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Foresters renews commitment as the international underwriter of Children’s Miracle Network’s Radiothon program

Foresters™, a life insurance provider that champions the well-being of families, has renewed its commitment as the international underwriter of Children’s Miracle Network’s Radiothon program. Foresters support of Children’s Miracle Network, a children’s charity that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals, spans 20 years and three countries - the US, Canada and the UK.

19 Jan 2010

Psoriasis therapy costs outpace inflation

Findings from a cost model suggest that expenses for systemic psoriasis therapy appear to be increasing at a faster rate than inflation, and newer biologically derived treatments are more expensive than traditional systemic therapies, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

19 Jan 2010

AstraZeneca and Dako Denmark A/S enter into collaboration agreement

AstraZeneca and Dako Denmark A/S announced today that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to develop companion diagnostic tests for multiple AstraZeneca oncology projects, including biologics and small molecules, in various stages of discovery and development.

18 Jan 2010

Democrats plot possible health bill strategies if Mass. seat goes to GOP

The New York Times reports that as Democratic leaders campaign for their party's candidate to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy from Massachusetts, they are beginning to think about strategies if the Republican candidate wins and "deprives Senate Democrats of the crucial 60th vote they need to overcome filibusters" on the health overhaul bill.

18 Jan 2010

Research analyses underfunding in state retiree benefits

Research shows that, nationally, states are facing more than $550 billion in unfunded liabilities associated with health care and other non-pension benefits for retired state employees, a situation many states are now struggling to fix. New research from North Carolina State University has identified a number of trends that are consistent among those states with the biggest funding problems - information that may help states find a solution to the funding shortfall.

18 Jan 2010

Wellness programs help retain employees

Forty-five percent of Americans working at small to medium-sized companies said that they would stay at their jobs longer because of employer-sponsored wellness programs, according to the latest Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM.

18 Jan 2010

Patients have few barriers to affordable health care, efficient care in post-Katrina primary care clinics

A new Commonwealth Fund survey of safety-net clinic patients in New Orleans finds that, despite being disproportionately low-income and uninsured, these patients had fewer problems affording care and fewer instances of medical debt and inefficient care than most U.S. adults.

18 Jan 2010

Health care reform: Opportunities and challenges in palliative care

Opinion leaders in the field of palliative medicine explored the unparalleled opportunities that now exist for the palliative care community, which matches treatment to the desires of informed patients and their families, to help define evolving health care reform policy. The thought-provoking Roundtable discussion, "Palliative Medicine: Politics and Policy," is published online ahead of print in Journal of Palliative Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc..

18 Jan 2010

First disposable side-opening vaginal speculum for office-based hysteroscopic procedures launched

OBP Medical Inc. introduces the OfficeSPEC™, the first disposable side-opening vaginal speculum for office-based hysteroscopic procedures.

18 Jan 2010

NIH awards IU School of Optometry $2.35M for glaucoma research

An Indiana University School of Optometry researcher's ongoing work to improve testing for and treatment of one of the world's leading causes of blindness will advance with support from a $2.35 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

18 Jan 2010

Unveiling of soybean genome could help boost crop yields in future

"Scientists on Wednesday unveiled the genome of the soybean, saying it was an achievement that should deepen understanding of one of the world's most important crops, help to boost yields and defend the plant against pests," Agence France-Presse reports. The study, published in the journal Nature, details the findings of the "[e]ighteen organisations, most of them American, [who] teamed up in a 15-year endeavour that yielded a draft of 85 percent of the soybean's 1.1 billion base pairs, the 'rungs' in the double-helix ladder of DNA," the news service writes

18 Jan 2010

Surveillance colonoscopy need to be better aligned with patients' risks for colorectal cancer

How often patients receive surveillance colonoscopy may need to be better aligned with their risks for colorectal cancer, according to two papers published this month by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers.

18 Jan 2010

"Cadillac Plan" tax: Society of Actuaries proposes changes for successful health care reform

Drawing attention to one of the most complex health care bills recently passed by the U.S. Senate, the Society of Actuaries and American Academy of Actuaries today announced the findings from a new technical model and report on the estimated effect of the excise tax on high–cost employer health plans, also known as the "Cadillac Plan" tax. According to the report, while a tax on excess benefits could play a role in offsetting other costs of health reform, specific design elements of the tax may present some issues.

18 Jan 2010

Memorial Healthcare System to deploy Axolotl’s Elysium Exchange solutions for HIE

Axolotl Corp., today announced that Memorial Healthcare System, the fifth-largest public health care system in the nation has selected Axolotl’s Elysium® Exchange suite of solutions to securely access and share clinical information between physician practices and medical staff. Axolotl’s Elysium Exchange solutions are used by hundreds of hospitals and thousands of health care professionals, powering 3 statewide HIEs and 18 additional regional exchanges (RHIOs) across the nation.

18 Jan 2010

Vilsack promotes agriculture improvement in Afghanistan, announces $20M in aid

ecretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has launched "a major drive to improve agriculture" in Afghanistan, McClatchy/Miami Herald reports. During an airborne tour of the country's Helmand province on Tuesday, Vilsack delivered the "message: If you grow wheat, vegetables and pomegranates instead of poppies, the United States will help you reap the financial benefits."

18 Jan 2010

Medpac recommendation: Adjust Medicare's hospital inpatient payments to recoup overpayments

Modern Healthcare: "The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is recommending that Congress further adjust Medicare's hospital inpatient payments over three years to recover overpayments that have resulted from recent documentation and coding changes." MedPAC also "called for the same recommendation as last year: to increase payment rates for inpatient and outpatient hospital services at the full rate of inflation, concurrent with the implementation of a quality incentives program.

18 Jan 2010

NYT magazine: Reid wages political battles on two fronts

As he's shepherded the sweeping health overhaul plan through the United States Senate, a sometimes "hoarse and hacking," weary Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is also facing a tough reelection fight at home, The New York Times reportsin a magazine preview. As he has tried to keep constituents in his native Nevada behind him, Reid has also struggled to keep members of his caucus in line on health reform.

18 Jan 2010

Researchers show close correlation between public health and recreational opportunities

One way to help address the epidemic of obesity in the United States is improved access to pleasant hiking trails and an ambitious parks and recreation program, a recent study suggests, but programs such as this are increasingly being reduced in many states due to budget shortfalls.

18 Jan 2010

Health personalities: Nelson, Landrieu, Melancon, Regina Benjamin

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18 Jan 2010

Mass. special election could shape fate of health reform

Los Angeles Times: "For Democrats, it's a nightmarish scenario: A Republican appears to be within striking distance of capturing the Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy." Some polls now show that [Scott] Brown is gaining on Attorney General Martha Coakley, his Democratic rival.

18 Jan 2010

Health Care News and Research

Foresters renews commitment as the international underwriter of Children’s Miracle Network’s Radiothon program

Psoriasis therapy costs outpace inflation

AstraZeneca and Dako Denmark A/S enter into collaboration agreement

Democrats plot possible health bill strategies if Mass. seat goes to GOP

Research analyses underfunding in state retiree benefits

Wellness programs help retain employees

Patients have few barriers to affordable health care, efficient care in post-Katrina primary care clinics

Health care reform: Opportunities and challenges in palliative care

First disposable side-opening vaginal speculum for office-based hysteroscopic procedures launched

NIH awards IU School of Optometry $2.35M for glaucoma research

Unveiling of soybean genome could help boost crop yields in future

Surveillance colonoscopy need to be better aligned with patients' risks for colorectal cancer

"Cadillac Plan" tax: Society of Actuaries proposes changes for successful health care reform

Memorial Healthcare System to deploy Axolotl’s Elysium Exchange solutions for HIE

Vilsack promotes agriculture improvement in Afghanistan, announces $20M in aid

Medpac recommendation: Adjust Medicare's hospital inpatient payments to recoup overpayments

NYT magazine: Reid wages political battles on two fronts

Researchers show close correlation between public health and recreational opportunities

Health personalities: Nelson, Landrieu, Melancon, Regina Benjamin

Mass. special election could shape fate of health reform

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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