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Democrats shun health reform deadlines as they await state of the union

Democrats Tuesday backed away from setting or adhering to a health overhaul timeline "saying they no longer felt pressure to move quickly on a health bill after eight months of setting deadlines and missing them," The New York Times reports.

27 Jan 2010

Web-based records worried patients, prompting more neutral language

Kaiser Permanente's experience while providing digital records to patients highlights the potential for miscommunications -- and sometimes needless alarm, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund reports. The health care company gave patients access to the same online lab reports that went to doctors and they included warning messages, such as a capital "H" to indicate above average results. That worried enough patients that the managed-care giant changed its format.

27 Jan 2010

CBO: Stimulus more expensive than expected, Medicare costs to double by 2020

A new Congressional Budget Office report "provides more ammunition for Republicans who say the stimulus has been long on spending and short on creating promised jobs," The Associated Press/ABC News reports. The report says the stimulus will cost $75 billion more than expected, because of increased unemployment, requirements for the food stamp program and the high popularity of an infrastructure bonds program. The report comes as Democrats consider a second stimulus bill that could include another extension of unemployment benefits, job creation tax credits and further help for jobless people to buy health coverage (Taylor, 1/26).

27 Jan 2010

Imagine Media signs non-binding LOI to acquire DMI Life Sciences

Imagine Media, Ltd., a Delaware corporation today announced that it has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire DMI Life Sciences, Inc., a Denver, Colorado-based biotechnology company. (“DMI”). Under the terms of the LOI, if the acquisition is completed, the shareholders of DMI will acquire approximately 90.52% of the total issued and outstanding shares of the Company, and the transaction will constitute a change in control.

27 Jan 2010

Home health care fraud: Detroit-area physical therapist pleads guilty

Detroit-area resident Jessica Vigil pleaded guilty today for her role in a Detroit-area home health care fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI's Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General's (HHS-OIG) Chicago Region.

27 Jan 2010

TeleTracking Technologies' Bed Management Suite selected as leading patient flow solution

For the third straight year TeleTracking's Bed Management Suite™, with the trend-setting electronic bedboard® , was selected "Category Leader – Patient Flow" (formerly Bed Management) by healthcare providers who use automated patient flow solutions, according to healthcare market researcher KLAS.

27 Jan 2010

Social inequalities exist in diabetes care

People with lower socioeconomic status and those belonging to ethnic minority groups receive worse health care in the treatment of diabetes than the rest of patients in the world's most developed countries.

27 Jan 2010

Mayo Clinic achieves new levels of excellence in service to humanity

Mayo Clinic announced today that it raised $1.35 billion in its first comprehensive fundraising campaign, surpassing the goal of $1.25 billion.

27 Jan 2010

MAXIMUS recognized as 'Certified Center of Excellence' by BenchmarkPortal

MAXIMUS (NYSE: MMS), a leading provider of government services, announced today that its New York Medicaid CHOICE project call center has once again been recognized as a “Certified Center of Excellence” by BenchmarkPortal in collaboration with the Center for Customer-Driven Quality (CCDQ) at Purdue Research Park.

27 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 27, 2010

Both Democrats' congressional confusion about how to proceed with health reform and voter angst about the direction of the country will play roles in what President Obama says in tonight's State of the Union address.

27 Jan 2010

WellPoint announces net income of $2.7 billion for fourth-quarter fiscal 2009

WellPoint, Inc. today announced that fourth quarter 2009 net income was $2.7 billion, or $5.95 per share. The results included net after-tax income of approximately $2.2 billion, or $4.79 per share, resulting from a gain on the sale of the NextRx pharmacy benefit management subsidiaries ("NextRx"), partially offset by costs for restructuring activities and intangible asset impairments.

27 Jan 2010

UT Arlington adds Academic Partnership BSN program to accommodate qualified applicants

The University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing has added an Academic Partnership: Bachelor of Science in Nursing program that will substantially increase its capacity to accommodate qualified applicants.

27 Jan 2010

Regular exercise associated with greater longevity and reduced risk of age-related conditions

Physical activity appears to be associated with a reduced risk or slower progression of several age-related conditions as well as improvements in overall health in older age, according to a commentary and four articles published in the January 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

27 Jan 2010

ALEC congratulates Pennsylvania legislators for filing House Bills to protect the right of individuals

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) -- the nation's largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators -- congratulates Pennsylvania State Representatives Matthew Baker and Curt Schroder for filing House Bills 2053 and 2179, which protect the right of individuals to make their own health care choices.

27 Jan 2010

NewHope Bariatrics Surgery Center receives AAAHC accreditation certificate

NewHope Bariatrics Surgery Center announced today that its new bariatric-focused surgery center in The Colony has received accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Inc.

27 Jan 2010

Joint Commission urges hospitals to take steps to prevent pregnancy-related deaths

Pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure are putting women at greater risk for death during or shortly after pregnancy, according to a Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert issued today.

27 Jan 2010

NMA calls for Congress to act on health care reform

"America's health care problems did not change when the polls closed in Massachusetts last week, therefore we still need Congress to act on Health Care Reform now", insists Dr. Willarda Edwards, President of the National Medical Association (NMA).

27 Jan 2010

23M people in the U.S without health insurance: Bishops call for changes in proposed reform bills

The U.S. bishops called on Congress to continue to work on health care reform to provide access for everyone, protection of life at all stages and conscience rights.

27 Jan 2010

Recipients of the 2010 Media Awards for Health Reporting announced

The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) and the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) today announced the recipients of the 2010 Media Awards for Health Reporting, Canada's premier health journalism awards.

27 Jan 2010

Potential risk factors in skipping insulin injections

More than half of people with diabetes who take insulin injections to control their diabetes say they have intentionally skipped an injection, with one-fifth of them reporting that they do so "sometimes" or "often," according to a study being published this month in Diabetes Care.

27 Jan 2010