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IRS helping thousands pay for health insurance

The IRS is helping more than 40,000 residents of Michigan buy health insurance "after they lost their jobs to foreign competition or had their pension plans terminated," The Detroit News reports.

16 Feb 2010

Will health care savings be used to reduce the deficit?

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey writes: "In their effort to overhaul the health system, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats pressed hospitals, drug makers and other providers to accept billions of dollars in government payment cuts and new fees to help finance the legislation.

16 Feb 2010

Merck announces global sales of $27.4 billion for full-year 2009

Merck & Co., Inc. today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2009 which include the results of legacy Schering-Plough operations from the close of the merger on Nov. 3, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2009.

16 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 16, 2010

Today's health policy headlines cover a range of topics -- from using health savings to reduce the deficit to how tort reform fits into the current health reform negotiations.

16 Feb 2010

NACHC: ARRA investment is making a difference in community health centers

People and communities are healthier thanks to the investment in America’s Health Centers from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), or the “economic stimulus.” The law, enacted one year ago this week, provided funds that helped health centers expand care to the growing numbers of jobless and uninsured people who were quickly filling up their waiting rooms.

16 Feb 2010

Max Neeman International forms specialized surgical team for conducting minimally invasive surgery studies

Max Neeman International, a leading Indian CRO, has formed an exclusive team of India's finest, most experienced Physicians to conduct Minimally Invasive Surgery Studies. The team consists of the best Minimal Access Surgeons in the country who have performed more than 25,000 procedures combined.

16 Feb 2010

FDA’s radiation exposure-reduction initiative: HealthHelp’s model provides quality and safety

The Federal Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recently announced radiation exposure-reduction initiative acknowledges the vital need for industry-wide quality and safety measures like the ones HealthHelp provides its payer clients.

16 Feb 2010

AAPC's 2010 National Conference to be held in Nashville, Tennessee

The American Academy of Professional Coders announced its 2010 National Conference being held at the Gaylord Opryland hotel in Nashville, Tennessee on June 6–9. This annual event draws thousands of attendees including doctors, medical coders and office/practice managers to connect on the business side of health care.

16 Feb 2010

Case study demonstrates positive impact of diabetes management program

A case study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacists, demonstrates the positive impact of a diabetes management program designed to educate and motivate members to engage in their health care. The program was implemented by CVS Caremark and Polk County, Florida, a self-insured government employer client.

16 Feb 2010

Governor Pawlenty's proposed budget will hurt hospitals and people in Minnesota

Governor Tim Pawlenty's budget proposal announced today will severely hurt Minnesota's hospitals and the citizens they serve. His proposed budget would reduce payment rates for patients in state health programs, cut spending on medical education and put adults without children now covered by MinnesotaCare into the growing ranks of the uninsured. The current budget proposal would only make things worse in both the short term and the long term. If the governor's budget is adopted, hospitals will more than likely need to layoff more skilled workers and cut much-needed services.

16 Feb 2010

Lack of comprehensive insurance coverage is barrier for smoking cessation: Study

As a new year and decade begin, many Pennsylvanians have made an important resolution to quit smoking. Wanting to quit is a good first step, but it's not nearly enough. Smoking, we now know, is not just a "habit"; it's a true physical addiction, and, on average, most smokers try at least five times to quit.

16 Feb 2010

Infertility patients from across GTA demand government-funded IVF

Infertility patients from across the GTA gathered at Queen's Park this morning to demand government-funded in vitro fertilization (IVF). Larger than life children's building blocks on the steps of the provincial legislative building spelled out the $550 million the Ontario Expert Panel on Infertility and Adoption says the province could save in long term health care and social services costs by funding IVF.

16 Feb 2010

Nascent symptoms of autism in infants emerge during latter part of first year of life

A study of the development of autism in infants, comparing the behavior of the siblings of children diagnosed with autism to that of babies developing normally, has found that the nascent symptoms of the condition - a lack of shared eye contact, smiling and communicative babbling - are not present at 6 months, but emerge gradually and only become apparent during the latter part of the first year of life.

16 Feb 2010

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) continues to be the third leading cause of infant death, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), despite a decline in SIDS that is associated with a rise in safe-sleep practices for newborns and infants. A new study by Barbara M. Ostfeld, PhD and Thomas Hegyi, MD, professors in the Department of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has identified that more than 96 percent of infants who died of SIDS were exposed to known risk factors, among them sleeping on their side or stomach, or exposure to tobacco smoke, and that 78 percent of SIDS cases contained multiple risk factors.

16 Feb 2010

Safety scientist urges medical colleagues to better safety checklist

In the wake of Johns Hopkins' success in virtually eliminating intensive-care unit bloodstream infections via a simple five-step checklist, the safety scientist who developed and popularized the tool warns medical colleagues that they are no panacea.

16 Feb 2010

U.S. Department of Labor awards $4.95M grant for BRIDGE biotechnology project

San Diego State University, BIOCOM, San Diego Workforce Partnership, and the Southern California Biotechnology Center at Miramar College today announced the award of a three-year, $4.95 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor aimed at assisting the economic growth of the San Diego region's life sciences industry. The Biotechnology Readiness, Immersion, Certification and Degrees for Gainful Employment (BRIDGE) project will provide education, training, and placement services to more than 1,000 veterans, incumbent workers and dislocated and unemployed workers within the San Diego region.

16 Feb 2010

Altarum Institute awarded $19.6M ARRA funds to serve as lead agent in establishing M-CEITA

Ann Arbor-based Altarum Institute has been awarded a grant of $19,619,990 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve as the lead agent in establishing Michigan’s health information technology regional extension center, the Michigan Center for Effective IT Adoption (M-CEITA, www.mceita.org). The grant will be administered through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and managed and sponsored by Altarum. It is expected to create over 100 new jobs in Michigan.

16 Feb 2010

American Showa joins with Concentra to open Showa Associates' Wellness Center in Ohio

For innovative employers, providing employee health coverage entails more than just offering health insurance, it becomes the focal point to improve the overall health of their employees and their families. American Showa, Inc., an auto parts manufacturer with two manufacturing plants in Ohio, is leading this effort by joining with Concentra to open the Showa Associates' Wellness Center, a new 4,000 sq ft medical center for their associates and their families located near their manufacturing facility in Blanchester, OH.

15 Feb 2010

Podesta says Obama White House 'lost the narrative' on health bill

"John Podesta, the president of the Center for American Progress who led Barack Obama's presidential transition, acknowledges the White House has been unable to successfully drive the debate on health care reform," Politico reports.

15 Feb 2010

National P4P Summit: National health care leaders to address today’s critical health care issues

The National P4P Summit is a must attend event with national health care leaders addressing today’s critical health care issues

15 Feb 2010

Health Care News and Research

IRS helping thousands pay for health insurance

Will health care savings be used to reduce the deficit?

Merck announces global sales of $27.4 billion for full-year 2009

First Edition: February 16, 2010

NACHC: ARRA investment is making a difference in community health centers

Max Neeman International forms specialized surgical team for conducting minimally invasive surgery studies

FDA’s radiation exposure-reduction initiative: HealthHelp’s model provides quality and safety

AAPC's 2010 National Conference to be held in Nashville, Tennessee

Case study demonstrates positive impact of diabetes management program

Governor Pawlenty's proposed budget will hurt hospitals and people in Minnesota

Lack of comprehensive insurance coverage is barrier for smoking cessation: Study

Infertility patients from across GTA demand government-funded IVF

Nascent symptoms of autism in infants emerge during latter part of first year of life

Over 96% of SIDS cases due to known risk factors

Safety scientist urges medical colleagues to better safety checklist

U.S. Department of Labor awards $4.95M grant for BRIDGE biotechnology project

Altarum Institute awarded $19.6M ARRA funds to serve as lead agent in establishing M-CEITA

American Showa joins with Concentra to open Showa Associates' Wellness Center in Ohio

Podesta says Obama White House 'lost the narrative' on health bill

National P4P Summit: National health care leaders to address today’s critical health care issues

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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