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Studies show rising health costs, ways to slow them

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report suggests a leap in the portion of health costs paid directly by employees will leave the majority of the American workforce with deductibles of $400 or more for the first time next year, The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times reports. "Two years ago, only 25 percent of companies participating in the annual survey said they asked employees to pay deductibles of $400 or more.

14 Jun 2010

KHN column – Medicare Advantage: You get what you pay for

In this column for Kaiser Health News, Austin Frakt writes: "The Obama administration seems worried. In an election year, any change to Medicare that adversely affects beneficiaries is a political liability for incumbents.

14 Jun 2010

Feds to issue rules on 'grandfathered' health plans and new law

The Wall Street Journal reports that draft regulations "being developed by the Obama administration say more than half of employer health care plans may lose their grandfathered status and be required to comply with the health overhaul bill approved March 23. The guidelines are likely to touch off fresh disputes between President Obama and opponents of the health care bill.

14 Jun 2010

Health overhaul skirmishes simmer over government fliers, drug benefits

Republicans are complaining that, while the IRS sent out 4 million fliers to publicize $40 billion in tax credits for small businesses, the agency did not make a similar effort to inform tanning salons and their customers about a new 10 percent tax on their services, Politico reports.

14 Jun 2010

Health reform continue to dominate campaigns

After voting "no" on the health reform bill earlier this year, Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., has gotten significantly less support from colleagues than he did in previous re-election bids, The Hill reports. "Only five lawmakers ... have given money from their personal campaign funds to Barrow in the 2010 cycle. Five other elected Dems gave money to Barrow through their leadership political action committees."

14 Jun 2010

AMA's support for health law sparks infighting

A fissure has developed in the American Medical Association, the powerful physicians' lobby that backed the health reform bill earlier this year, about support for the sweeping measure, according to news reports.

14 Jun 2010

Today's Opinions: Medicare advantage to shrink; Insurers anti-trust protection; Health law regulations; The need for maternity leave

In the long run, there's no getting around the fact that Advantage plans will shrink in generosity and availability (Austin Frakt, 6/14).

14 Jun 2010

Programs try cash incentives to get forgetful patients to take meds

The New York Times reports on a new approach to getting patients to take their medications consistently: financial incentives. "One-third to one-half of all patients do not take medication as prescribed, and up to one-quarter never fill prescriptions at all, experts say. Such lapses fuel more than $100 billion dollars in health costs annually because those patients often get sicker. Now, a controversial, and seemingly counterintuitive, effort to tackle the problem is gaining ground: paying people money to take medicine or to comply with prescribed treatment."

14 Jun 2010

Medical marijuana advocates bypassing traditional approval, effectiveness regulations

NPR continues its examination of medical marijuana: "Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have launched a medical experiment that doesn't follow any of the rules of science. By approving the use of marijuana as a medicine — with varying kinds of restrictions — these jurisdictions are bypassing the federal government's elaborate processes for approving medicines."

14 Jun 2010

HCL Infosystems, Wellogic partner to create India's National Health Information Exchange Environment

HCL Infosystems, India's premier information technology company and Wellogic, a renowned healthcare interoperability and point-of-care solutions provider, today announced that they are working together to create India's National Health Information Exchange Environment (INHIEE), and seeding adoption via Wellogic's world-class portal, electronic health record (EHR), and personal health record (PHR) solutions.

14 Jun 2010

Parents are little aware of concussion risks and support school policies to minimize them: Poll

With growing media attention to concussions among athletes young and old, and recent actions of the National Football League to reduce dangers from multiple concussions among its players, the spotlight is now on what schools are doing to protect their student-athletes. Do parents feel that their kids are safe, and do parents agree with school policies?

14 Jun 2010

McDermott's Health Industry Advisory Practice Group recognized as Health Team of the Year

McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce the Firm's Health Industry Advisory Practice Group was honored as the "Health Team of the Year" during the Chambers USA Awards in New York on June 10, 2010. This is the first time an award in this category has been given on a national basis by Chambers, and McDermott was selected over four other finalist firms.

14 Jun 2010

SearchAmerica launches Collection Performance Advisor service for hospitals

SearchAmerica, a part of Experian and a leader in financial clearing services for health care, today launched its newest service for hospitals, Collection Performance Advisor. The service equips hospital financial managers with a decision engine that uses advanced analytics and data to direct outstanding patient accounts to the appropriate collection team and outside agency to improve cash collections.

14 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 14, 2010

Today's health policy headlines report on new White House rules on changes to health insurance benefits, a study regarding employers' medical costs and the likely impact of retirements within the health care workforce.

14 Jun 2010

New book provides perspective on contributions made by nurses

The quiet actions of unsung heroes from the rainforest of Guatemala to the city streets of Harlem will be celebrated during the 2010 International Year of the Nurse in the new book, Giving through Teaching: How Nurse Educators are Changing the World (Springer Publishing).

14 Jun 2010

CAMD releases first combined clinical trial data on neuro-degenerative diseases

A new database of more than 4,000 Alzheimer's disease patients who have participated in 11 industry-sponsored clinical trials will be released today by the Coalition Against Major Diseases (CAMD). This is the first database of combined clinical trials to be openly shared by pharmaceutical companies and made available to qualified researchers around the world.

14 Jun 2010

New report provides state-by-state analyses of substance abuse, mental illness patterns

A new report providing state-by-state analyses of substance abuse and mental illness patterns reveals that despite wide variations among the states in the types and levels of behavioral health problems they experience -- every state suffers from these problems. For example, among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than one third the current illicit drug use rate of Rhode Island (4.1 percent vs. 13.3 percent) - yet Iowa's population aged 12 and older was among the group of states with the nation's highest levels of people participating in binge drinking in the past month (27.2 percent).

14 Jun 2010

Study finds survival disparities among patients with colorectal cancer

Disparities in cancer stage and treatment are the main reasons why Medicaid-insured and uninsured rectal cancer patients are twice as likely to die within five years as privately insured patients. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Because poorer survival among rectal cancer patients without private insurance is largely attributable to later cancer stage at diagnosis and inadequate treatment, disparities may be lessened through health care reform.

14 Jun 2010

Internal Medicine board sanctions doctors for cheating on certification tests; APA to issue conflict-of-interest guidelines

The American Board of Internal Medicine has sanctioned 139 doctors for cheating on exams it uses for board certifications, CQ HealthBeat reports. "The board also sued a test prep firm, as well as a handful of doctors viewed as the worst offenders, in federal court." The board alleges that the company encouraged doctors to memorize questions on the board exams and then to e-mail them to the test prep firm after (Norman, 6/10).

14 Jun 2010

HHS announces grants to support States' efforts to implement, evaluate patient safety approaches

The Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality today announced grants to support efforts by States and health systems to implement and evaluate patient safety approaches and medical liability reforms. The demonstration and planning grants are part of the patient safety and medical liability initiative that President Obama announced during a September 9, 2009 address to a joint session of Congress.

14 Jun 2010

Health Care News and Research

Studies show rising health costs, ways to slow them

KHN column – Medicare Advantage: You get what you pay for

Feds to issue rules on 'grandfathered' health plans and new law

Health overhaul skirmishes simmer over government fliers, drug benefits

Health reform continue to dominate campaigns

AMA's support for health law sparks infighting

Today's Opinions: Medicare advantage to shrink; Insurers anti-trust protection; Health law regulations; The need for maternity leave

Programs try cash incentives to get forgetful patients to take meds

Medical marijuana advocates bypassing traditional approval, effectiveness regulations

HCL Infosystems, Wellogic partner to create India's National Health Information Exchange Environment

Parents are little aware of concussion risks and support school policies to minimize them: Poll

McDermott's Health Industry Advisory Practice Group recognized as Health Team of the Year

SearchAmerica launches Collection Performance Advisor service for hospitals

First Edition: June 14, 2010

New book provides perspective on contributions made by nurses

CAMD releases first combined clinical trial data on neuro-degenerative diseases

New report provides state-by-state analyses of substance abuse, mental illness patterns

Study finds survival disparities among patients with colorectal cancer

Internal Medicine board sanctions doctors for cheating on certification tests; APA to issue conflict-of-interest guidelines

HHS announces grants to support States' efforts to implement, evaluate patient safety approaches

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit 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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