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Congressional Republicans remain skeptical of health summit, but Pawlenty asks for governor inclusion

Although Congressional Republicans continue their dismissal of President Obama's health care summit slated for next week, they are still planning to attend, Roll Call reports. "On Wednesday, the GOP responded contemptuously to Sebelius' declaration" that the already-passed Senate and House bills would be the starting point for the summit negotiations. An aide to House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) "referred to a television interview in which his boss made clear the GOP planned to participate in the event" (Drucker, 2/17).

18 Feb 2010

AMGA commends Senator for ensuring EMR incentive payments for medical groups

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) applauds Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) for her efforts to assure fairness in payment of electronic medical record (EMR) incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

18 Feb 2010

Report estimates Haiti earthquake damages could reach nearly $14B

The total cost of the destruction in Haiti, resulting from the major earthquake last month, could add up to twice the value of the country's annual economy, three Inter-American Development Bank economists said in a report on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

18 Feb 2010

New database answers question: How healthy is your county?

A new database compares the health of the more than 3,000 counties in the U.S.

18 Feb 2010

Dental insurance fraud: Solutions for benefit cost containment

When Dianne Rose, D.D.S., and her partner, Anthony Paciello, D.M.D., inaugurated P&R Dental Strategies, Inc. over 20 years ago to provide third-party claim review services for national insurance companies, trade unions, self-administered corporations and other dental claims payers, they could not have imagined how far they would eventually be able to take the art of insurance claim review.

18 Feb 2010

Additional 4M people in Asia could fall to 'extreme poverty' level this year, report says

While approximately 17 million Asians fell into "extreme poverty" due to the global economic situation in 2009, another four million in the region "could this year slip into the same situation due to the effects of the slump," according to a report released by representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) in Manlia on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

18 Feb 2010

Nationwide Better Health awarded full Comprehensive Wellness accreditation from URAC

Nationwide Better HealthSM, a leading provider of health and productivity management solutions, has been awarded full Comprehensive Wellness accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

18 Feb 2010

Review: Giving employees more flexibility over their work schedules likely to boost their health

A new evidence review suggests that giving employees more flexibility over their work schedules is likely to boost their health as judged by measures like blood pressure and stress. But interventions that are motivated or dictated by the needs of the employer, such as cutting hours, either have no effect on employee health or make it worse.

18 Feb 2010

AGHE to hold conference to discuss on gerontological and geriatric education and training

The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education - the educational branch of The Gerontological Society of America - will hold its 36th Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference from March 4 to 7, 2010, at The Peppermill in Reno, NV. This conference provides a forum for professionals in the field of aging to present their work and share ideas about gerontological and geriatric education and training.

18 Feb 2010

Media examine fight against counterfeit drugs

The Wall Street Journal reports on the recent shutdown of a counterfeit drug ring in Syria, while highlighting a broader problem with counterfeit medicines in the Middle East. Authorities intercepted "millions of dollars worth of breast cancer, leukemia and other medicines … At least 65 people were detained; it couldn't be learned if they were charged. A trial date hasn't yet been set," according to the newspaper, which notes that the drug ring distributor's activities had also penetrated into some public health systems, "particularly in Iraq."

18 Feb 2010

Hot button health reform issues: The individual mandate and selling insurance across state lines

News outlets report on several of the hot button issues in the health care debate, including the individual mandate and selling insurance across state lines.

18 Feb 2010

Insurance rates soar in various states

People who buy their own health insurance are seeing their premiums increases by 15 percent or more in four states, and those in others could be faced with the same, The Associated Press/Seattle Times reports.

18 Feb 2010

Feeding preterm infants in response to hunger and satiation cues may allow earlier hospital discharge

Although many parents and health care providers attempt to schedule a preterm newborn's feeding pattern, a new review of studies reveals that feeding in response to the infant's own hunger cues might result in earlier discharge from the hospital.

18 Feb 2010

Utah tries to improve state health insurance exhange; Mich. plans for doctor shortage

The Salt Lake Tribune: "State health reform got a boost Tuesday with House passage of a fix-it bill to improve the Utah Health Exchange, an online tool for purchasing health insurance. Pitched as a free-market approach to lowering costs for small businesses, the exchange has had limited success. Only 400 people are receiving health insurance in its experimental first stage. And some of its 66 plans are up to 130 percent more expensive than what some companies were already paying. That's because insurers are calculating premiums differently 'inside' and 'outside' the exchange, said House Speaker Dave Clark" (Stewart, 2/16).

17 Feb 2010

WellPoint cancels investor meeting to prepare for congressional hearing on premium hikes

WellPoint, the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross, has canceled an investor meeting "so that executives can prepare for a congressional hearing on the company's large rate hikes in California," the Los Angeles Times reports. "A subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has called WellPoint Inc. Chief Executive Angela F. Braly to testify Feb. 24 about planned premium increases of as much as 39% for many of Anthem's 800,000 individual policyholders in California."

17 Feb 2010

Calif. budget cuts would end aid to new legal immigrants; Minn. Dems criticize Pawlenty for relying on federal funds

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest proposals to close California's budget shortfall would end public assistance for most new legal immigrants, eliminating emergency cash, food and medical aid for those who don't yet qualify for federal welfare. The proposal would represent an about-face for the state.

17 Feb 2010

ACP urges Congress and Obama to enact comprehensive health care reform

"The unfortunate truth is that by many measures, the State of America's health care is in decline," Joseph W. Stubbs, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), reported today at ACP's annual State of the Nation's Health Care briefing. "We have too many uninsured, too few primary care physicians, and the cost of health care is rising faster than we can afford."

17 Feb 2010

Former Senate parliamentarian questions reconciliation, Senators want public option back

A former Senate parliamentarian said Tuesday that using reconciliation to pass health care reform will be difficult because the procedure wasn't meant to make policy, Politico's Live Pulse blog reports. The former parliamentarian, Robert Dove, who now teaches at George Washington University, said there are many things that cannot be put into the reconciliation bill. "Dove would know. In 1974, in the midst of his 36-year Senate career, he helped design the Congressional Budget Act, which first created the rules for reconciliation.

17 Feb 2010

Health on the Hill - February 16, 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin of the Fiscal Times talk with the Kaiser Family Foundation's Jackie Judd about recent events on Capitol Hill. For instance, President Obama has scheduled a bipartisan summit for Feb. 25 to discuss ways to pass health care overhaul legislation this year.

17 Feb 2010

Deficit panel to tackle worries of federal debt, including health spending

The New York Times reports that President Obama's appointment of a special panel to study the nation's debt will come "(a)fter decades of warnings that budgetary profligacy, escalating health care costs and an aging population would lead to a day of fiscal reckoning."

17 Feb 2010

Health Care News and Research

Congressional Republicans remain skeptical of health summit, but Pawlenty asks for governor inclusion

AMGA commends Senator for ensuring EMR incentive payments for medical groups

Report estimates Haiti earthquake damages could reach nearly $14B

New database answers question: How healthy is your county?

Dental insurance fraud: Solutions for benefit cost containment

Additional 4M people in Asia could fall to 'extreme poverty' level this year, report says

Nationwide Better Health awarded full Comprehensive Wellness accreditation from URAC

Review: Giving employees more flexibility over their work schedules likely to boost their health

AGHE to hold conference to discuss on gerontological and geriatric education and training

Media examine fight against counterfeit drugs

Hot button health reform issues: The individual mandate and selling insurance across state lines

Insurance rates soar in various states

Feeding preterm infants in response to hunger and satiation cues may allow earlier hospital discharge

Utah tries to improve state health insurance exhange; Mich. plans for doctor shortage

WellPoint cancels investor meeting to prepare for congressional hearing on premium hikes

Calif. budget cuts would end aid to new legal immigrants; Minn. Dems criticize Pawlenty for relying on federal funds

ACP urges Congress and Obama to enact comprehensive health care reform

Former Senate parliamentarian questions reconciliation, Senators want public option back

Health on the Hill - February 16, 2010

Deficit panel to tackle worries of federal debt, including health spending

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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