Health Care News and Research

RSS

House Republicans, disputatious Democrats discuss health reform bills

The Hill reports that "three dozen" House Republicans were invited, for the first time since the health reform debate started, to talk with top-level Democrats: "'The bottom line is, [Democrats are] going to do what they are going to do. I guess they just don't want to look like they didn't (sit down); it's more of a dog and pony show,' Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) told The Hill as he walked out of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) meeting with Sebelius."

9 Oct 2009

Public plan debated as health proposals come closer to floor votes, unions pressure lawmakers

Unions and some lawmakers are continuing their efforts to have a government-run public plan included in health reform legislation.

9 Oct 2009

Researchers identify tool to bolster motivation and improve health behaviors in older adults

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a tool, the "Getting-Out-of-Bed (GoB) measure" to assess motivation and life outlook in older adults.

9 Oct 2009

Obama, health care regain ground in public opinion polls

President Obama's approval rating climbed to 56 percent in the latest Associated Press-GfK poll, up from an August trough of 50 percent; disapproval dropped from 49 percent to 39 percent, Politico reports. Obama's handling of issues improved on every measure, including a 48 percent rating for health care, except the war in Afghanistan.

9 Oct 2009

Refurbished pacemakers: No complications for patients

Patients who received refurbished pacemakers donated from Detroit area funeral homes survived without complications from the devices, according to a case series reported by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.

9 Oct 2009

North Carolina to penalize smokers, the obese; states face Medicaid cliff

State news Thursday explores Medicaid cuts, highlighting a new North Carolina policy for state employees — they pay more if they're heavy or smoke — and examines San Francisco's unusual city health program for the uninsured.

9 Oct 2009

Senate bill vote Tuesday, Reid says

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on its proposed health reform bill Tuesday. A release from the Finance Committee says the committee will meet at 10 a.m. that day.

9 Oct 2009

Industry executives say health reform won't be lasting cure

Doctors and drug company executives say current reform legislation doesn't do enough to fix the problem of rising costs in the U.S. health care system or encourage healthier lifestyles.

9 Oct 2009

CBO: Over 10 years, finance health reform bill will cost $829 billion but reduce deficit

The Congressional Budget Office yesterday released its updated cost estimates for the health bill being considered by the Senate Finance Committee.

9 Oct 2009

FDA files complaint against Rel's Foods for selling adulterated food products

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Rel's Foods Inc. (Rel's), of Oakland, Calif., seeking to stop the company from manufacturing, producing, and selling adulterated food products.

9 Oct 2009

News organizations examine Guatemalan drought, malnutrition

McClatchy/Chicago Tribune examines the "worst drought in 30 years" in Guatemala, which "has destroyed 80 percent of the region's crops and claimed the lives of more than a dozen children so far this year."

9 Oct 2009

Researchers to develop new technique to detect tuberculosis in developing countries

Two billion people worldwide carry the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB), and most of them do not even know they are infected. This is because some 90 percent of people with TB have "latent" infections. They have no symptoms, they can't spread the disease to others and the bug remains dormant in their lungs -- often for years.

9 Oct 2009

Coburn opposes Medicare Part B premiums freeze, Mccain calls drug pact 'unsavory'

Health care news is emerging from the Senate besides the Finance Committee bill.

9 Oct 2009

Children's Hospital Boston conference explores innovative ways to transform the national Health IT system

As government, industry and academic leaders work to transform the nation's health information system, there is increasing interest in the notion of a national health information network in which consumers can actively engage, and which can provide the foundation for an "iPhone-like" ecosystem of applications to compete on price and value.

9 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: Uganda malaria efforts; child mortality in Vietnam; refugee health; U.S. aid to Somalia; HIV in South Africa

The Guardian examines efforts to reduce malaria in Katine, Uganda, through the distribution of insecticide-treated nets to high-risk groups. Though the article details a reduction in the number of malaria cases in the region, additional nets are needed to cover the entire population. Also, health experts warn additional strategies, such as indoor residual spraying and increased access to drugs are needed to defeat malaria (Kavuma, 10/8).

9 Oct 2009

Grifols USA to distribute AMDL Diagnostics' DR-70 Onko-Sure cancer test

Radient Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a US-based pharmaceutical company through its wholly-owned subsidiary AMDL Diagnostics, Inc. (ADI) announced today it has entered into an exclusive 5-year marketing and distribution agreement with Grifols USA, LLC.

9 Oct 2009

BMJ News examines outcomes of U.N. Human Development Index

BMJ News examines the results of the recent U.N. Human Development Index, which documents "people's wellbeing in 182 countries and territories around the world." The 2009 report reveals the wide disparities between developing and wealthy countries in the investment in health and health outcomes. "For example, a child born in a country that ranks low on the index," like Niger, "can expect to live just over 50 years—17 years less than in a medium ranked country and 30 years less than in the highest ranked countries," the journal writes.

9 Oct 2009

Digestive Health Outcomes Registry for patients with GI disease

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), the leading association representing clinicians and researchers who specialize in the digestive tract, and MedAssurant, Inc., a leading provider of data-driven healthcare solutions, announced today the collaborative initiative to develop a set of registries to assist physicians, payors, policy makers, and other healthcare stakeholders in the study and improvement of clinical and quality outcomes, care management, and cost effectiveness of care delivered to Americans with gastrointestinal disease.

9 Oct 2009

Today's editorials and opinions

As Congress debates the costs of reforming our health-care system, it should consider one significant collateral cost of not acting: maintaining the world's highest rate of incarceration (Tracy Velazquez, 10/7).

9 Oct 2009

HMO stocks slump on CBO health care reform score

Reuters reports that HMO stocks are slipping lower today, in the aftermath of the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Senate Finance Committee health care reform bill.

9 Oct 2009