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First Edition: February 25, 2010

Today's news is all about today's White House health summit -- with highlights of how WellPoint got grilled about proposed premium rate increases during a congressional hearing and how the House voted to repeal insurers' antitrust exemption.

25 Feb 2010

Toys"R"Us fundraising campaign to benefit Autism Speaks

Toys"R"Us, U.S. today announced that its fundraising campaign to benefit Autism Speaks will begin Sunday, February 28 and continue through Friday, April 30. Throughout the campaign, monetary donations will be collected at all Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores and online at Toysrus.com/AutismSpeaks.

25 Feb 2010

Consumer Watchdog calls Obama Administration and Congress to adopt California's insurance rate regulation

The consumer group that pioneered the most successful insurance premium regulation law in the nation, California's Proposition 103, today said only the extension of such "prior approval" regulation to health insurance can begin to make insurance affordable in the wake of double digit premium increases that have dramatically out-paced wages.

25 Feb 2010

Nearly 40% of TIA and minor ischemic stroke patients may experience mental impairment

Nearly four in 10 transient ischemic attack (TIA) and minor ischemic stroke patients may experience mental impairment, according to a study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2010.

25 Feb 2010

Insurance execs defend rate hikes before Congress

Lawmakers said Anthem Blue Cross, the California insurer that proposed raising premium rates for some individual policyholders by as much as 39 percent, sought to boost profits at the expense of its insured, the Los Angeles Times reports. During a congressional hearing Wednesday, "Democrats said internal documents from [Anthem's parent firm] WellPoint Inc. showed that proposed rate increases of as much as 39% for California customers who buy individual policies would 'return California to a profit of 7%.'"

25 Feb 2010

Democrats revisit reconciliation as means to pass overhaul

Reconciliation, a parliamentary tactic that could allow Congress to pass health reform with a simple Senate majority, was dismissed weeks ago by centrist Democrats, but some of those lawmakers are now warming to the approach, clearing a possible avenue for passage of the overhaul, Politico reports. "Obviously, if the minority is just frustrating the process, that argues for taking steps to get the public's business done," said Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., one of the senators to reverse course on reconciliation (Budoff Brown, 2/23).

24 Feb 2010

Anthem Blue Cross will go forward with rate hikes, execs tell Calif. lawmakers

Anthem Blue Cross executives told California lawmakers Tuesday that they plan to go ahead with a rate hike of up to 39 percent for individual health insurance policies.

24 Feb 2010

Consumer Watchdog calls for public release of Blue Cross premium hike investigation documents

Consumer Watchdog today condemned Blue Cross's transfer of $2.8 billion to its parent company since 2007, including approximately $719.5 million in 2009 alone, as a way of hiding its true financial condition from regulators scrutinizing steep rate hikes. Consumer Watchdog said Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner should seize on the transfers to invalidate recent premium hikes and should make Blue Cross documents available for public scrutiny.

24 Feb 2010

Guardian offers six questions to help employees and their families avoid critical illness

If you want to protect your finances from the costs of heart disease, and keep your heart healthy, the experts at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a leading provider of employee benefits, have compiled important questions that you should ask yourself before American Heart Month ends.

24 Feb 2010

Treadmill intervention may benefit infants with prenatal complications

Using a treadmill could help infants with prenatal complications or who were injured at birth walk earlier and better, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

24 Feb 2010

Insurers reject Obama's proposal for a rate-hike review panel

The health overhaul plan unveiled Monday by President Barack Obama puts the heat on insurers by requiring federal oversight of increases in health insurance premium rates, something the industry has strenuously objected to.

24 Feb 2010

Gross sales of Acorda Therapeutics' ZANAFLEX CAPSULES and tablets increase 9.1% to $58.3M in 2009

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

23 Feb 2010

More research needed for osteoporosis treatments

Dr. Angelo Malamis says that 90 percent of his patients who have undergone a treatment called balloon kyphoplasty for vertebral fractures report significant reductions in pain and disability.

23 Feb 2010

ATR rates Obama's draft healthcare plan

Today, the White House released President Obama's draft healthcare plan.

23 Feb 2010

GOP plans to attend health summit as Obama calls for compromise

President Barack Obama warned during the weekend that both Republicans and Democrats should be careful not to turn this week's health care summit into "political theater" but to work to find "common ground" on the issues, The Washington Post reports. "The Thursday event, scheduled to be televised live on C-SPAN, could prove a pivotal moment in the year-long effort to overhaul the health-care system.

22 Feb 2010

Insurers rebut criticisms of profits, rates

As the Obama Administration seizes on a proposed 39-percent rate hike by a California insurer earlier this month to rally new support for a health overhaul, that insurer's top executive is preparing to go before Congress, The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times reports.

22 Feb 2010

As health insurance premiums rise sharply, lawmakers and consumers face tough choices

Steep increases in individual health insurance premiums are sparking reactions across the country.

21 Feb 2010

Sebelius issues sharp rebuke against health insurance premium hikes across U.S.

News outlets paid close attention to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' release of a new report detailing double-digit insurance premium hikes for individual plans in six states across the country.

20 Feb 2010

Mayo Clinic's first DCD lung transplantation performed in 59-year-old Illinois man

Lung transplantation is a well-known therapy for patients with end-stage lung disease, but, as with other patients waiting for organs for transplantation, there are more recipients waiting than donors available. A potential solution for patients with end-stage lung disease is donation after cardiac death (DCD). Mayo Clinic reports its - and Minnesota's - first lung transplantation from DCD in the February issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

19 Feb 2010

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Elderly people with visual disorders that are left untreated are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease -- the most common form of dementia, according to a University of Michigan Health System study.

19 Feb 2010

Walking News and Research

First Edition: February 25, 2010

Toys"R"Us fundraising campaign to benefit Autism Speaks

Consumer Watchdog calls Obama Administration and Congress to adopt California's insurance rate regulation

Nearly 40% of TIA and minor ischemic stroke patients may experience mental impairment

Insurance execs defend rate hikes before Congress

Democrats revisit reconciliation as means to pass overhaul

Anthem Blue Cross will go forward with rate hikes, execs tell Calif. lawmakers

Consumer Watchdog calls for public release of Blue Cross premium hike investigation documents

Guardian offers six questions to help employees and their families avoid critical illness

Treadmill intervention may benefit infants with prenatal complications

Insurers reject Obama's proposal for a rate-hike review panel

Gross sales of Acorda Therapeutics' ZANAFLEX CAPSULES and tablets increase 9.1% to $58.3M in 2009

More research needed for osteoporosis treatments

ATR rates Obama's draft healthcare plan

GOP plans to attend health summit as Obama calls for compromise

Insurers rebut criticisms of profits, rates

As health insurance premiums rise sharply, lawmakers and consumers face tough choices

Sebelius issues sharp rebuke against health insurance premium hikes across U.S.

Mayo Clinic's first DCD lung transplantation performed in 59-year-old Illinois man

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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