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Young adults seeking coverage on parents' plans face obstacles

Young adults and their parents eager to take advantage of a new law that will allow parents of children up to age 26 to keep their children on their health plans are facing obstacles in learning even exactly when they'll be eligible.

29 Apr 2010

Renowned cardiologists to discuss latest research on Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy at HCMA symposium

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), the genetic disease in which the muscle of the heart thickens in the absence of an apparent cause, is the leading cause of sudden death in children and young adults. HCM accounts for 40 percent of all deaths on athletic playing fields across the U.S.

29 Apr 2010

New research indicates Canadians live longer than Americans

Compared to their neighbours south of the border, Canadians live longer, healthier lives. Research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Population Health Metrics has found this disparity between the two countries, suggesting that America's lack of universal health care and lower levels of social and economic equality are to blame.

29 Apr 2010

NIH approves federal funding for 13 more stem cell lines

The Washington Post: Thirteen more lines of human embryonic stem cells are officially eligible for federal funding, since being approved by the National Institutes of Health. The Obama administration announced shortly after the President took office that restrictions would be lifted on the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.

29 Apr 2010

Uninsured patients less likely to receive critical care services

Among the general U.S. population, people who are uninsured are about half as likely to receive critical care services as those with insurance, according to systematic review of the literature by the American Thoracic Society's Health Disparities Group.

29 Apr 2010

Report: Conditions in Zambian prisons fueling spread of HIV, TB

"Conditions in Zambia's prisons are so overcrowded and medical care so inadequate that they are breeding grounds for disease and pose a serious threat to public health, says a new report by Human Rights Watch, produced in association with the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa and the Prisons Care and Counselling Association," BMJ News reports.

29 Apr 2010

Imaging costs for Medicare cancer patients on the rise

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed data from Medicare cancer patients to determine the change in imaging use for this group.

29 Apr 2010

Obama's debt commission to consider Medicare cuts, new health care law

President Obama's bipartisan debt commission met Tuesday to discuss ways to reduce the federal deficit. The President said that everything was up for discussion, including provisions of the federal health care law, and entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

29 Apr 2010

Boston hospital case study in balancing mission and profits

The Boston Globe: A proposed acquisition of Boston's Catholic hospital system Caritas Christi Health Care by private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management may test the theory that "profitability and religious mission can be integrated." However, another local hospital provides a possible window into that future.

29 Apr 2010

Experts disagree on health law's effects on jobs

"There is profound disagreement about healthcare reform's overall impact on jobs. … While the net effect on jobs remains uncertain, it is clear that certain professions will do better than others." Among the specific job categories likely do well are insurance agents, who "may get a boost since approximately 32 million uninsured Americans will be required to buy health insurance starting in 2014.

28 Apr 2010

After bad publicity, insurer to act early on ending practice of canceling policies of sick patients

WellPoint will put into effect this week a health overhaul provision preventing insurers from canceling policies -- a practice known as rescission -- except in fraud cases, even though the change isn't required until September, the Indianapolis Star reports.

28 Apr 2010

The Prevention Plan program for Nevada PEBP employees and retirees

State of Nevada public employees are taking steps to get healthier and feel better by participating in The Prevention Plan, a U.S. Preventive Medicine program designed to encourage healthy behaviors, detect disease in the earliest stages and manage chronic conditions before they progress.

28 Apr 2010

New study links psychopathy to frontal lobe dysfunction

Psychopaths are known to be characterized by callousness, diminished capacity for remorse, and lack of empathy. However, the exact cause of these personality traits is an area of scientific debate. The results of a new study, reported in the May 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex, show striking similarities between the mental impairments observed in psychopaths and those seen in patients with frontal lobe damage.

28 Apr 2010

Awareness of cancer health disparities, burden of current economic crisis to be explored at 3-day forum

Awareness of cancer health disparities, the burden of the current economic crisis on these inequities, and interventions and policy initiatives to improve health disparities will be explored during a three-day forum hosted by the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies.

28 Apr 2010

Health Net provides option to keep adult dependents on their parents' policies

Health Net, Inc. is providing the option of continuing coverage for adult dependents up to age 26 who are currently enrolled on their parents' health care policies.

28 Apr 2010

FDHN announces 2010 AGA Research Scholars

The Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition has announced the 2010 American Gastroenterological Association Foundation research scholars. The grants have been awarded to seven outstanding young gastroenterologists who promise to make significant strides in the field of gastrointestinal research.

28 Apr 2010

Study evaluates cost benefits of new interventions for treating, preventing PDN and PHN

Constantly rising U.S. health care costs could be reduced significantly by preventing and treating neuropathic pain conditions associated with diabetes and herpes zoster virus infections, according to research published in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society, www.ampainsoc.org and jpain.org.

28 Apr 2010

GE Healthcare joins TRIL Centre as second industry partner

The TRIL (Technology Research for Independent Living) Centre, Ireland is delighted to announce a new industry partner, GE Healthcare. TRIL is a groundbreaking research initiative, founded in January 2007 by Intel Corporation and the IDA Ireland (Industrial Development Agency), to explore the physical, cognitive and social consequences of ageing and design technologies to help address them. The addition of GE Healthcare as an industry partner will help TRIL to extend and expand its research programme.

28 Apr 2010

Kaiser Permanente approves over 250 grants and donations totaling $7 million

Kaiser Permanente, one of America's leading health care providers and nonprofit health plans, announced today it approved more than 250 grants and donations nationwide totaling approximately $7 million in the first quarter of 2010. The grants focused on expanding access to nutritious food, providing safe spaces for all ages to increase physical activity, increasing opportunities for continuing education, and eliminating health disparities.

28 Apr 2010

Cancer-related expenditures increase faster than any other area of health care: JAMA

From 1999 through 2006 the use of diagnostic imaging for Medicare patients with cancer increased, with use of positron emission tomography increasing the most significantly, according to a study in the April 28 issue of JAMA. Imaging costs for these patients also increased, outpacing the rate of increase in total costs among Medicare beneficiaries with cancer.

28 Apr 2010