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Divide deepens between Senate Finance Democrats and Republicans

"Senate Democrats swatted down Republican attempts to make fundamental changes in their health care legislation on Wednesday as the Finance Committee voted on a wide range of amendments that highlighted the deep partisan divide over the bill."

25 Sep 2009

New poll shows only 20 percent say health care is their biggest concern

A new poll shows only one in five respondents say health care is the biggest concern for their family. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: "Want to know why President Obama continues to have trouble gaining traction in the national debate about health-care reform? A Franklin & Marshall College poll to be released today offers a few key clues."

25 Sep 2009

States worry over Medicaid expansion; Montana expands kids coverage

State officials continue to worry about additional costs that would stem from a Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, Montana unveils a plan to expand health insurance for children and Iowa Republicans are touting their own alternative to a federal health care overhaul.

25 Sep 2009

Perot Systems to provide Revenue Cycle services to the West Georgia Health System

West Georgia Health System and Perot Systems today announced that Perot Systems will provide Revenue Cycle services to the LaGrange, Georgia-based hospital organization. The agreement will enable WGHS to utilize Perot Systems' revenue cycle technology and its proven best practices for revenue cycle improvements.

25 Sep 2009

Heads of Indian Health Service, Hispanic doctors speak out on reform

NPR interviews Dr. Elana Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), on the one-third of Hispanics in the U.S. who are uninsured. She says the reasons are cultural as well as economic: "Hispanics have health beliefs that are unique, lots of traditional ways of taking care of disease with teas and herbs and other things.

25 Sep 2009

Senators urge the CMS to spare funding cuts for radiation oncology services

Cancer physicians and cancer care advocates applauded a bipartisan letter led by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday urging that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) spare life-saving radiation oncology services from a major Medicare funding cut proposed for diagnostic imaging services. The 32 Senators signing the letter stated their unanimous concern that these funding cuts could force freestanding and community-based cancer centers to shut down, thereby limiting access to care for seniors - particularly in rural areas.

25 Sep 2009

Dems court Snowe for key 60th vote

Democrats are courting Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Me., the Republican most likely to provide the key 60th vote that Democrats need to pass a health care overhaul package without the use of budget reconciliation.

25 Sep 2009

Enacting the health care reform will lead to higher health care costs

A vast majority of employers anticipate that, if enacted, health care reform will lead to higher health care costs and weaken their role in providing coverage to workers, according to a new poll by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm.

25 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: Urban malnutrition in CAR; U.S. HIV travel ban; East Africa hunger

"The global financial crisis has led to an alarming rate of urban malnutrition in the south of the Central African Republic, where diamond mines have closed as demand for the gems falls, the medical relief group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says," Reuters AlertNet reports (Fominyen, 9/24). In a related blog post, Reuters AlertNet writes that aid agencies are warning that without additional support from donors, the Central African Republic could "start sliding backwards after three years of progress at a time when humanitarian assistance was raised" (Fominyen [2], 9/24).

25 Sep 2009

Seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines from Priority Health

Priority Health has announced its coverage of both the seasonal flu and H1N1 flu vaccines. “Preventing the flu through immunization is the best way to keep yourself and your family healthy,” said John Fox, M.D., associate vice president of Medical Affairs at Priority Health. “We encourage our members to receive both vaccines to protect themselves against the two viruses.”

25 Sep 2009

Democrats, seeking to ease seniors concerns, propose freeze on Medicare Part B premiums

Politico reports: "House Democrats proposed Wednesday to freeze Medicare Part B premiums for the coming year rather than risk what would be an October surprise for health care reform — threatened cuts in Social Security checks for millions of elderly."

25 Sep 2009

Costs to government, consumers remain unclear in finance bill

The effect of a health overhaul on the country's finances is hard to predict. The Congressional Budget Office, the official scorekeeper for new legislation's price tag, tends to miss the mark on bigger bills, the office's director said, Bloomberg reports.

25 Sep 2009

GOP threatens to block health nominees over insurer "gag order"

"The Senate's top Republicans say they won't allow President Barack Obama to fill health posts until his administration stops barring insurers from telling seniors about Democrats' plans to overhaul the health care system," The Associated Press reports. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Republicans demanded that the "gag order" against insurers be lifted.

25 Sep 2009

Health policy research roundup

In this brief, researchers analyze the cost burden associated with excess rates of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke and renal disease among Hispanics and African Americans relative to non-Hispanic whites. The study predicts that in 2009, "Medicare alone will spend an extra $15.6 billion while private insurers will incur $5.1 billion in additional costs due to elevated rates of chronic illness among African Americans and Hispanics."

25 Sep 2009

Clinic owner and operator admit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program

Clinic owners and operators Jose Martinez and Denisse Martinez pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg of the Eastern District of Michigan and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced.

25 Sep 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Democracy and representative government are a lot messier than the progressives and their heirs, including Obama, want to admit. No wonder they are so often frustrated (David S. Broder, 9/24).

25 Sep 2009

African Leaders Malaria Alliance launched at U.N. General Assembly

On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday, African heads of state formed a 20-member African Leaders Malaria Alliance with the goal of eliminating deaths from malaria by 2015, the Associated Press writes. "With an estimated 500 million annual cases, Africa is the continent most affected by malaria, accounting for 86 percent of all cases and 91 percent of all malaria deaths worldwide, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania said at the alliance's launch," according to the news service (9/24).

25 Sep 2009

Mayo Clinic survey physicians regarding health care reform measures

Results of a Mayo Clinic survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that while physicians are open to being involved in health care reform discussions, some opposition may exist.

25 Sep 2009

Procedural amendments take on political weight as Finance Committee debates health bill

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee considered, and then rejected, a Republican amendment that would have required legislative language of a health reform bill be posted for three days before the panel could vote on the bill. Democrats will post conceptual language instead.

25 Sep 2009

Investigational vaccine shows modest potential for protecting against HIV infection

For the first time, scientists say an investigational vaccine has modest potential for protecting people against HIV infection, the Associated Press reports. "The vaccine — a combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines — cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by ... 31 percent in the world's largest [HIV] vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok," the news service writes (Marchione/Casey, 9/24).

25 Sep 2009