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Viewpoints: Romney in WSJ column offers lessons from Bain; Ryan's ideological vote against curbing the deficit

My presidency would make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to get the investment dollars they need to grow, by reducing and simplifying taxes; replacing Obamacare with real health-care reform that contains costs and improves care; and by stemming the flood of new regulations that are tying small businesses in knots.

26 Aug 2012

On campaign trail, polls and politics swirl around Medicare, abortion debates

A New York Times/CBS News/Quinnipiac poll finds that even in the midst of the Medicare debate, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney appears to have gained ground in Florida and other swing states.

24 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 24, 2012

Now on Kaiser Health News blog, KUHF's Carrie Feibel, working in partnership with KHN and NPR, reports: "When Ashley Beecher had her first daughter, nursing was a struggle, and she sometimes had to supplement her baby's diet with formula. But when she had her second daughter in January, it was a very different story. … Beecher was reluctant to throw away the milk – mothers and doctors call it 'liquid gold' because of its health benefits - so she was excited to find out about the donor milk bank at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston."

24 Aug 2012

Quantitative look at the whole experience of patients with pancreatic cancer

Every year, nearly 45,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The odds against those stricken by the disease are truly dismal; pancreatic cancer almost always kills within two years after diagnosis, no matter how it is treated. Even aggressive intervention with chemotherapy, radiation or surgery rarely yields more than an extra month to a year of survival, depending on the stage of the disease.

24 Aug 2012

CBO: Medicare spending growth slower than expected

The Congressional Budget Office released new projections for the country's economic outlook Wednesday, forecasting that despite slower-than-anticipated spending growth, Medicare will account for an even larger share of the economy in the next decade.

24 Aug 2012

Presidential campaigns jockey for upper hand in Medicare debate

Just as new polls find that voters in three key swing states are more likely to trust President Barack Obama than GOP presumptive nominee Mitt Romney on Medicare, the Romney campaign is struggling to quiet controversies related to this issue.

24 Aug 2012

CMS moves forward with initiative to coordinate Medicare primary care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Innovation Center will administer the program, which was created by the 2010 health law. Five hundred medical practices have been selected to participate.

24 Aug 2012

Senate, congressional races focus on Medicare positions, health law votes

Medicare moves to the forefront of House races in Pennsylvania while Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, defends his policies -- including his health law vote -- against TV ads and record spending brought by outside groups.

24 Aug 2012

Views on Akin and abortion: Both parties energized by candidate's remarks on rape, but does it clarify abortion debate?

There's something off -- something a bit cowardly, actually -- about the positions of both parties in the abortion debate refueled by the asinine remarks of Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.). Akin's comments have left Republicans scrambling to avoid the politically unpalatable implications of the anti-abortion views central to their party.

24 Aug 2012

Views on Ryan's Medicare plan: A change from 'petty' politics; 'Creative approach' to solving the problem; Time for a 'serious national debate'

By picking Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney introduced Medicare into his campaign for the presidency. Veterans of the entitlement wars immediately said that in doing so Gov. Romney was suiciding his candidacy.

24 Aug 2012

FDA approves Watson’s ANDA for lidocaine topical patch 5%

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for lidocaine topical patch 5%, the generic equivalent to Endo's Lidoderm.

24 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 23, 2012

Today's headlines offer more coverage of how Medicare and abortion issues are emerging both in the presidential campaign and congressional races.

23 Aug 2012

CMS announces participation of PCPs in Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today praised the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its announcement of primary care practices to participate in a historic public-private partnership to strengthen primary care, the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative (CPCI).

23 Aug 2012

Hospitals tackle variety of health law issues

News outlets report on a variety of issues including the slow acceptance of ACOs and a legal set-back for doctor-owned facilities.

23 Aug 2012

State roundup: Restraining order issued in Mo. health exchange fight

A judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday against Missouri's secretary of state, Robin Carnahan, to prevent her from finalizing the language of a ballot question on health insurance exchanges. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a Republican, sought the restraining order while a state court considers whether the language of the ballot question is biased, a claim leveled by Kinder and the state's top Republicans.

23 Aug 2012

Poll: Majority of voters say Medicare needs only minor changes or none at all

A new round of polls finds that although voters have a slightly favorable view of GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's pick for vice president, running mate Paul Ryan's Medicare plans are viewed with a greater degree of skepticism.

23 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Medicare as a 401(K) plan; Health doublespeak

Older adults are understandably anxious about the political sniping over the future financing of Medicare. That is precisely the intention of the presidential campaigns. Yet the cross-fire over who will cut Medicare by how much sidesteps a critical issue about the future of our medical care: If we must ration our care to hold down costs in the future, how can we do it in a fair, efficient and transparent way?

23 Aug 2012

Romney vow to restore Medicare funding raises tough fiscal issues; GOP platform adds revamping of Medicare

In the short term, the Republican presidential candidate's promise to restore the Medicare cuts included in the health law would increase beneficiaries' costs. Meanwhile, the GOP draft platform embraces the Medicare changes advanced as part of Paul Ryan's House budget plan.

23 Aug 2012

Views on Akin and women's health: 'A debate the GOP had hoped to avoid;' Views harkening back to colonial times

Commentators examine the repercussions of the Missouri Senate candidate's comments about rape and abortion.

23 Aug 2012

Do Akin's rape comments put GOP ticket in harm's way?

News outlets analyze the potential repercussions to Mitt Romney's presidential bid by the statements made by Missouri Senate Republican candidate Todd Akin. Also examined is presumptive GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's co-sponsorship of legislation with Akin, including one that would give legal protection to an embryo.

22 Aug 2012