Health Care News and Research

RSS

Coalition asks Congress to eliminate excise tax on health benefits

American Dental Association President Ron Tankersley, DDS, says the provision as written, "[I]s the opposite of health care reform. It would compel many employers to drop critical dental and other coverage to avoid the tax. It dismantles exactly the type of preventive, primary care that everyone agrees this country needs more of."

13 Jan 2010

Congress expected to shun mammography recommendations in final health bill

The Wall Street Journal: "The final health-care bill is likely to require coverage for more mammograms than the new guidelines recommend after women's groups, doctors and imaging-equipment makers stepped up pressure on lawmakers -- one of many threads of the bill negotiated behind the scenes." In November, the federally funded U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a report saying that "routine mammograms weren't necessary for women in their 40s who have normal cancer risk.

13 Jan 2010

First phase of FDA's Transparency Initiative designed to explain agency operations unveiled

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today unveiled the first phase of its Transparency Initiative which is designed to explain agency operations, how it makes decisions, and the drug approval process.

13 Jan 2010

Medicare pay irks physicians, leaves some patients stranded

Doctors' payments through the Medicare program are scheduled to be lowered by 21 percent in March, prompting some physicians to drop Medicare patients or refuse taking on new ones, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

13 Jan 2010

Budget and cost issues continue to plague states

The (San Luis Obispo) Tribune News: In California, local programs will be hit hard under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed cuts to plug a $20 billion budget gap. "In-Home Supportive Services would be cut entirely. Medi-Cal would be limited and participants would be called upon to share more of the costs"

13 Jan 2010

Pediatric specialists and pharmacists may get boost from health bills

News outlets report on how the health care bill pending in Congress might affect pediatric specialists and pharmacists.

13 Jan 2010

UNAIDS chief calls for reduction in MTCT in Africa

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe on Monday during a five-day trip in Kenya, called for a drastic reduction in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, Capital News reports. "In our continent we still have 400,000 babies born every year with HIV and we know if we are capable of making sure that testing will become available universally to all our pregnant women, (and) that pregnant women also have access to treatment, we will prevent the transmission," Sidibe said (Karong'o, 1/11).

13 Jan 2010

Sarnova acquires CVC

Sarnova, Inc., the nation's leading specialty distributor of health care products in the emergency medical services (EMS) and respiratory markets, announced today that it has acquired CVC, Inc. Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, CVC is a supplier of products to the acute care respiratory and emergency medical services markets.

12 Jan 2010

Media outlets examine U.S. plans for leftover H1N1 vaccine, efforts to keep flu vaccine production on track

After working to ensure the U.S. had access to enough H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, health officials may now face a new dilemma - a vaccine surplus, the Associated Press reports.

12 Jan 2010

Labor leaders confront Obama on 'Cadillac' tax proposal

Labor leaders were invited to the White House to discuss negotiations to merge the House- and Senate-passed health overhaul packages.

12 Jan 2010

Miami resident pleads guilty to conspiring in Medicare fraud program

Miami resident Ingrid Mazorra pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Terrence I. Berg of the Eastern District of Michigan; Andrew G. Arena, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office; and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).

12 Jan 2010

China's one-child policy creates serious demographic problem, Chinese report says

A study from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a government-backed institution, has found that "China's 'one couple, one child' family planning policy" has resulted in a gender imbalance that is the "most serious demographic problem facing" the country, the Times of London reports.

12 Jan 2010

GAO: Some meds had 'extraordinary' price hikes over past eight years

A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued Monday finds that "[p]rices on a growing number of prescription medications have ballooned in recent years as consolidation in the drug industry leaves fewer companies manufacturing niche medications," The Associated Press reports.

12 Jan 2010

Skeptics question health overhaul savings, cost-controls

USA Today reports that independent analysts are increasingly questioning whether the long-term savings promised in the health care bills being considered by Congress are realistic.

12 Jan 2010

Health bill negotiators consider applying Medicare tax to investment income, WSJ reports

News outlets explore some of the unsettled and sticky policy questions - such as what taxes might pay for it, and whether mandates to buy coverage should be included - in the health overhaul legislation.

12 Jan 2010

White House considers help with proposed Medicaid expansion for states

Reuters: "President Barack Obama is discussing ways to help U.S. states cover costs that are destined to rise under pending healthcare reform legislation, his press secretary said on Monday." A number of governors have "protested a special funding allocation for Nebraska in the bill. 'We're

12 Jan 2010

ANI launches professional development program that pairs nurses with mentors

Two nurses have won recognition as emerging leaders in the field of nursing informatics, selected by the Alliance for Nursing Informatics (ANI) to participate in a jointly supported Nursing Informatics Emerging Leaders Program.

12 Jan 2010

Evidence-based care for lung cancer patients results in an average cost savings of 35%, says study

A study recently conducted by US Oncology and Aetna finds that evidence-based care for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) results in an average cost savings of 35 percent over 12 months while demonstrating equivalent health outcomes. The study, which compared patients treated with evidence-based guidelines (also known as ‘on pathway’) to those treated with non-evidence-based guidelines (also known as ‘off pathway’), was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Oncology Practice.

12 Jan 2010

Alleged sex offender not a registered physiotherapist, confirms the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario

The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, the organization entrusted by government and the public to regulate the over 7,000 physiotherapists in the province, was distressed to hear of the alleged abuse of a 15 year old female by an individual claiming to provide physiotherapy services. The College clarifies for the public that Sedat Ozdemir is not a registered physiotherapist in Ontario.

12 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 12, 2010

Today's news coverage details developments related to pending health reform plans with President Obama's meeting with organized labor regarding the 'Cadillac' tax claiming a lot of headlines.

12 Jan 2010