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Sebelius issues sharp rebuke against health insurance premium hikes across U.S.

News outlets paid close attention to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' release of a new report detailing double-digit insurance premium hikes for individual plans in six states across the country.

20 Feb 2010

Florida faces fight over Medicaid reform expansion; In Kansas, cuts hurt a mental health clinic

Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration may broaden that state's Medicaid-reform pilot program to include 19 more counties to save more than $58 million by requiring Medicaid beneficiaries enroll in managed-care plans, Health News Florida reports.

19 Feb 2010

HIT Roundup: The push for electronic records continues

The Patriot-News: "A statewide partnership has been awarded a $100 million grant in federal economic stimulus funds to expand access to broadband Internet in 39 counties across south and central Pennsylvania, U.S. Senators Arlen Specter and Robert P. Casey said Thursday." One purpose of the network is to link medical facilities (Miller, 2/18).

19 Feb 2010

ALEC congratulates Idaho State Representatives for sponsoring Idaho Health Freedom Act

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—the nation's largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators—congratulates Idaho State Representatives Jim Clark, Lynn Luker, and Raul Labrador for their successful sponsorship of HB 391, the Idaho Health Freedom Act, which was passed by the Idaho House of Representatives by a vote of 52 to 18 last week.

19 Feb 2010

Recession swells Medicaid rolls, shrivels treasuries

Nearly every state is considering or already making cuts to its Medicaid program as the recession swells rolls for the state-run health insurance program for the poor, The New York Times reports. Because of requirements for getting stimulus money to support programs, the states are not allowed to curb enrollment, and are instead cutting optional benefits and reimbursement rates. Lower rates could drive more physicians and other providers away from the program, which already pays very low fees.

19 Feb 2010

New VA undersecretary for health sworn in

Modern Healthcare: "Robert Petzel has been sworn in as undersecretary for health at the Veterans Affairs Department, the agency announced.

19 Feb 2010

Express Scripts turning prescription discount business into nonprofit

Anticipating "more people will need access to discount prescriptions no matter what ultimately happens in Washington" with health reform, Express Scripts' Rx Outreach program will become a nonprofit, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

19 Feb 2010

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

All of us who have been at this task before understand three important realities: One, no president who has launched such an effort unsuccessfully has ever been able to relaunch; two, the Senate legislation, at least, has been the product of much bipartisan effort over the last several years, even though no Republican senators voted for it, and three, the status quo costs and quality of this country's health care system are totally unacceptable -- to the health care industry and to those who depend on it (Dave Durenberger, 2/18).

19 Feb 2010

Passage of DSSA will restrict Americans’ access to nutritional supplements, says Hotze Enterprises

On Feb. 4, Senators John McCain and Byron Dorgan introduced the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 (DSSA), that if passed, will restrict Americans’ access to nutritional supplements. Hotze Enterprises, a world leader in the alternative health care industry, is strongly opposed to this legislation being passed, and encourages consumers to take action.

19 Feb 2010

Medicare Advantage premiums jump 14 percent

The Associated Press: "Millions of seniors who signed up for popular private health plans through Medicare are facing sharp premium increases this year — another sign that spiraling costs are a problem even for those with solid insurance. A study to be released Friday ... found that premiums for Medicare Advantage plans offering medical and prescription drug coverage jumped 14.2 percent on average in 2010, after an increase of only 5.2 percent the previous year. Some 8.5 million elderly and disabled Americans are in the plans, which provide more comprehensive coverage than traditional Medicare."

19 Feb 2010

Petzel takes oath to lead nation's largest integrated health care system

Dr. Robert A. Petzel has taken the oath of office as the Under Secretary for Health within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), stepping up to lead the nation's largest integrated health care system.

19 Feb 2010

New book explores economic, demographic and cultural aspects that threaten healthcare and AMCs

Arthur Feldman, M.D., Ph.D, Magee Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College, has written a new book, Pursuing Excellence In Healthcare: Preserving America's Academic Medical Centers, one of the first textbooks since the works of Abraham Flexnor in 1910 to take a comprehensive look at the issues facing academic medicine.

19 Feb 2010

Mental health care for federally incarcerated offenders through telemedicine

A bold new initiative soon to be implemented in federal prisons in Ontario will help to address the treatment needs for federal offenders with mental health issues.

19 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 19, 2010

Today's headlines highlight a White House plan to "get specific" on health reform, an analysis showing a nationwide jump in Medicaid enrollment and more on the firestorm surrounding health insurance premium increases.

19 Feb 2010

State policy developments: Wisconsin's new 'public option,' Iowa's medical marijuana vote, and more

New Hampshire Public Radio: A bill in the state legislature would create an annual public report that details the causes of rising health spending by analyzing now-private information that doctors, hospitals and other health organizations would have to provide to the state's Department of Insurance. The move is partly in response to conflicting narratives: The state's health spending continues to rise, yet hospitals and doctors say they are struggling (Grant, 2/17).

19 Feb 2010

Permitting private health insurance may not obviously weaken public health system

A single payer, fully government funded health care system has often been equated with core Canadian values. It is often argued that a single insurer, the government, is critical to the integrity of the system. Permitting private health insurance, it is claimed, would weaken the public system.

19 Feb 2010

WHO urges medical aid agencies to remain in Haiti as health care system is rebuilt

On Wednesday, the WHO "urged medical aid agencies to stay in Haiti as long as possible while health care is rebuilt following last month's devastating earthquake," Agence France-Presse reports.

19 Feb 2010

HHS releases report highlighting health insurance premium increases

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today unveiled a new report, Insurance Companies Prosper, Families Suffer: Our Broken Health Insurance System. The report highlights health insurance premium increases in states across the country and comes shortly after Anthem Blue Cross announced plans to raise rates on its California customers by as much as 39 percent, even after its parent company took in a profit of $2.7 billion in the previous quarter. The complete report is available at www.HealthReform.gov.

19 Feb 2010

MetLife Mature Market Institute provides history of generations born since early 1900s

A series of publications from the MetLife Mature Market Institute provide a history of the generations born since the early 1900s. There are almost as many members of Gen Y (born 1977-1994) in the U.S. in comparison to the largest group, the Baby Boomers.

19 Feb 2010

NIA supports FDA initiative to reduce radiation overexposure from medical imaging

National Imaging Associates (NIA), a Magellan Health Services company, today applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its leadership and progress in addressing the issue of radiation overexposure through its Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging.

19 Feb 2010

Health Care News and Research

Sebelius issues sharp rebuke against health insurance premium hikes across U.S.

Florida faces fight over Medicaid reform expansion; In Kansas, cuts hurt a mental health clinic

HIT Roundup: The push for electronic records continues

ALEC congratulates Idaho State Representatives for sponsoring Idaho Health Freedom Act

Recession swells Medicaid rolls, shrivels treasuries

New VA undersecretary for health sworn in

Express Scripts turning prescription discount business into nonprofit

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Passage of DSSA will restrict Americans’ access to nutritional supplements, says Hotze Enterprises

Medicare Advantage premiums jump 14 percent

Petzel takes oath to lead nation's largest integrated health care system

New book explores economic, demographic and cultural aspects that threaten healthcare and AMCs

Mental health care for federally incarcerated offenders through telemedicine

First Edition: February 19, 2010

State policy developments: Wisconsin's new 'public option,' Iowa's medical marijuana vote, and more

Permitting private health insurance may not obviously weaken public health system

WHO urges medical aid agencies to remain in Haiti as health care system is rebuilt

HHS releases report highlighting health insurance premium increases

MetLife Mature Market Institute provides history of generations born since early 1900s

NIA supports FDA initiative to reduce radiation overexposure from medical imaging

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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