Health Care News and Research

RSS

Opening Minds launched to reduce stigma of mental illness

Opening Minds, the largest systematic effort in Canadian history to reduce the stigma of mental illness, was launched today by the Honourable Michael Kirby, Chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. "More than seven million Canadians will experience a mental health problem in 2009. Many of these people will not seek help because of the stigma surrounding mental illness. In fact, people who live with mental illness tell us that the stigma is often worse than the disease itself", says Kirby.

3 Oct 2009

Seniors fret cuts to private Medicare plans

Seniors' number one reform concern is Medicare, which stands to face up to $500 billion in cuts over the next decade, NPR reports. About 25 percent of the savings will come from Medicare Advantage, a program of privately-operated managed care plans that provide seniors' benefits.

3 Oct 2009

Senate Finance Members consider amendment that would require lawmakers 'to walk the walk' regarding reform proposals

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, proposed an amendment Tuesday night that other Finance Committee senators couldn't refuse: To force lawmakers to buy insurance coverage on an "exchange" proposed in the reform bills, rather than accept coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, CQ Politics reports.

3 Oct 2009

Vaccinate children with H1N1 flu vaccine to control swine flu: UAB

The optimal way to control swine flu, the new H1N1 virus that emerged as a global threat in 2009, is to vaccinate children with the planned H1N1 flu vaccine, says the co-director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

3 Oct 2009

90% of public support H1N1 vaccination for health care workers

As H1N1 influenza vaccine begins to be shipped across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasize getting the first doses to high-priority groups. One such group is health care workers.

3 Oct 2009

Scientists identify measures for reducing $2 billion healthcare burden from substance abuse

With substance abuse now accounting for one in 14 hospital admissions and generating billions in health care costs, leading scientists held a briefing on Capitol Hill today to present the evidence that we already have and the evidence we need in treating and preventing the use and abuse of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

3 Oct 2009

New regulations of HHS help protect individual's genetic information

Individuals’ genetic information will have greater protections through new regulations issued today by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury.

3 Oct 2009

Report names top recipients of health care contributions

A report released on Thursday tallies the contributions members of Congress receive from health-care lobbyists on top of already hefty contributions from the health care industry, the Washington Post's blog, Capitol Briefing reports.

3 Oct 2009

U.N. Security Council adopts resolution condemning sexual violence

"The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Wednesday condemning sexual violence in war zones, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton presiding and appealing for global action to end the scourge," the Associated Press reports.

3 Oct 2009

Recent releases in health policy research

"Emergency Department Visits in Massachusetts" - This policy brief examines why the number of people in Massachusetts who seek care in emergency rooms has remained high even though "health reform in Massachusetts has succeeded in increasing health insurance coverage and access to care."

3 Oct 2009

RWJF to honor 10 unsung heroes for improving health care in their communities

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) will honor 10 unsung heroes with the announcement of the 2009 recipients of its Community Health Leaders (CHL) Award on October 8, 2009, at the Mayflower Hotel.

3 Oct 2009

Rough rhetoric pervades health care debate in the House

Democrats and Republicans in the House continue to assail each other as the debate on health care proposals progresses.

3 Oct 2009

Medicare advantage plans to increase premiums for some -- but not all -- in 2010

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports on the future prospects for seniors who are enrolled in Medicare Advantage. "In Miami next year, seniors once again won't have to pay any monthly premiums for a Medicare health plan sold by HMO giant Humana Inc.

3 Oct 2009

Pharmacies sue states they say underpaid them for prescription drugs

New York, California and Washington state have been sued by drug store groups who say their members were underpaid in Medicaid payments for prescription drugs.

3 Oct 2009

Obama tells Governors health reform will help in tough times

"President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he is committed to helping keep Democrats in governors' offices across the country and move their states forward, starting with changes to the health care system," The Associated Press reports. In his comments at a Democratic Governors Association fundraiser in Washington, Obama talked about the "challenging times for the states and the nation."

3 Oct 2009

Teens with chronic disease often have expensive, uncertain coverage

ABC News profiles teens living with chronic diseases, and examines their insurance coverage and the cost of such care. The article notes: "Chronic diseases affect 1 in 10 Americans and are the leading cause of disability, accounting for 70 percent of all deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are also expensive."

3 Oct 2009

TIME examines breastfeeding in the Philippines

TIME examines breastfeeding in the Philippines, noting that the country will be one of 18 taking part in a "global moment of breastfeeding" on Friday.

3 Oct 2009

Report highlights rural health care challenges

"Rural residents have even more cause to support a public health insurance plan than those living in cities, advocates of such a plan said Thursday," The Omaha World-Herald reports. "The Center for Rural Affairs in Lyons, Neb., and the Center for Community Change issued a joint report highlighting the particular health care challenges faced by those living in rural parts of the country."

3 Oct 2009

Mothers must heal physically and psychologically from the first stillbirth before conceiving again

Women who experience a stillbirth in their first pregnancy may be at higher risk for complications or adverse outcomes in their next pregnancy, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that appears online in the October issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

3 Oct 2009

Lawmakers get contributions from industry groups and associated lobbyists

A study by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Sunlight Foundation has found that key lawmakers have received significant contributes not only from major health industry companies - who often lead in contributions to members of Congress - but also from their lobbyists, who have contributed from their personal resources, The Washington Post reports.

3 Oct 2009