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News outlets look at what COBRA enrollees can do when their coverage expires

As the first of the laid-off to receive a 65 percent subsidy on the cost of continuing their former employer's coverage under COBRA prepare to try to afford coverage without the subsidy, news outlets are helping people examine their options.

28 May 2010

ART associated with reduced risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners, study shows

Research published in the Lancet online Thursday "provides the strongest evidence to date" that antiretroviral therapy might also be used to prevent transmission of HIV, Agence France-Presse reports. The observational study found that treating HIV-positive patients with ART reduced the risk of HIV transmission to their sexual partners by 92 percent (5/26).

28 May 2010

$5 billion in federal funding for high-risk pools may not be enough

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver reports: "In one of the marquee benefits of the health overhaul, the federal government will spend $5 billion to subsidize so-called high-risk pools to provide coverage for people who have trouble getting insurance because of preexisting health problems until 2014. But a new report suggests that amount may not be enough to cover their needs"

28 May 2010

WellPoint guidelines may bolster federal 'comparative effectiveness' investments

The health insurer WellPoint has announced guidelines for using comparative effectiveness studies to pit drugs against one another and determine which works best, the Indianapolis Business Journal reports. "Congress has also approved $4.1 billion in the past 15 months to fund comparative-effectiveness studies and a new agency that specializes in them.

28 May 2010

Report: High-risk pool funding may fall short of need

A $5 billion fund to create high-risk pools in the states as part of the health overhaul may fall short of meeting the needs of uninsured people with health problems if state and federal officials closely monitor the program, according to a new report by the National Institute for Health Care Reform, an automaker-sponsored think tank, Kaiser Health News reports.

28 May 2010

Last defendant in 6-year Calif. Medicare fraud case sentenced

The Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News: A $15 million Medicare fraud case in California has ended as the last of 17 defendants was sentenced this week to 30 months in prison.

28 May 2010

States examine costs of health law's Medicaid expansion detailed in new report

Reuters examines how Medicaid expansion might affect various states, with new findings from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured: "Under conservative estimates, Maine's Medicaid spending will decrease 1.5 percent and Colorado's will slip 0.5 percent, according to the study.

28 May 2010

Some young adults must wait for new law's insurance coverage option to kick in

The new health law's requirement that young adults be able to remain on their parents' health plans until they turn 26, is raising some questions from hopeful parents: "when exactly the new benefit begins, who exactly is eligible and who decides." But the answer to all those is: "It depends. ... the decision about when to start the new benefit is being made by lots of different players in the health system.

28 May 2010

Medicare brochure mailing draws GOP ire

Republicans are criticizing a taxpayer-funded brochure sent to 40.2 million Medicare beneficiaries explaining changes to the program under the new health law.

28 May 2010

Feds will pay the bulk of Medicaid expansion costs under overhaul, study finds

"As states complain about the burden of expanding health care to millions of poor Americans under the new federal health-care law, a study released Wednesday suggests their claims may be overstated. The issue is the cost of expanding Medicaid ... and the report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured says states are likely to reap huge benefits for relatively little cost, and may even end up in the black."

28 May 2010

Democrats scale back 'doc fix,' COBRA subsidy in jobs bill

Without congressional action this week on a tax "extenders" and jobs bill, a number of benefits, including a subsidy for COBRA health insurance benefits for newly laid-off workers, will expire.

28 May 2010

Hospitalists help coordinate care, reduce hospital costs

The New York Times reports on hospitalists, members of "America's fastest-growing medical specialty. Over a decade, this breed of physician-administrator has increasingly taken over the care of the hospitalized patient.

28 May 2010

UnitedHealth plan to boost dividends may draw criticism

The Associated Press: UnitedHealth Group has drastically raised dividends paid to shareholders - from $35 million to $560 million a year - in a move that may draw criticism for profits that rose alongside soaring health costs. "There is somewhat of a risk, especially in the current fragile reform environment, that says, 'Why is UnitedHealth declaring a dividend instead of lowering health care costs for its members?'" said analyst Tom Carroll.

28 May 2010

CompuMed's digital telemedicine technologies incorporated in Visio Mobile Diagnostics' healthcare services suite

CompuMed, Inc., a telemedicine and medical informatics company, reported its CardioGram® and OsteoGram® systems have been incorporated as core components of Visio Mobile Diagnostics' suite of telemedicine and digital x-ray-based healthcare services.

27 May 2010

Biomedical/Clinical Engineering practice improves healthcare: Health Association Nova Scotia

The week, May 23 to May 29, is National Biomedical/Clinical Engineering Appreciation Week and celebrations across the country are recognizing the importance of this field to improving healthcare and the contributions of its practitioners.

27 May 2010

First Edition: May 27, 2010

Today's health policy headlines focus on a new study about the federal government's funding level for the high-risk pools set up in the new health law as well as congressional Democrats' ongoing struggle to pass legislation to extend the COBRA benefit subsidy and to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare payments to physicians.

27 May 2010

Health Management Associates to acquire 60% interest in three Shands HealthCare hospitals

Health Management Associates, Inc. today announced that it has executed definitive agreements to acquire a 60% interest in three Shands HealthCare hospitals: Shands Lake Shore located in Lake City, Florida, Shands Live Oak, located in Live Oak, Florida and Shands Starke, located in Starke, Florida.

27 May 2010

Mayo Clinic research reveals increase in incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in women

The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in women has risen during the period of 1995 to 2007, according to a newly published study by researchers from the Mayo Clinic. This rise in RA follows a 4-decade period of decline and study authors speculate environmental factors such as cigarette smoking, vitamin D deficiency, and lower dose synthetic estrogens in oral contraceptives may be the source of the increase.

27 May 2010

Weill Cornell Medical College commences construction of 18-story, $650 million Medical Research Building

Weill Cornell Medical College today celebrated the start of construction on its new Medical Research Building, a state-of-the-art facility that will more than double the institution's existing research space. The 18-story, $650 million building is the centerpiece of Weill Cornell's $1.3 billion Discoveries that Make a Difference Campaign, the country's largest for a medical college. A total of $1 billion has been raised toward this goal in a record time of less than four years.

27 May 2010

Physician experts review current practices for pain management in cirrhotic patients

In the May issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, physician experts review current practices for pain management in cirrhotic patients. The physician experts reviewed all current literature available on PubMed and MEDLINE with no limits in the search to recommend a uniform and practical guide to approaching analgesia in the cirrhotic patients.

27 May 2010

Health Care News and Research

News outlets look at what COBRA enrollees can do when their coverage expires

ART associated with reduced risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners, study shows

$5 billion in federal funding for high-risk pools may not be enough

WellPoint guidelines may bolster federal 'comparative effectiveness' investments

Report: High-risk pool funding may fall short of need

Last defendant in 6-year Calif. Medicare fraud case sentenced

States examine costs of health law's Medicaid expansion detailed in new report

Some young adults must wait for new law's insurance coverage option to kick in

Medicare brochure mailing draws GOP ire

Feds will pay the bulk of Medicaid expansion costs under overhaul, study finds

Democrats scale back 'doc fix,' COBRA subsidy in jobs bill

Hospitalists help coordinate care, reduce hospital costs

UnitedHealth plan to boost dividends may draw criticism

CompuMed's digital telemedicine technologies incorporated in Visio Mobile Diagnostics' healthcare services suite

Biomedical/Clinical Engineering practice improves healthcare: Health Association Nova Scotia

First Edition: May 27, 2010

Health Management Associates to acquire 60% interest in three Shands HealthCare hospitals

Mayo Clinic research reveals increase in incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in women

Weill Cornell Medical College commences construction of 18-story, $650 million Medical Research Building

Physician experts review current practices for pain management in cirrhotic patients

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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