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Personalized treatments for thyroid disorders to be presented at ATA meeting

Internationally recognized thyroid disease experts will meet to discuss "Thyroid Disorders in the Era of Personalized Medicine" May 13 - 16 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the American Thyroid Association's (ATA) (www.thyroid.org) Spring Meeting to be held at the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency Hotel.

11 May 2010

Coverage of young adults will raise premiums; Workers can deduct cost of adding children to insurance

The provision of the new health law that allows families to keep young adults on their policies up to age 26 "will nudge premiums nearly 1 percent higher for employer plans, the government said in an estimate released Monday," The Associated Press/New York Times reports. HHS "released estimates of the costs and benefits of the requirement as part of a regulation directing employers and insurers how to carry it out.

11 May 2010

U.S., Haitian partners meet to discuss elections as Haitian parliamentary terms expire

In an article examining elections in Haiti and their impact on the country's recovery from the January 12 earthquake, the Miami Herald writes that Canada, the U.S., the Organization of American States, the U.N. and other partners have "dispatched top lieutenants [to Port-au-Prince] for a Monday meeting" with President Rene Preval to discuss elections.

11 May 2010

Global efforts to combat HIV and AIDS confront changes as funding priorities shift

The New York Times detailed the current funding challenges facing the global effort to combat HIV and AIDS, using the country of Uganda as an example. "Uganda is the first and most obvious example of how the war on global AIDS is falling apart." Although this nation has made significant advances in what "some doctors call a 'golden window' for treatment," clinics are now routinely turning people away.

11 May 2010

Health Reform news: Grandfather clause could mean some lose benefits

Kaiser Health News: Millions of people could end up losing some benefits of the new health law because of the interpretation of "grandfathered."

11 May 2010

Experts try to fix problem of millions who don't adhere to prescriptions

The Boston Globe: "It is a common conundrum in doctor's offices, clinics, and hospitals across the nation: patients who do not take their medication as directed. It's true for people with high cholesterol, low calcium, diabetes, and asthma. It's even true for patients with the AIDS virus and those who have received life-saving replacement organs."

11 May 2010

Lawmakers continue to feel the pinch of health reform politics while SEIU has a new president

Politico: New Mexico Democrat Rep. Harry Teague dropped his employer-based health coverage for his employees at Cavaloz Energy as the debate over health care reform surged in Congress.

11 May 2010

Nurse fatigue and patient safety

A disturbing report highlighting the extent to which nurses across the country are experiencing fatigue on the job points to the need for changes in the workplace to ensure patient safety isn't compromised.

11 May 2010

Americans who travel abroad could use extra health coverage

A report by The Associated Press describes the importance of travelers' insurance for those planning trips outside of the country. "Thousands of American travelers each year are flown home with medical assistance because of health emergencies. Car accidents and heart attacks are among the most common reasons.

11 May 2010

'Striking improvements' toward MDG targets, progress is unequal, WHO report says

The WHO's annual health statistics report, released Monday, found that global efforts aimed at achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets have led to "striking improvements" among goals related to child health, maternal mortality, malaria and HIV/AIDS, Reuters reports.

11 May 2010

Overhaul will bring changes, improve quality for Medicare Advantage plans

The Wall Street Journal: "Over the next 10 years, the new health-care law will divert some $132 billion from Medicare Advantage, according to a recent report by George Washington University's Department of Health Policy. This has sparked concern that these plans may reduce benefits, raise premiums, or both. But the impact is likely to vary from plan to plan.

11 May 2010

New York Times examines global fight against HIV/AIDS

Several articles in the New York Times examine the global fight against HIV/AIDS. "Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away" because they lack funding, the newspaper writes in an article that reports "money for [HIV/AIDS] treatment has stopped growing."

11 May 2010

Massachusetts fighting to control health costs

"Bake sales saved the nonprofit Athol Memorial Hospital the first time around, Steve Penka says with a smile. Eleven years later, it took a big Tennessee-based, for-profit hospital chain to keep it in business," the (Worcester, Mass.) Telegram & Gazette reports. In light of a recent report by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's office, many are surprised Athol is around at all.

11 May 2010

Consumers, officials work to sort out new health law

For at least one state, implementing health reform is starting to appear easier said than done. The Daily Record, a Baltimore legal newspaper, reports, "Maryland's new Health Care Reform Coordinating Council held its first meeting last week, resolving to find the best way to implement provisions of the landmark federal health care overhaul.

11 May 2010

Rhetoric heats up between insurers and lawmakers

Politico: "Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) is scolding the nations' health insurance companies for 'gaming' the new health care law and is pushing the administration and states to impose stringent controls under the law on industry expenditures for non-medical purposes. Saying the industry had turned its focus from opposing the law to influencing its implementation, Rockefeller said he was 'extremely concerned that the health insurance industry is mounting an all-out effort to weaken' the law.

11 May 2010

Free health clinics still drawing large crowds in cities across U.S.

Parade: A series of no-cost health care clinics are making their way across America. In Atlanta 1,050 volunteers gave their time to serve uninsured Americans who needed medical care. "The Atlanta mega-clinic was the sixth in a series that began in September. (The first was held in Houston in partnership with TV talk-show host and cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz.)

11 May 2010

Behavioral economics tested in new health law

The new health law contains "many opportunities to nudge people toward better health choices. … 'In healthcare, for years and years and years there's been an interest in changing provider and consumer behavior,'" says Stanford professor Alan Garber. "What's new is that money is flowing into research on behavioral economics, and the government is getting involved, Garber and others said.

10 May 2010

Hospital operator HCA plans to offer $4.6 billion IPO

HCA Inc., the nation's biggest hospital operator by number of facilities, filed plans last week for a $4.6 billion initial public offering as it "looks to return to the public markets," The Wall Street Journal reports.

10 May 2010

Today's Opinions: The need for federal review of rate increases; Dems and GOP share blame for health costs; A phoney deal on Medicaid

This hodgepodge of controls over premiums needs to be backstopped by a national law that would allow the federal government to block unjustified rate increases where state officials lack the authority to do so. Attempts to include such powers in the newly enacted health care reform law failed (5/9).

10 May 2010

Companies get help to insure early retirees

Reporting for Kaiser Health News and USA Today, KHN staff writer Christopher Weaver reports: "The White House unveiled details last week of a $5 billion program to provide financial relief to companies that offer health coverage to early retirees.

10 May 2010