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Despite federal help, states struggle to move people out of nursing homes

23 Apr 2010

Florida's Health Care Freedom Act receives approval

Today, Florida's Health Care Freedom Act (HJR 37/SJR 72), sponsored by Florida Representative Scott Plakon and Florida Senator Carey Baker, passed the House and Senate and will appear on the November ballot. And yesterday, Mississippi Representatives Alex Monsour and Steven Palazzo received preliminary approval to place the Health Care Freedom Act on the 2011 or 2012 ballot.

23 Apr 2010

Cisco uses telemedicine in Southern Calif. and Southwest to lower costs

Cisco is using its HealthPresence telemedicine system in new programs in Southern California and the Southwest to "compete with other major tech companies, including Intel, IBM and General Electric, in the growing market for health-care products and services," The San Jose Mercury News/The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reports.

23 Apr 2010

Miss. lawmakers want voters to have say on health coverage mandate

Two Republican lawmakers in Mississippi want voters there to have the final say on whether purchasing health insurance should be required as mandated by the new federal health reform law. State Reps. Alex Monsour and Steven Palazzo are proposing a ballot initiative to ask voters the question.

23 Apr 2010

Study: California's nursing-ratio law saves patients' lives

News outlets report on a study suggesting that California's mandatory nursing-ratio law saves patient lives.

23 Apr 2010

Sebelius says HHS will not seek more money this year to implement health overhaul

"The Obama administration does not plan to seek additional money in next year's Health and Human Services Department budget to implement the new U.S. healthcare reform law, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Wednesday," Reuters reports. "Testifying before a House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee, Sebelius said the $911 billion HHS budget request for fiscal year 2011, which begins Oct. 1, remains the same even after Congress passed the healthcare overhaul," which "included $1 billion" for implementation by HHS.

23 Apr 2010

Report: Wellpoint targets breast cancer patients with policy rescissions

Reuters, in an exclusive report about the insurance industry practice of rescission: "That tens of thousands of Americans lost their health insurance shortly after being diagnosed with life-threatening, expensive medical conditions has been well documented by law enforcement agencies, state regulators and a congressional committee. Insurance companies have used the practice.

23 Apr 2010

Democrats, GOP continue to trade barbs over health reform, plan next moves

Politico: Democrats are following a call from President Barack Obama in daring Republicans to try to repeal the health care reform law. "And they started with what Democrats hope will become one of the most popular features of the overhaul plan, a provision that allow young adults to stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26.

23 Apr 2010

CBO estimate: 4 million could pay health insurance penalty by 2016

The Associated Press: "Nearly 4 million Americans will have to pay a penalty if they fail to get health insurance when that element of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law kicks in, according to congressional projections released Thursday." According to a Congressional Budget Office report, the average penalty in 2016 will be slightly more than $1,000 and the majority of people who pay the fine will be middle class.

23 Apr 2010

Website launched to track aid to Haiti from 'pledge to impact'

Agence France-Presse reports that the U.N. has launched "a new website to track the estimated 9.9 billion dollars in aid pledged to Haiti by the international community in the wake of a devastating January 12 earthquake." The website is a joint project of the Haitian government and the U.N. Development Programme.

23 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 22, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in collaboration with USA Today, writes about the Money Follows The Person program: "Richard Hasselbach and Deborah Kadlec met in a nursing home and dreamed of a life together outside its walls. Their health conditions made living on their own a challenge: Hasselbach, 63, is disabled from a stroke and lost a leg to a blocked artery. Kadlec, 52, has multiple sclerosis. They both use wheelchairs and need help with chores such as bathing, cooking and remembering to take their medicines.

22 Apr 2010

Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care receives $2.8M to extend cancer research

The Helen F. Graham Cancer Center at Christiana Care is the recipient of $2.8 million from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, to expand cancer research.

22 Apr 2010

Pharmaceutical industry faces rapidly changing future: Pharma CI Conference

The pharmaceutical industry finds itself facing a rapidly changing future in light of the health care bill and the evolving pharmaceutical marketplace. There's never been a time when demand has been so intense for the most accurate and up-to-date information about the pharmaceutical industry, especially pharmaceutical competitive intelligence.

22 Apr 2010

Patient Protection and Affordability Act requirement goes into affect in September 2010: BCBSM

A diploma won't be the only thing carried away from high school and college commencement ceremonies in Michigan this spring. Young adults also will be carrying their parents' Blue Cross health insurance card.

22 Apr 2010

World Bank report shows some MDG progress, country-level advancement 'uneven'

The world is on track to meet the poverty reduction target of the Millennium Development Goals, but sub-Saharan Africa still lags behind, according to the World Bank's World Development Indicators 2010 report, released Tuesday, VOA News reports (Hennessey, 4/20).

22 Apr 2010

Young adults to remain on parents' plan, states Aetna

Aetna today released the following statement regarding its decision to work with customers to extend dependent coverage to young adults.

22 Apr 2010

Senate Subcommittee hearing looks at USAID budget request, potential for reform

A Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs hearing on Tuesday about USAID's FY 2011 budget addressed the potential for "broad changes in the culture and operations of" USAID, CQ reports.

22 Apr 2010

Hospice Advocates encourage policy makers to protect access to end-of-life care for all Americans

Today 450 Hospice Advocates from across the country took part in the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's Capitol Hill Day 2010 by meeting with their U.S. Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill and encouraging policy makers to preserve and protect access to compassionate, high-quality end-of-life care for all Americans.

22 Apr 2010

MRSA infections on the rise in hospitals and health care settings: AHRQ report

Despite activities to identify and reduce the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other health care-associated infections in hospitals and health care settings nationwide, new reports released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality show that MRSA is on the rise and continues to pose an alarming threat.

22 Apr 2010

Retired public employee's benefits in budget trimmers' sights

Miami Herald: "The [Florida] House dropped its plan to save $224 million by eliminating a monthly health insurance subsidy for about 300,000 retired public employees, many of them politically influential former teachers, police officers and firefighters. Axing the health subsidy for retirees had enraged public employee unions and Democrats, who accused Republicans of breaking a pact with public workers.

22 Apr 2010