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Senate Democrats eye COBRA subsidy extension through Memorial Day

Democrats are trying to get Republicans to extend jobless benefits -- including a program to subsidize health insurance coverage for laid-off workers -- through Memorial Day, The Associated Press reports.

15 Apr 2010

Comparing effectiveness of PET and other molecular imaging techniques: SNM receives $48,000 AHRQ grant

SNM has been awarded a $48,000 grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to hold a conference to develop research on the comparative effectiveness of positron emission tomography (PET) and other molecular imaging techniques. The primary emphasis will be on the diagnosis and management of cancer patients, but both cardiology and neurology questions will also be addressed.

15 Apr 2010

North Carolina lawmakers consider medical tax; Georgia insurance commission says state should reject high-insurance pools

The North Carolina legislature "socked it to retail customers, smokers, drinkers and big earners with higher taxes last year to help close a budget gap calculated by Democrats at more than $4 billion. Could hospitals or doctors' offices be next? Legislative leaders are returning to Raleigh early to begin adjusting the second year of the state's two-year budget and they're intrigued by a hospital or provider tax or fee because it could draw down three times as much extra money in federal matching funds for Medicaid.

15 Apr 2010

Newsweek examines tech startup's tools to fight malaria

Newsweek examines the work of Intellectual Ventures, a Seattle-based startup that is "trying to develop a computer model that could help eradicate malaria."

15 Apr 2010

CDHP applauds dental coverage in health care reform legislation

The Children's Dental Health Project (CDHP) today applauded the historic dental health care provisions that were recently enacted as part of the health care reform legislation signed into law by President Obama. The provisions contained in the legislation represent an unprecedented investment in the oral health of all Americans, especially children.

15 Apr 2010

Massachusetts judge denies insurers' requests for double-digit rate hikes

The Boston Globe: "A Suffolk Superior Court judge yesterday denied a request that would have let six Massachusetts health insurers go forward with double-digit rate hikes for tens of thousands of small businesses and individuals, setting up a protracted battle that could become a test of government's role in controlling health care costs.

15 Apr 2010

CWRU School of Medicine becomes OHIP's REC for Ohio

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Medicine has received $7,942,500 million in federal stimulus funds from the Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP), the state designated entity for health information exchange development. The funding will position CWRU School of Medicine as a regional extension center (REC) which allows it to help 1,765 health care providers in Lorain, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties advance the use of health information technology (HIT) in their practices.

15 Apr 2010

Senate clears way for COBRA vote

Laid-off workers are waiting to hear if a subsidy for health insurance will continue to be available as part of a jobless benefits package working its way through the Senate.

15 Apr 2010

Research report focuses on key influencers within employer health care market

Health Industries Research Companies' Employer & Coalition Service has released its spring 2010 market research. HIRC finds that employers are increasingly concerned about cancer medications and report sustained interest in health, wellness, and disease management initiatives.

15 Apr 2010

FICO's Insurance Fraud Manager to be incorporated in Emdeon's healthcare revenue and payment cycle solutions

FICO, the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, and Emdeon Inc, a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced a commercial agreement aimed at preventing fraud, waste and abuse in the health insurance system.

15 Apr 2010

Rush University Medical Center's Orthopedic Building awarded Gold LEED certification

The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the Orthopedic Building at Rush University Medical Center Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

15 Apr 2010

Loyola University internist advises patients to complete their living wills

On April 16, Americans are being urged to complete living wills and other types of "advance directives" in observance of National Health-care Decisions Day.

15 Apr 2010

Medicare doc payment cut looms with new deadline: Tomorrow

Congress has already missed the deadline for new legislation to block cuts of 21% in Medicare payments to doctors. The pay reduction officially took effect April 1, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the federal agency that oversees the giant health systems — put a hold on processing physician payments for 10 business days, effectively pushing off the bite on payments for physicians' services until April 15.

15 Apr 2010

In Italy and in second life, hospitals succeed by challenging status quo

The Wall Street Journal: "As the U.S. debates the proper roles for the public and private sectors in health care, Italy's Lombardy region suggests a way that encouraging competition between the two can improve health care overall. For the past 10 years, public and private hospitals in Lombardy have competed directly for patients, and in doing so have created what is considered by many to be one of Europe's most efficient health-care systems" (Stancati, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

FDA: Seven MDIs for treating asthma and COPD to be phased out

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced, in accordance with longstanding U.S. obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, seven metered-dose inhalers (MDI) used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will be gradually removed from the U.S. marketplace. These inhalers contain ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are propellants that move medication out of the inhaler and into the lungs of patients.

15 Apr 2010

A renewed effort to reduce global toll of maternal and child deaths

Widespread global use of known and proven maternal and childcare techniques, practices, and therapies could save the lives of millions of women, newborns and children each year, according to a new analysis prepared for a mid-April meeting of world leaders and technical experts on maternal and child health.

15 Apr 2010

States respond to health law with lawsuits, policy shifts

"The insurance commissioner of Georgia has chosen not to comply with a federal request to create a state pool for high-risk insurance plans, opening a new front in the resistance by state Republican officials to the new federal health care law." The commissioner is a Republican candidate for governor (R. Brown, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

Global maternal deaths decreased by more than 35% between 1980 and 2008, study finds

The number of maternal deaths around the world has decreased from more than 500,000 in 1980 to an estimated 342,900 in 2008, according to a Lancet study published online on Monday, the BBC reports.

15 Apr 2010

Health IT Roundup: Data exchange, personal health records on the rise

The Wall Street Journal: "Three leading health-care providers in Colorado's Front Range region recently teamed up in an electronic health-record exchange program that will allow them to share data on more than a million Colorado residents. … The three [health systems] have agreed to share their records on a secure network that will allow clinics, doctors' offices and hospitals to exchange data on common patients instantly, including lab reports, radiology images and medical history" (Landro, 4/13).

15 Apr 2010

WHO discusses shortcomings of its H1N1 response

Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's top influenza expert, on Monday said the organization did not effectively communicate the uncertainties of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, which led to confusion worldwide, Reuters reports.

15 Apr 2010