Hearing News and Research

RSS

CQ's Armstrong discusses budget reconciliation, coverage proposal from private insurers, Sebelius confirmation

Drew Armstrong, a Congressional Quarterly staff reporter, discusses efforts to use budget reconciliation to fast-track health reform, a compromise offered by private health insurers and the scheduled confirmation hearing for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's nominee for HHS secretary, in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

30 Mar 2009

UnitedHealth Group, Ingenix to testify at senate hearing about out-of-network rates

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) on Tuesday will hold a hearing that follows lawsuits and an investigation by New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (D) alleging that UnitedHealth Group and subsidiary Ingenix manipulated out-of-network rate data resulting in patients paying more for those services, the AP/USA Today reports.

30 Mar 2009

NIH might use stimulus funds for comparative effectiveness research that includes cost comparisons, acting director says

NIH Acting Director Raynard Kington on Thursday during a House Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee hearing said that the agency might use some of the $10.4 billion it received from the economic stimulus package to fund comparative effectiveness research that includes comparisons on the cost of treatments, CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Mar 2009

Rhode Island House Committee holds hearing on bill that would eliminate written consent requirement for HIV testing

The Rhode Island House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare last week held a hearing on a proposed amendment to a state requirement that physicians obtain written consent before administering an HIV test, the Providence Journal reports.

30 Mar 2009

Senate panel hears from witnesses detailing insurer practices that limit transparency of payment rates

Witnesses at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing on Thursday discussed the need for increased consumer protections that would limit the practice of insurers underpaying for out-of-network medical services, CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Mar 2009

Tenn. lawmaker proposes bill that would require HIV testing among prison inmates prior to release

Tennessee state Rep. Brenda Gilmore (D) has introduced a bill (H.B. 52) that would require HIV tests for prison inmates before their release as part of a larger plan to address the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state, WSMV.com reports. According to Gilmore, the plan will focus on blacks, who comprise 64% of new HIV cases in the state but only 13% of the population.

30 Mar 2009

AHIP, BCBS say insurers willing to stop basing premiums on members' health status if all U.S. residents are required to obtain coverage

In a letter to leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees on Tuesday, America's Health Insurance Plans and the BlueCross BlueShield Association said that their memberships would be willing to end the practice of charging different premiums based on individuals' health status if all U.S. residents were required to obtain coverage, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 3/25).

25 Mar 2009

Sebelius, DeParle discuss health care reform with congressional lawmakers

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's nominee for HHS secretary, and Nancy-Ann DeParle, the director of the White House Office for Health Reform, each met with congressional lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss plans for health care overhaul, CQ Today reports. Sebelius said she met with nearly 40 senators who expressed "a lot of interest in health reform."

25 Mar 2009

Auditory regions of brain convert to sense of touch in hearing loss

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have discovered that adult animals with hearing loss actually re-route the sense of touch into the hearing parts of the brain.

24 Mar 2009

Stem cell therapy may lead to treatment for deafness

Deafness affects more than 250 million people worldwide. It typically involves the loss of sensory receptors, called hair cells, for their "tufts" of hair-like protrusions, and their associated neurons.

23 Mar 2009

Dire need to increase awareness of diabetes in U.S.

According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 23.6 million children and adults living with diabetes in the U.S. Of this number, nearly 17.9 million people are currently undiagnosed, indicating that there is a dire need to increase awareness of the symptoms of the disease.

23 Mar 2009

Jaundice an unreliable method of predicting the baby's risk of hyperbilirubinemia

For hundreds of years, doctors, nurses and midwives have visually examined newborn babies for the yellowish skin tones that signify jaundice, judging that more extensive jaundice carried a greater risk of illness.

23 Mar 2009

Experimental vaccine shows promise in preventing cytomegalovirus infection

Each year, approximately 8,000 infants in the United States develop severe hearing, mental or movement impairments after becoming infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus passed onto them while still in the womb.

19 Mar 2009

A silicone ear

To look at Matthew Houdek, you could never tell he was born with virtually no left ear.

17 Mar 2009

Hearing could hold key to unlocking schizophrenia mystery

Measuring brain waves in response to hearing a variety of tones appears to be a useful way to begin understanding the underlying genetic abnormalities associated with schizophrenia, says a study headed by researchers at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital.

17 Mar 2009

Hearing News and Research

CQ's Armstrong discusses budget reconciliation, coverage proposal from private insurers, Sebelius confirmation

UnitedHealth Group, Ingenix to testify at senate hearing about out-of-network rates

NIH might use stimulus funds for comparative effectiveness research that includes cost comparisons, acting director says

Rhode Island House Committee holds hearing on bill that would eliminate written consent requirement for HIV testing

Senate panel hears from witnesses detailing insurer practices that limit transparency of payment rates

Tenn. lawmaker proposes bill that would require HIV testing among prison inmates prior to release

AHIP, BCBS say insurers willing to stop basing premiums on members' health status if all U.S. residents are required to obtain coverage

Sebelius, DeParle discuss health care reform with congressional lawmakers

Auditory regions of brain convert to sense of touch in hearing loss

Stem cell therapy may lead to treatment for deafness

Dire need to increase awareness of diabetes in U.S.

Jaundice an unreliable method of predicting the baby's risk of hyperbilirubinemia

Experimental vaccine shows promise in preventing cytomegalovirus infection

A silicone ear

Hearing could hold key to unlocking schizophrenia mystery

Search for blood pressure secrets reveals a surprising new syndrome

Children born extremely prematurely at greater of learning difficulties by age 11

SOX9 protein may be a potential target for melanoma treatment

Extra workplace decibels increase risks of work-related accidents and road collisions

Human sweat contains emotional meanings

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

Latest News