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U.S. bishops: Senate vote to table Nelson-Hatch-Casey amendment, a serious blow to genuine health care reform

"The Senate vote to table the Nelson-Hatch-Casey amendment is a grave mistake and a serious blow to genuine health care reform," said Cardinal Francis George, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

10 Dec 2009

NRF welcomes Sen. Landrieu’s health care amendment

The National Retail Federation today welcomed an amendment to Senate health care reform legislation offered by Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., that would remove onerous penalties on employers who require workers to wait more than 30 days to become eligible for health insurance coverage.

10 Dec 2009

Texas ranks 4th in terms of aggregate Medicaid underfunding, according to Medicaid analysis

A new Eljay, LLC analysis of the nation's Medicaid program released by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) projects that Medicaid underfunds the actual cost of providing quality long term care in 2009 by $271.1 million in Texas, and that Texas seniors rank 4th in the nation in cumulative underfunding of this care.

10 Dec 2009

Tips to help patients become more active and involved in their health care

A visit to the doctor is a time to talk and learn, and patients play a critical role in their health care, just like doctors, nurses and other caregivers, according to The Joint Commission's "Tips for Your Doctor's Visit" Speak Up™ educational campaign.

10 Dec 2009

AHA approves RAConciliation as RACTrac compatible product

RAConciliation, the RAC Tracking and Denials Management system, exclusively available through RACauditor.com in partnership with H.I.M. ON CALL, has been approved by the American Hospital Association (AHA) as a RACTrac compatible product.

10 Dec 2009

Franklin County Commissioners provide $7 million to prevent premature births

Saving the lives of children is the goal of a $7 million announcement today by Franklin County Commissioners Paula Brooks, Marilyn Brown and John O'Grady.

10 Dec 2009

Experts offer tips to combat health care crisis

As 2009 winds down, the nation continues to struggle with a brutal economy, leading to a rise in the number of patients who are unemployed and overwhelmed by medical bills. Experts at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center offer these tips for coping.

10 Dec 2009

Ovu-Trac kit for successful family planning

A recent British study revealed that over a third of the female test subjects could not recognize their own signs of fertility. Accurately identifying the signs of ovulation and how they relate to a woman's fertile phase is the key to successful family planning. However, just like anything else, it takes time to learn.

10 Dec 2009

Study reveals increased discussion on flu vaccines has no significant impact on public's behavior

Seasonal flu vaccination rates among American adults have only slightly improved over last year, despite increased public discussion of the importance of influenza vaccines resulting from the worldwide outbreak of the H1N1 virus.

10 Dec 2009

Small business owners unveil a package of amendments that will benefit small businesses

Democratic Senators Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln and Debbie Stabenow joined Terry Gardiner of the Small Business Majority and Mike Brey, small business owner from Maryland, at a press conference this afternoon to unveil a package of amendments to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that will benefit small businesses.

10 Dec 2009

Rise in U.S. disability health care spending, but preventive care may reduce expenditure

Just over one-quarter of U.S. adult health care spending was associated with disability in 2006, according to a new study by researchers at RTI International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

10 Dec 2009

Pharmaceutical industry to execute new strategies in the coming year

As they pop the champagne corks to celebrate New Year's Eve, drug industry executives will likely be glad to put 2009 behind them. That's because pharmaceutical companies who make top-selling drugs for heart disease, asthma, and many other conditions had a tough year in the midst of mounting market pressures and a global recession.

10 Dec 2009

U.N. weather agency predicts heightened disease spread with rising temps; Globe and Mail examines potential health effects of climate change in Africa

The decade 2000-2009 "is very likely to be the warmest since record-keeping began in 1850, and 2009 could rank among the top-five warmest years," the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, the Associated Press reports.

10 Dec 2009

WHO issues report on global tobacco use

"Tobacco use kills at least 5 million people every year, a figure that could rise if countries don't take stronger measures to combat smoking, the World Health Organization said Wednesday," during the release its Global Tobacco Epidemic report, the Associated Press reports (Cheng, 12/9).

9 Dec 2009

Washington Post, New York Times examine PEPFAR

The Washington Post examines the Obama administration's goal "to get the 'emergency' out of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" and integrate HIV/AIDS programs more into the health infrastructure of recipient countries. A five-year strategy for PEPFAR was released last week.

9 Dec 2009

OPDQ adopts global vision on food and nutrition

The Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec (OPDQ) believes it is time to reflect on the future of the profession. The OPDQ has therefore initiated a wide-scale consultation process, first with its own members and later with partners and stakeholders in various food-related and nutrition-related sectors. The results of this process will ultimately be the topic of discussions during an interdisciplinary summit to be held next March.

9 Dec 2009

Shah nomination advances to full Senate for consideration

"The nomination of [President Barack] Obama's pick to head USAID, Dr. Rajiv Shah, moved to the full Senate for consideration after receiving a unanimous voice vote from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee" Tuesday, Politico's Laura Rozen reports on her blog (12/8).

9 Dec 2009

Reid to meet this afternoon with Democrats on health care reform deal

"Senate Democrats plan to hold a special caucus on health care reform at 5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss a tentative deal on how to change the bill's public insurance option," Roll Call reports. "A group of 10 Democrats — five centrists and five liberals — agreed Tuesday night to send a set of proposals to the Congressional Budget Office for an official score, but the details have yet to be presented to all 60 Members of the Democratic Conference.

9 Dec 2009

Also in global health news: Illegal drug trade in E. Africa; Somalia humanitarian crisis; alcohol, IV drug use in Russia; HIV/AIDS in China; FBOs engage in HIV fight

"[D]ozens of people" from China's Henan province who contracted HIV/AIDS from blood transfusions "demonstrated in front of the country's health ministry in Beijing" to highlight the challenges facing Chinese AIDS patients, the Irish Times reports.

9 Dec 2009

DOTS has cured 36m People, prevented up to 8m TB deaths over 15 years, WHO says

Since the WHO developed Directly Observed Therapy, Short-course (DOTS) in 1994 for the treatment of tuberculosis, approximately 36 million people have successfully completed treatment and been cured over the past 15 years, according to new data released by the WHO on Tuesday, health-e reports (Thom, 12/8).

9 Dec 2009