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The President's health summit invite to lawmakers: 'Bring comprehensive legislation'

The Washington Post: "In a letter to lawmakers, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the half-day meeting at Blair House would include the top Democratic and Republican congressional leaders and the ranking members in committees that deal with health care. Outlining the format for a session some Republicans have derided as little more than political theater, the Obama advisers said both parties would be allowed to invite four other members each to the discussion, to begin at 10 a.m. and be televised live" (Shear, 2/13).

15 Feb 2010

Phrma's Tauzin quits amid talk that White House deal caused tension within organization

Former congressman and powerful lobbyist Billy Tauzin is resigning as head of the pharmaceutical industry trade group after a deal he helped broker with the White House on health reform strained relationships inside the group.

15 Feb 2010

Hypnosis has potential therapeutic value in children with respiratory disorders

Hypnosis has potential therapeutic value in children with respiratory disorders for alleviating symptoms such as habit cough or unexplained sensations of difficulty breathing and for lessening a child's discomfort during medical procedures.

15 Feb 2010

US Department of Labor announces over $225M ARRA funded health care and high growth training grants

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced more than $225 million in health care and high growth training grants funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants will allow community colleges, community-based organizations, state workforce agencies and other public entities to deliver training that leads to employment in a range of health care fields and other growing industries. With today's announcement, organizations in all 50 states have received a share of nearly $750 million in competitive grant funding made available through the Department of Labor.

15 Feb 2010

Indian Health Service director Roubideaux: 'We have a lot to teach the country'

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jessica Marcy talks to IHS director Yvette Roubideaux, who knows first-hand the difficulties faced by patients of the Indian Health Service.

15 Feb 2010

HSS creates Quality Research Center for applying research methodologies to health-care quality issues

Patients with orthopedic and autoimmune conditions expect Hospital for Special Surgery --because of its leadership role--to deliver the highest quality care. To further accomplish this mission, HSS is announcing the creation of a Quality Research Center with an innovative structure for applying research methodologies to health-care quality issues.

15 Feb 2010

GM crops can help bolster global food security, scientists say in special journal issue

Acceptance of genetically modified (GM) crops in agriculture will help bolster global food security as the world faces population growth and the potential effects of climate change, Nina Fedoroff, science and technology advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and colleagues write in an article published in a special issue of the journal Science, the Times of London reports.

15 Feb 2010

Texas whistle-blowing nurse is acquitted

The New York Times: "A West Texas jury took but an hour Thursday to acquit a nurse who had been charged with a felony after alerting the state medical board that a doctor at her hospital was practicing unsafe medicine. The uncommon prosecution had ignited deep concern among health care workers and advocates for whistle-blowers about a potential chilling effect on the reporting of malpractice.

15 Feb 2010

Community Health Centers step in to provide care for newly uninsured

Community Health Centers are providing a growing number of newly uninsured people with primary and preventive care. These centers are being tested by the growing patient load, MarketWatch reports.

15 Feb 2010

Wyoming lawkmaker pushes for reform, Mississippi Governor bans certain over-the-counter drugs

Associated Press/CNBC: "A veteran Wyoming state senator for the third time is pushing a bill he says would offer health insurance to people who couldn't afford it on the open market and also serve as an example to the rest of the nation of how to tackle rising health care costs. Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, has proposed a pilot program that calls for allowing 500 participants to enroll in Medicaid beginning in July. It would be limited to people whose family income is below 250 percent of the federal poverty level — $55,125 for a family of four.

15 Feb 2010

Pelosi relationship with Obama strained, Sen. Kyl and Wyden see hope for bipartisanship

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's relationship with President Barack Obama is becoming strained over roadblocks Democrats are seeing on legislation and the treatment some Democrats view as "cavalier" from the White House, Politico reports. "For months, the California lawmaker has been pushing Obama hard in private while praising him in public. But now she's being more open in her criticism, in part because she feels the White House was wrong — in the wake of the Democrats' loss in Massachusetts — to push the Senate health care bill on the House when she knew there was no way it would pass.

15 Feb 2010

WHO will meet to decide if H1N1 has peaked

The WHO will convene a meeting of its emergency committee later this month to assess whether H1N1 (swine flu) has peaked, Keiji Fukuda, the special adviser to the WHO's director general for pandemic influenza, said Thursday, Bloomberg reports.

15 Feb 2010

Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mich., Arizona plan Medicaid cuts; N.C.'s prison health costs

The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune: Louisiana "Gov. Bobby Jindal will present his 2010-11 budget request Friday, which is expected to call for cuts to health care, education and other areas of state government as his administration outlines plans for plugging a $1 billion shortfall. ... The general-fund growth is not nearly enough to offset a loss of about $650 million in federal health-care financing, the rising cost of state pensions, automatic pay raises for state workers and inflation in health-care programs."

15 Feb 2010

Polls: People like their own insurance but want reform, heart patients' cost worries

Lancaster Online: "Most Americans who have health insurance are pleased with their coverage, a new national Franklin & Marshall College poll shows. But many of those same people are worried about those who can't afford insurance, and overwhelmingly believe the health care system needs to be reformed, according to a survey of 920 adults. ... The survey found that 75 percent of Americans who have insurance rate their coverage as good or very good — the same percentage who believe the health-care system is in need of reform.

15 Feb 2010

Obama administration to announce $975 million in health IT grants

The Obama administration is awarding $975 million in grants to help states and health care providers adopt health information technology. The grant money being announced Friday comes from the economic stimulus legislation passed by Congress last year and is part of the administration's push to get doctors, hospitals and others to move from paper to computerized record-keeping.

15 Feb 2010

MAXIMUS announces the acquisition of Canadian-based DeltaWare Systems

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services, announced today that it has acquired Canadian-based DeltaWare Systems, Inc. (DeltaWare), a premier developer of health administration management systems for the government health care market. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

15 Feb 2010

Administration rejects Anthem Blue Cross' defense of premium hike

WellPoint Inc., the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, is defending its rate hike for customers with individual health insurance, but critics, including the Obama administration, are dubious.

15 Feb 2010

KFHP/H reports net income of $2.1 billion for 2009

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries (KFHP/H) reported today a combined total operating revenue of $10.6 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, compared to $10.0 billion in the same period in 2008. Operating income was $214 million, equal to two percent of revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to $108 million in the same quarter of the prior year. Net non-operating income was $276 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to a net non-operating loss of $1.1 billion in the same quarter of 2008.

15 Feb 2010

Federal health care tax credits going unclaimed

"Federal healthcare benefits are going unclaimed by an estimated 17,000 Californians whose jobs were moved overseas or retirees whose pensions are being paid by the government after their former employers terminated their retirement plans," the Los Angeles Times reports."

15 Feb 2010

GOP looks to make its case at health summit while Democrats remain skeptical

Politico reports that the White House's Feb. 25 health care summit with Democrats and Republicans "gives the GOP a venue to accomplish something it hasn't been able to do since President Barack Obama took the oath of office: Sell voters on Republican solutions to big problems." But Republicans have so far failed to capitalize because of the lack of a visible figure to champion their causes.

14 Feb 2010

Health Care News and Research

The President's health summit invite to lawmakers: 'Bring comprehensive legislation'

Phrma's Tauzin quits amid talk that White House deal caused tension within organization

Hypnosis has potential therapeutic value in children with respiratory disorders

US Department of Labor announces over $225M ARRA funded health care and high growth training grants

Indian Health Service director Roubideaux: 'We have a lot to teach the country'

HSS creates Quality Research Center for applying research methodologies to health-care quality issues

GM crops can help bolster global food security, scientists say in special journal issue

Texas whistle-blowing nurse is acquitted

Community Health Centers step in to provide care for newly uninsured

Wyoming lawkmaker pushes for reform, Mississippi Governor bans certain over-the-counter drugs

Pelosi relationship with Obama strained, Sen. Kyl and Wyden see hope for bipartisanship

WHO will meet to decide if H1N1 has peaked

Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mich., Arizona plan Medicaid cuts; N.C.'s prison health costs

Polls: People like their own insurance but want reform, heart patients' cost worries

Obama administration to announce $975 million in health IT grants

MAXIMUS announces the acquisition of Canadian-based DeltaWare Systems

Administration rejects Anthem Blue Cross' defense of premium hike

KFHP/H reports net income of $2.1 billion for 2009

Federal health care tax credits going unclaimed

GOP looks to make its case at health summit while Democrats remain skeptical

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

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