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Government health IT advisers examine privacy policies

One of the latest hurdles government advisers helping to shape health information technology policy must jump is addressing the amount of control patients should have over their own records, Modern Healthcare reports.

4 Jun 2010

International development forum addresses U.S. foreign aid reform

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) discussed the need for a new foreign aid strategy and vision at an international development forum, hosted by InterAction on Wednesday, Congressional Quarterly reports.

4 Jun 2010

Study: Delays in seeking health care appear to be common for Latino women

Delays in seeking health care appear to be common for Latino women in upstate New York, a new study finds. In the latest issue of the journal Ethnicity & Disease, about 70 percent of a group of mostly Caribbean Latinas in the Albany area reported they put off getting health care. Insurance did not seem to be an issue, since 80 percent had insurance, yet 60 percent of the women said that they had a prior chronic medical condition.

4 Jun 2010

European countries focus on drug price cuts

"European governments grappling to reduce large budget deficits are focusing their cost-cutting on a large spending item — pharmaceuticals," The Wall Street Journal reports. "Several countries in recent weeks, including Spain, Germany and Italy, have proposed or enacted reductions in what they will pay or taken other cost-control measures for various drugs.

4 Jun 2010

Mass. insurers ask for double-digit rate hikes, again

Massachusetts' two largest insurers have again asked regulators for permission to increase their rates. "Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's biggest health insurer, is requesting increases averaging 12 percent, on the lower end of the range it submitted earlier in the spring. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the number two carrier, wants increases that range from 8.8 percent to 11.9 percent, about the same range it sought in the round that was rejected" (Weisman, 6/3).

4 Jun 2010

Health overhaul politics churn as regulators move forward

Los Angeles Times: "Congress is shattering its longstanding reputation for being a gridlocked, lethargic, 'do-nothing' institution, instead compiling a record of landmark policy changes in healthcare, financial industry regulation, economic policy and more. But at the same time, Congress is suffering sky-high levels of public disapproval, signaling a big problem for Democrats as they head into the closing months of the midterm election campaign" (Hook, 6/2).

4 Jun 2010

Drug makers push for more time to pay half-off discount on drugs

Drug makers want 60 days instead of 15 to pay a half-off discount for branded drugs in a Medicare Part D coverage gap, Inside Health Policy reports. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also intends to ask drug makers to pay disputed amounts ahead of a decision about whether the company must pay the discount.

4 Jun 2010

Today's OpEds: New Republic and National Review on health law; Conservative bloggers blast CBO numbers

The shouting war over health reform's effect on the budget got a little louder today when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, pushed back at conservative bloggers who are saying federal officials were disingenuous about the real costs of the law (Kate Steadman, 6/2).

4 Jun 2010

Abortion opponents focus on state law

"At least 11 states have passed laws this year regulating or restricting abortion, giving opponents of abortion what partisans on both sides of the issue say is an unusually high number of victories," The New York Times reports.

4 Jun 2010

AMA launches ad campaign to push Senators on 'doc fix'

CNN Money: The American Medical Association is launching an ad campaign to push lawmakers to stop a scheduled 21 percent cut to Medicare doctors' pay. "The House voted May 28 to delay the cuts for 19 months, but the Senate did not take action before the Memorial Day recess. The AMA's TV, radio and print ads slam senators for failing to pass the 'doc fix' before taking their week-long break.

4 Jun 2010

First Edition: June 3, 2010

Today's headlines reflect news regarding health reform and the budget deficit as well as a new ad campaign by the AMA to press Senators to approve a freeze on scheduled Medicare payment cuts.

3 Jun 2010

Combined alcohol dependency treatments reduce social costs of health care: Study

Combining medications and behavioral interventions for treating alcohol-dependent patients reduces social costs of health care, arrests and motor vehicle accidents, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.

3 Jun 2010

NORTHSTAR Health System purchases Toshiba's Aplio MX ultrasound system

NORTHSTAR Health System, a rural critical-access health care system in Iron River, Mich., recently completed an $18 million renovation that included upgrading its medical imaging technology. To provide the latest in ultrasound imaging technology to its patient population and expand its diagnostic capabilities, NORTHSTAR Health System purchased Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.'s Aplio MX ultrasound system, a compact system that offers premium clinical performance and high-end features at an affordable price point.

3 Jun 2010

National initiative to share wealth of new community health data to improve health of Americans

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Institute of Medicine President Harvey Fineberg today launched a national initiative to share a wealth of new community health data that will drive innovation and lead to the creation of new applications and tools to improve the health of Americans.

3 Jun 2010

Health on The Hill: June 1, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with NPR's Julie Rovner and KFF's Jackie Judd about the latest health policy developments.

3 Jun 2010

U.S. Southern Command ends major military operations in Haiti

The U.S. Southern Command on Tuesday said it was ending major military relief operations in Haiti aimed at aiding the nation after the January earthquake, Reuters reports. "Spearheaded by the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, thousands of American troops were deployed in Haiti as part of Operation Unified Response.

3 Jun 2010

Miners' living, working environments fuel spread of TB in sub-Saharan Africa, study says

A study, published Tuesday in the American Journal of Public Health, found that poor living and working environments for miners of diamonds and precious metals is significantly fueling the spread of tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa, Reuters reports.

3 Jun 2010

Study: Shortened hospital stays may bring increased risks of return

"To save costs, hospitals for years have been discharging patients after shorter stays. But at the same time more people are having to return to hospital for additional care within a month of their initial treatment, according to a major new study of Medicare heart-failure patients."

3 Jun 2010

Medtronic spent $1.07 million in first-quarter lobbying

Medical device giant Medtronic spent $1.07 million in the first quarter of the year to lobby Congress, including on health issues such as a provision of the new overhaul law that will extract up to $3 billion a year in fees from device makers, The Associated Press/Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

3 Jun 2010

Loophole in CHIP costs feds millions in lost revenue

"A tobacco tax loophole in President Barack Obama's children's health insurance program cost the government more than $250 million in its first year, public health officials say. The loophole allowed companies to avoid huge tax increases on loose rolling tobacco by relabeling their product as pipe tobacco. The simple marketing twist lets companies pay $2.83 per pound, rather than the $24.78 per pound levied on rolling tobacco. That proved an expensive technicality in the way the government pays for health insurance for poor children."

3 Jun 2010