2010

HHS announces grants to help seniors, people with disabilities and caregivers navigate long term care options

Modern Healthcare: As part of the new health law, HHS is distributing $68 million in grants "to help people navigate their health and long-term-care options. The grants will be going to states, territories, tribal and community-based organizations to help seniors, individuals with disabilities and caregivers make more-informed decisions about their health and long-term care.

29 Sep 2010

Computer-assisted decisions can sometimes cause problems for prescribing

Experts hoped computers could help doctors make treatment safer for patients, but it turns out they have side effects, too. The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog reports, for one study,the anti-clotting drug warfarin and a certain antibiotic can produce hazardous effects when taken together.

29 Sep 2010

Loss of INPP5A gene can predict cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression

The loss of a gene known as INPP5A could predict the onset, and track the progression, of an aggressive type of skin cancer, according to a study published today by the Mayo Clinic, Arizona Cancer Center, and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

29 Sep 2010

Politico examines reactions to Obama's development policy

"The U.S. development community is pronouncing itself 'thrilled' with the Obama administration's recently unveiled new development policy," Politico's Laura Rozen reports on her blog, which examines reaction to President Barack Obama's speech at the U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) last week.

29 Sep 2010

Enzi targets HHS regulations, House will consider medical debt relief legislation

CongressDaily reports that Senate Republicans are trying to stop the health care law "one rule at a time." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to table the resolution from Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., regarding the law's "grandfathering" rule, "which allows plans that existed before March 23, 2010 — the date the healthcare law was signed — to be exempt from certain consumer protections enacted in the law, as long as plans do not significantly reduce benefits or raise consumer costs.

29 Sep 2010

GAO, Senate question role of hospital supplies middlemen

Group Purchasing Organizations, "which effectively act as middlemen between hospitals, suppliers and vendors," received mixed reports from the Government Accountability Office and the Senate Finance Committee, CongressDaily reports. "Many GPOs are paid through fees from manufacturers and vendors rather than by hospitals directly. As a result, the industry has enjoyed a special safe harbor from anti-kickback laws.

29 Sep 2010

News outlets examine what you should know about new health law provisions

USA Today, on how the new health law has started helping consumers: "Provisions of the health care reform law that took effect Sept. 23 prohibit some of the industry's most controversial practices." Insurers must now cover children with pre-existing conditions and cover preventive care for everyone.

29 Sep 2010

Past malpractice claims help doctors avoid future mistakes

Medical providers are using past malpractice cases to help avoid future mistakes, The Wall Street Journal reports.

29 Sep 2010

Study: Employees will pay more for health insurance in 2011

Companies' health costs will rise about 9 percent on average next year as a result of the aging workforce, growing medical costs and health law-related changes, and employees can expect to pick up an ever-growing share, the Los Angeles Times reports. Human resources consultant Hewitt's survey of 350 medium to large firms found companies "will spend $9,821 per employee on average for insurance next year, up from $9,028 this year — an 8.8% increase and more than double what they paid in 2001."

29 Sep 2010

Former Geisinger head to run CMS Innovation Center

CQ HealthBeat reports that Richard Gilfillan, a former head of the Geisinger Health Plan in Pennsylvania, will run the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center that was created by the health law. Gilfillan was chosen Monday. At Geisinger, Gilfillan ran a plan that "many health policy analysts see as a national model for delivering quality, affordable care" (Reichard, 9/27).

29 Sep 2010

Medicare Advantage plans draw attention

The Boston Globe: "Harvard Pilgrim Health Care has notified customers that it will drop its Medicare Advantage health insurance program at the end of the year, forcing 22,000 senior citizens in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine to seek alternative supplemental coverage." The reason is that federal reimbursements for such plans have been frozen, and Harvard's particular Advantage product, a private fee-for-service plan, would have to develop a network of contracted providers for the first time under the new rules (Weisman, 9/28).

29 Sep 2010

Scientists to identify microbial risk predictors for preterm birth

A team of scientists from Mayo Clinic, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the J. Craig Venter Institute are leveraging a long-standing research relationship to apply results from the Human Microbiome Project to help identify microbial risk predictors for preterm birth.

29 Sep 2010

NIH grants Akonni $3M for development of multi-drug resistant/extensively drug-resistant genotyping test

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and plans to market sophisticated genetic testing devices for complex infectious and human diseases, today announced receipt of a nearly $3 million Challenge Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a new program made possible under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

29 Sep 2010

Text: The Republican 'Pledge' on health care

With an eye on the midterm elections, Republicans in the House of Representative released "A Pledge to America" -- an outline of what they plan to do if they gain control of Congress.

29 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Challenging health law critics' words; The case for Calif. health exchange; Holes in the GOP pledge

If critics really want to go back to the days when insurance companies ran wild with no accountability, they should have the courage to say so openly instead of hiding behind distracting attacks. In the meantime, we're going to keep standing up for American families and small business owners who deserve a system that works for them (Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 9/28).

29 Sep 2010