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In Wisconsin Senate race, Thompson finds old political magic hard to restore

Thompson, who served as governor for 14 years, once backed the Medicare plan advanced by Republican vice presidential pick Paul Ryan but has sinced developed his own approach to revamp the health insurance program for older people. His opponent, Tammy Baldwin, once advocated for a single-payer health system but now says she will focus instead on implementing the health law.

29 Oct 2012

Business leaders urge deficit deal that includes taxes, cutting Medicare and Medicaid spending

A group of more than 80 CEOs are pressing Congress to cut the deficit through a combination of higher taxes and reduced federal entitlement costs.

29 Oct 2012

HHS: Seniors saved $5B on prescription costs thanks to health law; Obama challenges Roberts on ACA ruling

In the meantime, President Obama splits with the Supreme Court on their reasoning behind upholding the health law.

29 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Washington Post endorses Obama; GOP Senate candidates hurting party's reach to women; 'Too much choice' in Medicare?

Mr. Obama is committed to the only approach that can succeed: a balance of entitlement reform and revenue increases. Mr. Romney, by contrast, has embraced his party's reality-defying ideology that taxes can always go down but may never go up. Along that road lies a future in which interest payments crowd out everything else a government should do, from defending the nation to caring for its poor and sick to investing in its children.

29 Oct 2012

FDA approves Watson’s generic Actos

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that Watson has launched a generic version of Actos (Pioglitazone Hydrochloride 15mg, 30mg and 45mg tablets) after receiving final approval today from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

29 Oct 2012

Age, gender influence hip arthroplasty revision risk

Patient age and gender have a significant effect on the risk for revisions after primary total hip replacement, show study findings.

26 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Medicare provider cuts 'won't work'; A 'pamphlet isn't a plan'

Once the presidential election is over, Congress will try to address the Medicare cost shortfall one way or another. They will almost certainly consider a method that is guaranteed to fail: Medicare rate cuts for doctors and hospitals. It's been tried before, most notably as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. Not once since the BBA required annual physician rate cuts have those cuts been implemented, leading every year to the predictable and depressing final-hours "doc fix" vote.

26 Oct 2012

Medical practice evolves: Prescribing habits, doc-patient relationship, health law changes

A push to treat chronic pain and financial disincentives for treating addiction may pressure clinicians into prescribing opioids for patients who are already addicted, a researcher suggested.

26 Oct 2012

ACS BSCN accredits UCSD Bariatric Metabolic Institute as Level 1 facility

The Bariatric Metabolic Institute (BMI) at University of California, San Diego Health System has been accredited as a Level 1 facility by the Bariatric Surgery Center Network (BSCN) Accreditation Program of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). This designation means that the institutional performance of UC San Diego BMI meets the rigorous requirements outlined by the ACS BSCN Accreditation Program.

26 Oct 2012

Roundup: New laws on breast screening irk some doctors; Improved school meals cut obesity; More Coloradans use ER

In a sign of the improving national economy, Medicaid spending growth this year slowed to 2 percent as enrollment in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor also slowed for the third consecutive year, according to a report released Thursday. In 2011, Medicaid spending soared by nearly 10 percent, which helped put the entitlement program in the crosshairs of politicians looking to lower the federal deficit and ease pressure on state budgets.

26 Oct 2012

Geographic variations in US diabetic foot expenditure identified

Researchers report that in the USA, Medicare spending on patients with diabetic foot disease varies significantly between different hospital referral regions.

25 Oct 2012

Obama administration to relax Medicare benefit rules

As part of a proposed settlement in a national class-action lawsuit, the federal government would expand benefits for skilled nursing and home health care to the chronically ill.

25 Oct 2012

Medicare, abortion grab attention in some House, Senate races

News outlets offer another round of coverage on the Wisconsin Senate race and a tight New York House race, while candidates' views on abortion are spotlighted in Indiana and Missouri.

25 Oct 2012

Obama, Romney bring health policy resumes to the presidential race

But swing state voters continue to be skeptical of the two candidates' positions and plans. The Los Angeles Times reports how Ohio voters are critical of President Barack Obama's healthcare law because they see their healthcare costs continuing to rise and also skeptical that a man as rich as Mitt Romney could understand their needs.

25 Oct 2012

Study: House Republican plan to block grant Medicaid would lead to $1.7 trillion spending cut

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the GOP-backed House Budget Committee plan, which would also repeal the health law, could leave between 31 million and 38 million fewer people with Medicaid coverage.

25 Oct 2012

Anxiety related to Medicare physician payment chills doctors' interest in experiments and demonstration programs

A survey by the Medical Group Management Association concluded that physicians' willingness to try new models of payment and delivery -- such as accountable care organizations and bundled payments -- is linked to congressional efforts to fix the Medicare doctor payment formula.

25 Oct 2012

Identifying risk factors in hospital readmissions could help improve patient care

Identifying risk factors in hospital readmissions could help improve patient care and hospital bottom lines, according to a study recently completed by Georgia State University's Experimental Economics Center and a team from the Emory University School of Medicine.

25 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Obama seeking 'to preserve' new spending; Medicare rule change for disabled is 'humane thing to do'

On Tuesday Mr. Obama finally tried to give the future more definition with a new plan, except it isn't new and barely qualifies as a plan. ... The pamphlet's sections on health care and entitlements show that his real budget priority is to preserve all of the government he expanded in the first term. He promises to protect the Affordable Care Act from repeal or Republican amendments.

25 Oct 2012

Roundup: States raise employee insurance contributions to save money; Minn. seeking $80M more for exchange; Selling insurance in malls

Financially strapped state and local governments are saving billions of dollars on health insurance by cutting back on free coverage for employees and raising worker contributions, a USA Today analysis finds. Government workers still enjoy more generous health benefits than privately employed workers but the advantage has narrowed from $1,523 in 2007 to $891 in 2012, adjusted for inflation, federal data show.

25 Oct 2012

Obese patients more likely to have complications after total knee replacement surgery

Obese patients have a greater risk of complications following total knee replacement surgery, including post-surgical infections, according to a new literature review recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS).

25 Oct 2012

Medicare News and Research

In Wisconsin Senate race, Thompson finds old political magic hard to restore

Business leaders urge deficit deal that includes taxes, cutting Medicare and Medicaid spending

HHS: Seniors saved $5B on prescription costs thanks to health law; Obama challenges Roberts on ACA ruling

Viewpoints: Washington Post endorses Obama; GOP Senate candidates hurting party's reach to women; 'Too much choice' in Medicare?

FDA approves Watson’s generic Actos

Age, gender influence hip arthroplasty revision risk

Viewpoints: Medicare provider cuts 'won't work'; A 'pamphlet isn't a plan'

Medical practice evolves: Prescribing habits, doc-patient relationship, health law changes

ACS BSCN accredits UCSD Bariatric Metabolic Institute as Level 1 facility

Roundup: New laws on breast screening irk some doctors; Improved school meals cut obesity; More Coloradans use ER

Geographic variations in US diabetic foot expenditure identified

Obama administration to relax Medicare benefit rules

Medicare, abortion grab attention in some House, Senate races

Obama, Romney bring health policy resumes to the presidential race

Study: House Republican plan to block grant Medicaid would lead to $1.7 trillion spending cut

Anxiety related to Medicare physician payment chills doctors' interest in experiments and demonstration programs

Identifying risk factors in hospital readmissions could help improve patient care

Viewpoints: Obama seeking 'to preserve' new spending; Medicare rule change for disabled is 'humane thing to do'

Roundup: States raise employee insurance contributions to save money; Minn. seeking $80M more for exchange; Selling insurance in malls

Obese patients more likely to have complications after total knee replacement surgery

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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