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Roundup: Calif. deal allows smaller-than-proposed reduction in home health care; Texas senate panel weighs end of life bills

A selection of health policy stories from California, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Kansas and Colorado.

21 Mar 2013

Lobbyists update strategy to repeal health law medical device tax

The New York Times reports on that industry lobbyists are courting Democrats. Meanwhile, in other congressional news, two House lawmakers have reintroduced legislation to improve Medicare's Recovery Audit Program.

21 Mar 2013

Database offers national overview of hospital violation reports

Stateline reports that information about hospital errors dating back to January 2011 will be available to the public on a new website. Meanwhile, a report by the Robert Wood Johnson draws parallels between the nation's most unhealth counties and those that have the highest rates of preventable hospital stays.

21 Mar 2013

Advocates, public consider Medicare cost savings as debate continues

Medicare costs -- and controlling them -- are on the minds of the public, patient advocates, lawmakers and doctors as the debate spills off Capitol Hill and into American discourse.

21 Mar 2013

First Edition: March 20, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the health law's insurance expansion could cause stress among health care providers and strain within the health system.

20 Mar 2013

New Alzheimer's data highlight the disease's deadly toll

According to figures released by the Alzheimer's Association, deaths from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia rose 68 percent between 2000 and 2010.

20 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Protect the FDA's regulatory efforts; Generic drug 'shenanigans;' Does Ryan not understand the 2012 election?

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Mutual Pharmaceutical v. Bartlett, a case about the ability of consumers to bring lawsuits against the makers of generic drugs.

20 Mar 2013

Passage likely for government-wide spending bill

Even as the bipartisan measure, which would fund the federal government through the current fiscal year, progresses through Congress, the larger deficit debate continues as the parties move forward with starkly different fiscal blueprints.

20 Mar 2013

Spending on prescription drugs dropped slightly in 2012

The decrease was miniscule, but it was the first time since 1957 that the research firm IMS Health had recorded a dip in United States drug expenditures, reports The New York Times. In related news, more effective use of medications could lead to Medicare savings, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

20 Mar 2013

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers call for clearer definition of population health

Accountable Care Organizations, a key feature of the Affordable Care Act, aim to control health care costs, enhance quality in health care and improve population health. But what does "improving population health" really mean? This is the question asked in a new viewpoint article by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers published in the March 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Mar 2013

New report shows Alzheimer's deaths continue to rise in US

According to the Alzheimer's Association 2013 Alzheimer's Disease Facts & Figures report released today, one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia in the United States.

19 Mar 2013

First Edition: March 19, 2013

Today's headlines include coverage of a new report about the troubling reach of Alzheimer's disease.

19 Mar 2013

Some lawmakers signal openness to grand deal on deficit

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., suggested during the Sunday talk shows that a deal that includes tax revenue and changes to entitlement programs including Medicare is possible while Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., conveyed openness to Medicare changes. Durbin's comments included shots at the House budget plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

19 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: Two views of Medicare equipment bidding changes; High Court case may impact FDA approval process

In 2010, Medicare spent more than $14 billion on oxygen devices, mobility scooters, diabetes test strips and other "durable medical equipment" and supplies that patients use at home.

19 Mar 2013

Patients treated for pneumonia likely to develop new cognitive impairments, research shows

The long-term consequences of pneumonia can be more detrimental to a person's health than having a heart attack, according to joint research from the University of Michigan Health System and University of Washington School of Medicine.

19 Mar 2013

Congress' looming deadlines: Budget votes and averting government shutdown

On the Sunday talk shows, members of Congress sparred over the upcoming budget votes and the ongoing dispute over the cost of 'Obamacare' and entitlement programs such as Medicare. More urgently, if Congress fails to pass an extension to keep the government funded by March 27, agencies and programs face a broad shutdown.

18 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: 'Namby-pamby' Democratic budget offer; Murray argues her plan is responsible; Officials can force hospitals to fix pricing for uninsured

In the absence of an emergency, Washington can and should bring its budget into balance, even though that requires doing what politicians despise: for Republicans, raising taxes; for Democrats, curbing the rapid growth in benefit programs such as Medicare and Social Security that already make up three-fifths of federal spending.

16 Mar 2013

Research roundup: Nurse education and post-surgery mortality; The influence of publicly reported quality-of-care measures

Each week, KHN reporter Alvin Tran compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

16 Mar 2013

Obama lunches with Senate GOP, focuses on entitlement programs

A key message from Republican lawmakers was that President Barack Obama should tone down his rhetoric on changes to Medicare.

16 Mar 2013

Medical schools are expanding but doctors say federal budget cuts are holding down number of residencies

As educators seek to help fill the large number of physicians needed under the health overhaul, they point out that the number of training programs paid for by the federal government needs to rise too.

16 Mar 2013

Medicare News and Research

Roundup: Calif. deal allows smaller-than-proposed reduction in home health care; Texas senate panel weighs end of life bills

Lobbyists update strategy to repeal health law medical device tax

Database offers national overview of hospital violation reports

Advocates, public consider Medicare cost savings as debate continues

First Edition: March 20, 2013

New Alzheimer's data highlight the disease's deadly toll

Viewpoints: Protect the FDA's regulatory efforts; Generic drug 'shenanigans;' Does Ryan not understand the 2012 election?

Passage likely for government-wide spending bill

Spending on prescription drugs dropped slightly in 2012

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers call for clearer definition of population health

New report shows Alzheimer's deaths continue to rise in US

First Edition: March 19, 2013

Some lawmakers signal openness to grand deal on deficit

Viewpoints: Two views of Medicare equipment bidding changes; High Court case may impact FDA approval process

Patients treated for pneumonia likely to develop new cognitive impairments, research shows

Congress' looming deadlines: Budget votes and averting government shutdown

Viewpoints: 'Namby-pamby' Democratic budget offer; Murray argues her plan is responsible; Officials can force hospitals to fix pricing for uninsured

Research roundup: Nurse education and post-surgery mortality; The influence of publicly reported quality-of-care measures

Obama lunches with Senate GOP, focuses on entitlement programs

Medical schools are expanding but doctors say federal budget cuts are holding down number of residencies

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The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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