Health Care News and Research

RSS

The Senate health bill: Seven things you didn't know were in it

Kaiser Health News staff writers Mary Agnes Carey, Phil Galewitz and Laurie McGinley team up to look inside the Senate's pending health overhaul legislation. "Pay attention: The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" -- better known as the Senate health care overhaul bill - is chock full of interesting but little publicized provisions affecting consumers.

30 Nov 2009

Details of the policies inside the Senate's health overhaul bill

Hot-button provisions in the Senate health Bill, such as the public option, cost controls and subsidies to expand coverage continue to get a lot of attention, while some interesting details have gone with little notice.

30 Nov 2009

Medical identity theft is on the rise

"Medical identity theft is on the rise and expected to worsen," The Wall Street Journal reports. "The problem has grown during the recession as more uninsured people use the coverage of a friend, relative or even a stranger to get care. Of particular concern is the fact that most of the fraud is committed by people who pay medical workers for patients' information."

30 Nov 2009

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

As things stand, it's a wonder that so many people are fighting so much over something so toothless (11/30).

30 Nov 2009

Europe may offer lessons for health care rationing debate

Fears about rationing are a hot-button issue in the health care debate, but some health experts argue that the U.S. system already faces rationing. Others point out that the U.S. may look to Europe for examples of how private-market systems can cost less without raising concerns of rationing care.

30 Nov 2009

Pharmacists could play important role in reform

Pharmacists may play an important role in the health care system by filling in health care gaps and advising patients, according to a series of articles in The Los Angeles Times, which reports on one clinical pharmacist Steven Chen and the "Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative, a national project under the Health Resources and Services Administration that is working to integrate clinical pharmacy services into the care of patients with chronic diseases.

30 Nov 2009

Medicare prescription drug plan premiums to average 11 percent rise in 2010

Premiums for Medicare Part D plans will rise an average of 11 percent next year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The cost for all Medicare prescription plans has increased 50 percent nationally since 2006.

30 Nov 2009

Law seeks to improve female veterans' health care

The [Tacoma, Wash.] News-Tribune reports that "elected officials worry that women face barriers to veterans benefits, especially health care. 'Once they get in, they see progress,' Sen. Patty Murray told The News Tribune in a phone interview last week. 'But the barriers they face now mean they don't always get the care they need.'

30 Nov 2009

Primers on health reform and the legislative process

Some news outlets offer primers on the proposed health care overhaul.

30 Nov 2009

Exclusion of illegal immigrants will leave many Californians out of health insurance system

"No matter what health care bill emerges from Congress, roughly one in six uninsured Californians will be excluded because they are not legal residents," Mercury News/California News Service reports.

30 Nov 2009

Top Maryland hospitals worry about effects of health reform

Leaders at Maryland's top hospitals worry about efforts to cut hospital costs in the health care reform proposals.

30 Nov 2009

COBRA subsidy for many ends today, laid-off workers face bigger bills

As part of February's economic stimulus package, the federal government began subsidizing insurance premiums for millions of recently unemployed workers - such as Paul and Kate Carroll, whose story is highlighted in the Sacramento Bee. But for many people, the subsidies end Monday, leaving the laid-off workers to pay the full cost of insurance plans offered by their former employers if they wish to keep the coverage, the Bee reports.

30 Nov 2009

Free HIV testing marathon at Miami

To commemorate World AIDS Day 2009, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a 12-hour free HIV testing marathon at its newest “Out of the Closet” Thrift Store in Miami at 2900 N. Biscayne Blvd. Tuesday, December 1st, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

30 Nov 2009

First Edition: November 30, 2009

In today's headlines, much attention is focused on the Senate as that chamber begins what is expected to be a stormy health overhaul debate.

30 Nov 2009

WHITIA launches digital medical X-ray device for screening infectious diseases in developing countries

The World Health Imaging, Telemedicine and Informatics Alliance (WHITIA) today unveiled Remi-d, a new product concept that is intended to provide remote-operated X-ray capabilities for use in screening across areas of the developing world experiencing the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis (TB) co-epidemic, high incidences of Black Lung disease, or outbreaks of other infectious respiratory diseases.

30 Nov 2009

University HealthSystem Consortium signs agreement with ECRI Institute

The University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) today announced that it has signed an agreement with ECRI Institute® in Plymouth Meeting, Pa, to offer its academic medical center members special pricing on ECRI's library of current technology research.

30 Nov 2009

Increasing patient responsibility in medical decisions may decrease their willingness to accept risky treatment options

A recent study suggests that increasing patient responsibility for making medical decisions may decrease their willingness to accept risky treatment options. Details of this proof-of-concept study appear in the December issue of Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology.

30 Nov 2009

Interventions by parent mentors can effectively reduce wheezing and asthma attacks in children

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found that informed adults can help families stave off complications associated with asthma. The findings, available online and in the December issue of Pediatrics, suggest that interventions by parent mentors - caregivers of asthmatic children who have received specialized topical training - can effectively reduce wheezing, asthma attacks, emergency room visits and missed adult workdays.

30 Nov 2009

Toshiba America Medical Systems introduces new Viamo laptop ultrasound system

Many hand-carried ultrasound systems offer better access to patients when space is compromised, but cannot provide all of the advanced radiology capabilities required to perform exams in today’s demanding ultrasound environment.

30 Nov 2009

MEDecision to demonstrate IHE image sharing documentation at RSNA 2009

MEDecision, Inc., a leading provider of collaborative health care management solutions, will be an active participant at the 95th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the world’s premier scientific and educational forum in radiology.

30 Nov 2009