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Military health care costs on the rise

USA Today: Rising costs of military health care are leading the Pentagon and lawmakers to consider the first rate increase of out of pocket health care spending in fifteen years for members of TRICARE, the military health program. "The rapid rise has been driven by a surge in mental health and physical problems for troops who have deployed to war multiple times and by a flood of career military retirees fleeing less-generous civilian health programs," said Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, deputy director of TRICARE.

24 Apr 2010

Today's Opinions: Government power grab on health; A doctor's interface with computers; A focus on wellness

Following the passage of Democratic health-care reform legislation, President Obama assured the country that it was a 'middle-of-the-road, centrist approach' instead of an intrusive, government power grab. But the government seems incapable of resisting the nannying impulse that undermines this claim (Michael Gerson, 4/23).

24 Apr 2010

Georgia investigators increasingly use computer data to catch Medicaid fraud

Georgia investigators "are collecting millions more dollars each year as they catch more Medicaid fraud and mistakes" and they are increasingly relying on computer data analysis as a helpful tool. These cases often uncover unscrupulous medical providers who develop schemes such as overbilling to defraud the state Medicaid program.

24 Apr 2010

CMS actuary: Health reform will cover more people, cost more than originally projected

"In the first comprehensive look by neutral experts" of the health law, The Associated Press reports that "More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up. Economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department concluded in a report issued Thursday that the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million to the coverage rolls.

24 Apr 2010

New user's guide to help consumers navigate details of new health care reform law

In the wake of President Obama signing health care reform into law, AARP Bulletin today released a new user's guide to help consumers navigate the details of the new law and how it will impact them both now and further down the road when it is fully implemented. This special section features must-know details, including changes to Medicare, employer insurance, taxes, and small businesses -- all boiled down to the basics of what YOU need to know.

23 Apr 2010

CBO: 4 million to face fines for not having health insurance in 2016

About four million people "could be fined for failing to buy health insurance when the health overhaul law is fully in force in 2016, the Congressional Budget Office forecast on Thursday," Reuters reports, adding: "Most individuals must buy health insurance under the landmark legislation passed by Congress last month, or face fines that will be phased in."

23 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 23, 2010

Today's headlines focus on the new health laws coverage estimates, costs and impact on the health care system.

23 Apr 2010

Real-people videos and expert advice to address childhood obesity

More than anything, bad habits are to blame for the childhood obesity epidemic. For Alejandra and her parents, food was an expression of love. But overeating and other unhealthy habits led this 11-year-old Hispanic girl to become an overweight kid.

23 Apr 2010

Cancer Care Ontario honours five Ontarians with Human Touch Awards

Five Ontarians whose kindness, compassion and professionalism has made life better for cancer survivors will be honoured at Cancer Care Ontario's fourth annual Human Touch Awards in Toronto April 22nd.

23 Apr 2010

City of Manchester, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield enhance Compass SmartShopper Program

Citing strong interest and engagement from city employees as well as requests from school district members, the city of Manchester and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire announced today enhancements to the innovative Compass SmartShopper Program as well as the addition of Manchester school district employees to the project.

23 Apr 2010

North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation awards $25,000 grants to 9 nonprofits

The North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation announced that it has awarded $25,000 grants to nine nonprofits this year, around the state to support activities that establish or expand programs that further science, education and health in local communities.

23 Apr 2010

Pelosi responds to reports of WellPoint dropping coverage for breast cancer patients

"WellPoint's practice of dropping anyone's coverage when they get sick – whether a woman with breast cancer or any other patient – is exactly the kind of insurance company abuse our new health care law prohibits.

23 Apr 2010

Report on Canadian spending trends in prescribed and non-prescribed drugs

Total drug spending in Canada is estimated to have reached $30.0 billion in 2009, about $1.5 billion more than in 2008, according to a new report released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). This represents an estimated increase of 5.1%, the lowest annual growth rate observed in more than a decade.

23 Apr 2010

Water, sanitation funding decline as share of overall development aid, WHO report finds

"Even as the world's deadline for" reaching the "Millennium Development Goals approaches in 2015, countries are not making water and sanitation a priority, which in turn impacts other developmental goals like health and education," according to a WHO report released Wednesday, Press Trust International/Business Standard reports (4/22).

23 Apr 2010

New blood test to determine patients at low risk for rejection of transplanted hearts

After his heart transplant in 2005, Ramon Llenado underwent a biopsy every week, then every month, then every three months. Most heart transplant patients face a lifetime of these invasive tests, which involve snipping out tiny pieces of heart to check for possible organ rejection.

23 Apr 2010

Patients more likely to change diet with written plan combined with counseling calls

Combining telephone counseling calls with a daily written diet plan increases a person's success in improving fruit and vegetables consumption, according to research published in Preventive Medicine.

23 Apr 2010

Micromedex clinical decision support and CareNotes content to be integrated within M2 HCIS

Micromedex clinical decision support and CareNotes® patient education content from Thomson Reuters will be integrated within the M2 Health Care Information System (HCIS).

23 Apr 2010

First annual U.S.-African Union high level bilateral meetings start in Washington

Representatives of the African Union (AU) on Wednesday began meeting with members of the Obama administration in Washington, as part of the first Annual U.S.-African Union High Level Bilateral Meetings, United Press International reports (4/21).

23 Apr 2010

Opinions: New U.S.-backed global food, agriculture program; Foreign aid to Africa; Medicines in Africa

In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announce the launch of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a fund "to help the world's poorest farmers grow more food and earn more than they do now so they can lift themselves out of hunger and poverty."

23 Apr 2010

Mass. court orders state's two largest health insurers to submit insurance rates; N.C. Governor restores funding for some mental health programs

The Boston Globe: "A Suffolk Superior Court judge yesterday ordered two of the state's largest health insurers to submit April 2009 rates for insurance covering individuals and small businesses, the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the state and carriers over premium increases. Both companies said they would comply, even as they proceed with administrative appeals in an effort to charge higher rates.

23 Apr 2010

Health Care News and Research

Military health care costs on the rise

Today's Opinions: Government power grab on health; A doctor's interface with computers; A focus on wellness

Georgia investigators increasingly use computer data to catch Medicaid fraud

CMS actuary: Health reform will cover more people, cost more than originally projected

New user's guide to help consumers navigate details of new health care reform law

CBO: 4 million to face fines for not having health insurance in 2016

First Edition: April 23, 2010

Real-people videos and expert advice to address childhood obesity

Cancer Care Ontario honours five Ontarians with Human Touch Awards

City of Manchester, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield enhance Compass SmartShopper Program

North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation awards $25,000 grants to 9 nonprofits

Pelosi responds to reports of WellPoint dropping coverage for breast cancer patients

Report on Canadian spending trends in prescribed and non-prescribed drugs

Water, sanitation funding decline as share of overall development aid, WHO report finds

New blood test to determine patients at low risk for rejection of transplanted hearts

Patients more likely to change diet with written plan combined with counseling calls

Micromedex clinical decision support and CareNotes content to be integrated within M2 HCIS

First annual U.S.-African Union high level bilateral meetings start in Washington

Opinions: New U.S.-backed global food, agriculture program; Foreign aid to Africa; Medicines in Africa

Mass. court orders state's two largest health insurers to submit insurance rates; N.C. Governor restores funding for some mental health programs

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

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