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Study identifies 12 important postoperative complication signs in colorectal surgical patients

Colorectal surgical patients are often discharged from the hospital with vague guidance on how to recognize complications, but researchers at the Michael DeBakey Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, aim to change that scenario.

11 Feb 2013

Bipartisan duo introduces Medicare 'doc fix' bill in House

The effort, by Reps. Schwartz and Heck, would change the system known as the sustainable growth rate for Medicare physician payments.

10 Feb 2013

House GOP seeks to change Medicare doctor payment formula

The chairmen of the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees want a permanent change to the current system that repeatedly threatens to cut doctor payments unless Congress steps in.

10 Feb 2013

Obama says he will not stop sequester by simply cutting entitlements

In an address to Democratic lawmakers, the president says Republicans want to substitute the impending budget cuts by instead cutting Medicare and Social Security. But, he says closing tax loopholes is a better strategy.

10 Feb 2013

AARP opposes bill that would allow insurers to charge older people more

The powerful seniors lobby says it cannot support proposals that would let premiums go higher for older beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the administration announces that a health program for low- and moderate-income people, which is optional for states, will not be able to start until 2015.

10 Feb 2013

AHRQ, CMS announce new children's EHR format

The benefits of electronic health records (EHRs) may become more widely available to children through an EHR format for children's health care announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

10 Feb 2013

N.Y. hospitals, nursing homes coping with Sandy, other closure problems

In Superstorm Sandy's wake, health experts and regulators are warning that thousands of nursing homes nationwide are still ill-prepared for a natural disaster. The late October storm was the latest in a string of disasters to reveal gaps in emergency planning, despite an industry-wide effort to improve preparedness in the years since Hurricane Katrina.

10 Feb 2013

Health law provisions saved seniors $5.7B on Rx drugs

Seniors have saved about $5.7 billion on prescription drugs since January 2011 because of provisions in the 2010 health care law meant to close the Medicare "doughnut hole," the government plans to announce today.

10 Feb 2013

Research roundup: 'Shared decision making' can reduce costs, improve care; Effects of mental health parity

With shared decision making, patients and their clinicians collaboratively review the risks and benefits of available treatments options while also considering the patients' preferences and values.

10 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Brewer's stance on Medicaid expansion may signal important shift in GOP; A shrinking government--except for health care

Jan Brewer, Arizona's feisty Republican governor, is better known for wagging her finger at President Obama than for linking arms with him. That's why Brewer's recent announcement that her state intends to join the expansion of Medicaid central to Obama's health care law may represent an important shift. If even Brewer, who has battled repeatedly with Obama, finds the case for expansion compelling, other Republican governors now resisting may also reconsider.

10 Feb 2013

Advocates warn about impact on medical research as debate about automatic cuts continues

Supporters of the National Institutes of Health argue that an anticipated $1.6 billion cut would undermine research in cancer, heart and AIDS, while adding to economic and unemployment woes.

10 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to run Medicare and the Catholic bishops' rejection of the Obama administration's contraception plan announced last week.

9 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: 'Empty budget gestures'; GOP should endorse 'doomsday' sequester; 'Imagined dangers' imperil vaccine successes

President Obama on Tuesday called on Congress to put off -- again -- the start of the "sequester," a series of across-the-board spending cuts that would save $1.2 billion over 10 years.

9 Feb 2013

Tai Chi associated with reduced falls among adult stroke survivors

Tai Chi may reduce falls among adult stroke survivors, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2013.

7 Feb 2013

Study: Hospice use on the rise, but after late-stage aggressive care

A study released Tuesday found that, although the number of elderly people who died in a hospice setting is increasing, it usually came late in the process and after highly aggressive care near the end of life.

7 Feb 2013

Obama: 'I've offered sensible reforms to Medicare' (video)

This Kaiser Health News video excerpt features comments made by President Barack Obama during a statement to the press Tuesday in which he emphasized the need to reduce the cost of health care in the U.S.

7 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Iowa 'botched' high risk pool; Clinton praises Family and Medical Leave Act; HHS contraceptive policy's 'sensible balance'

The health reform law will get millions of Americans coverage in 2014. Until then, Congress offered Iowa up to $35 million to provide temporary insurance for people whose health prevent them from buying coverage on their own. Iowa botched the entire concept behind the high-risk pool, and state and federal officials stood by and failed to take corrective action.

7 Feb 2013

ACP praises introduction of bipartisan Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act of 2013

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today applauded Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) for their bipartisan introduction of The Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act of 2013 this morning.

6 Feb 2013

Roundup: Calif. missing out on millions of dollars because of disagreements, software problems; Mass. finds more problems at compounding pharmacies; Hope for Kan. Medicaid managed care

California's court-run prison health care program is missing out on tens of millions of dollars a year in federal funds because of disagreement with counties and software problems, a new legislative report states. The legislative analyst's office found increasing numbers of prison inmates who, because of their low income status, are eligible for the state's Medicaid program.

6 Feb 2013

Feds clear way for Fla. to enroll Medicaid recipients into private plans

The waiver approved by HHS means elderly people who need long-term care can be put in programs that will offer services in their homes and help them stay out of nursing homes, the Associated Press reports.

6 Feb 2013

Medicare News and Research

Study identifies 12 important postoperative complication signs in colorectal surgical patients

Bipartisan duo introduces Medicare 'doc fix' bill in House

House GOP seeks to change Medicare doctor payment formula

Obama says he will not stop sequester by simply cutting entitlements

AARP opposes bill that would allow insurers to charge older people more

AHRQ, CMS announce new children's EHR format

N.Y. hospitals, nursing homes coping with Sandy, other closure problems

Health law provisions saved seniors $5.7B on Rx drugs

Research roundup: 'Shared decision making' can reduce costs, improve care; Effects of mental health parity

Viewpoints: Brewer's stance on Medicaid expansion may signal important shift in GOP; A shrinking government--except for health care

Advocates warn about impact on medical research as debate about automatic cuts continues

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Viewpoints: 'Empty budget gestures'; GOP should endorse 'doomsday' sequester; 'Imagined dangers' imperil vaccine successes

Tai Chi associated with reduced falls among adult stroke survivors

Study: Hospice use on the rise, but after late-stage aggressive care

Obama: 'I've offered sensible reforms to Medicare' (video)

Viewpoints: Iowa 'botched' high risk pool; Clinton praises Family and Medical Leave Act; HHS contraceptive policy's 'sensible balance'

ACP praises introduction of bipartisan Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act of 2013

Roundup: Calif. missing out on millions of dollars because of disagreements, software problems; Mass. finds more problems at compounding pharmacies; Hope for Kan. Medicaid managed care

Feds clear way for Fla. to enroll Medicaid recipients into private plans

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