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First Edition: October 23, 2009

The latest developments surrounding health reform's public option grab a lot of headlines today, including news regarding a version of the plan that allows states to opt not to participate in it.

23 Oct 2009

ICU usage among terminal patients eight times higher in the U.S. than in England: Study

Patients who die in the hospital in the United States are almost five times as likely to have spent part of their last hospital stay in the ICU than patients in England. What's more, over the age of 85, ICU usage among terminal patients is eight times higher in the U.S. than in England, according to new research from Columbia University that compared the two countries' use of intensive care services during final hospitalizations.

23 Oct 2009

Workers with MetS can cost employers up to $5,867 in health care annually: Study

Someone healthy enough to work could still cost an employer more than $4,000 annually in unnecessary health care costs.

23 Oct 2009

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America praise historic legislation for veterans health care

Today, the President's signature transformed VA care for America's veterans forever. At the signing, I witnessed the President put an end to the rationing of care for our country's veterans, even when Congress fails to deliver the VA budget on time. This is a historic investment in the future of veterans' health care that will benefit millions of American heroes. With this legislation, politics can no longer stand in the way of VA funding and VA Secretary Shinseki is more effectively set up for success.

23 Oct 2009

SCCE, HCCA launch guest commentators series thru their social network sites

To assist today's compliance and ethics professionals who struggle daily with a whole host of critical concerns the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) and its sister association, the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) have launched a guest commentators series via their social network sites.

23 Oct 2009

URAC Workers' Compensation Utilization Management Accreditation for Employers Occupational Health

Employers Occupational Health, Inc., a subsidiary of Employers Holdings, Inc., (NYSE: EIG), announced today that it has been awarded Workers' Compensation Utilization Management Accreditation from URAC, a Washington, D.C.-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

23 Oct 2009

Bill eliminating the flawed medical equipment bidding process in the Riverside-San Bernardino area lauded

The California Association of Medical Product Suppliers and the American Association for Homecare praised a bipartisan bill in Congress, H.R. 3790, to eliminate the misguided and deeply flawed "competitive" bidding program for durable medical equipment and services in Medicare.

23 Oct 2009

Designers should develop new technological products based on older adult needs

While more older adults than ever are using cell phones and computers, a technology gap still exists that threatens to turn senior citizens into second-class citizens, according to Florida State University researchers.

23 Oct 2009

DAV applauds President Obama for signing the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) today applauds President Obama for signing the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, calling it “the most significant legislative victory for veterans in a generation.”

23 Oct 2009

Key tracking measures of public support for health care reform held steady in October

After falling over the summer then ticking upward in September, key tracking measures of public support for health care reform held steady in October with more Americans backing an overhaul of the U.S. health system than opposing it, according to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.

23 Oct 2009

AFGE praises Obama for signing Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), today, praised President Barack Obama for signing the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act which will provide advance funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

23 Oct 2009

Quality of U.S. health care was virtually stagnant in 2008, says NCQA report

A report released today by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) finds that the quality of U.S. health care was virtually stagnant in 2008, a disturbing slowdown after a decade of improvements. The across-the-board trend was seen in care provided to people with private insurance coverage as well as in Medicare and Medicaid.

23 Oct 2009

Verizon Foundation awards $10,000 grant to The Wellness Community of the East Bay

The Wellness Community of the East Bay has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, to fund the use of technology to identify the best community-based psychological and social support and education strategies for cancer patients and their families.

23 Oct 2009

NBCSL lauds the Veterans’ Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

NBCSL President, Rep. Calvin Smyre (GA), applauds the Obama Administration’s efforts to improve health care for veterans. Today, President Barack Obama signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, which provides one year of advance funding for veterans’ medical programs. The VA now has one year to plan how to best allocate funds and deliver care to returning veterans.

23 Oct 2009

Lawmaker to introduce patient safety bill with error reporting requirement

Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, will introduce legislation creating a mechanism "to monitor medical errors and have a mandatory reporting requirement" for hospitals and doctors that make mistakes, Modern Healthcare reports.

23 Oct 2009

Physicians' negative attitudes toward obese patients can affect quality of care

Doctors have less respect for their obese patients than they do for patients of normal weight, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests. The findings raise questions about whether negative physician attitudes about obesity could be affecting the long-term health of their heavier patients.

23 Oct 2009

New Category I CPT code for AspirinWorks Test Kit

Corgenix Medical Corporation, a worldwide developer and marketer of diagnostic test kits, announced today that a new Category I Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code has been published by the American Medical Association (AMA) for the AspirinWorks Test Kit.

23 Oct 2009

Some Senate Democrats help republicans defeat $247 billion Medicare payment 'doctor fix'

"Democrats lost a big test vote on health care legislation on Wednesday as the Senate blocked action on a bill to increase Medicare payments to doctors at a cost of $247 billion over 10 years," the The New York Times reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, "needed 60 votes to proceed. He won only 47. And he could not blame Republicans.

23 Oct 2009

Some seniors could be cushioned from proposed cuts in Medicare Advantage funding

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports on how some seniors would be shielded from planned cuts to the Medicare Advantage program currently included in the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul legislation.

23 Oct 2009

Obama administration disputes government report on reform's higher costs

Administration officials quickly rejected a new analysis that found "the nation's medical costs will keep spiraling upward even faster than they are now under Democratic legislation pending in the House," the Associated Press reports.

23 Oct 2009

Health Care News and Research

First Edition: October 23, 2009

ICU usage among terminal patients eight times higher in the U.S. than in England: Study

Workers with MetS can cost employers up to $5,867 in health care annually: Study

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America praise historic legislation for veterans health care

SCCE, HCCA launch guest commentators series thru their social network sites

URAC Workers' Compensation Utilization Management Accreditation for Employers Occupational Health

Bill eliminating the flawed medical equipment bidding process in the Riverside-San Bernardino area lauded

Designers should develop new technological products based on older adult needs

DAV applauds President Obama for signing the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

Key tracking measures of public support for health care reform held steady in October

AFGE praises Obama for signing Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

Quality of U.S. health care was virtually stagnant in 2008, says NCQA report

Verizon Foundation awards $10,000 grant to The Wellness Community of the East Bay

NBCSL lauds the Veterans’ Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act

Lawmaker to introduce patient safety bill with error reporting requirement

Physicians' negative attitudes toward obese patients can affect quality of care

New Category I CPT code for AspirinWorks Test Kit

Some Senate Democrats help republicans defeat $247 billion Medicare payment 'doctor fix'

Some seniors could be cushioned from proposed cuts in Medicare Advantage funding

Obama administration disputes government report on reform's higher costs

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Applications Engineer

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