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Discussion of SGR fix heats up

Conferees negotiating the legislative package to extend the payroll tax break and to prevent a scheduled Medicare physician pay cut increased their focus on the physician payment piece of the puzzle. Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing exploring private sector ideas for creating a new physician payment system.

9 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Religious freedom and insurance coverage for contraception

In an election-year hothouse, the issue has quickly become caricatured as the Obama administration's "war on Catholics" versus the Republicans' "war on contraception." It is neither. The administration tried to strike a balance and simply failed. The First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom deserves more weight than the administration allowed.

7 Feb 2012

Questions emerge about whether war savings can pay for 'doc fix'

House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp said that using war savings to pay for an overhaul of the Medicare physician payment formula is likely out of the scope of the conference committee's deliberations. In addition, the proposal faces political obstacles.

6 Feb 2012

Komen denies cut in Planned Parenthood funding was political

Komen had said the decision was the result of newly adopted criteria barring grants to organizations under investigation - affecting Planned Parenthood because of an inquiry by a Republican congressman. On Thursday, Komen President Elizabeth Thompson told reporters that the funding decision was unrelated to the investigation into whether Planned Parenthood was illegally using federal funds to pay for abortions.

6 Feb 2012

GOP presidential hopefuls make final pitches to Florida primary voters

Among the campaign issues are the parallels between the federal health overhaul and the Massachusetts law former Gov. Mitt Romney signed and Newt Gingrich's support of the individual mandate.

1 Feb 2012

AT&T donates US$29,000 to Camp Quality

AT&T Inc. continues to support Australian charities and has donated US$29,000 to Camp Quality, a charity that supports children living with cancer and their families in Australia.

31 Jan 2012

In Florida, GOP presidential hopefuls wrestle with health policy issues

The candidates appear to be proceeding with caution regarding politically risky plans to overhaul Medicare while painting opponents in a harsh light.

30 Jan 2012

Republican leadership prepares 'replace' plan should Supreme Court strike health law

Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., who chairs the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, said Republicans will be ready with a replacement package if the health law is ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Also in the news, CQ HealthBeat reports the insurance industry expects to see legislation in the Senate to exempt brokers' fees from the medical-loss ratio. Meanwhile, Sen. Jon Kyl, R- Ariz., wants to use war savings to pay for the Medicare "doc fix."

27 Jan 2012

Congressional negotiators begin talks on payroll tax cut, 'doc fix'

Although Demcratic and Republican lawmakers differ on how to pay for it, they seem to agree there needs to be a deal in order to prevent a deep, scheduled cut in Medicare physician payments.

25 Jan 2012

President to push Congress to revisit ambitious effort to cut the deficit

And, House and Senate negotiators will hold a rare public meeting Tuesday about the payroll tax cut and the Medicare reimbursement rate for physicians.

21 Jan 2012

TPRF continues to sponsor eye clinics in rural India

The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) continues to sponsor eye clinics in rural India, most recently by providing US$30,000 to cover the cost of services to nearly 7,000 residents in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

13 Jan 2012

AICAR therapy may combat heat stroke

We've all seen the story in the news before. Whether it's the death of a physically fit high school athlete at football training camp in August, or of an elderly woman gardening in the middle of the day in July, heat stroke is a serious, life-threatening condition for which there is no treatment beyond submersion in ice water or the application of ice packs to cool the body to a normal temperature.

8 Jan 2012

Child malnutrition rates 'alarming' in Somali refugee camps, AFP reports

"Aid workers say malnutrition rates among children under five at the Dolo Ado camp [in Ethiopia] are alarming," with "[o]ver 50 percent of children in Dolo Ado's Hilaweyn camp and nearly half of all children in Kobe camp … suffering from malnutrition, according to a preliminary health survey from the United Nations refugee agency," Agence France-Presse reports.

5 Jan 2012

Congress returns to 'same old health fights' in 2012

Congress starts 2012 facing the same old health policy fights, including the GOP push to pay for a more permanent Medicare "doc fix" with cuts to health law programs or Medicare. Meanwhile, Politico Pro reports on how House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., has been pivotal in Republican efforts to undermine the health overhaul law.

5 Jan 2012

House 'doc fix' proposal provides temporary relief to physicians, draws hospital concern

The "payment patch" would largely be paid for by charging higher Medicare premiums to affluent seniors and by cutting hospital payments.

13 Dec 2011

USAID administrator urges journalists to cover important world issues, including global health

"Journalists have a responsibility to cover important world issues and stories, urged Dr. Rajiv Shah, administrator of USAID, while speaking at an event at Harvard University on Thursday evening," GlobalPost reports.

13 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: What now for deficit cutters; Berwick's replacement

There's already a bipartisan group of senators, the maverick "Gang of Six," that is volunteering to produce a new compromise package. ... The Gang of Six plan won't make anybody happy.

28 Nov 2011

Relief officials concerned over malnutrition among children in Ethiopian refugee camps despite food aid

Humanitarian aid officials are concerned about high levels of malnutrition among young children at the Dolo Ado refugee camps in southern Ethiopia "despite the free availability of Plumpy'nut, a peanut-based paste in a plastic wrapper for treatment of severe acute malnutrition," the Guardian reports.

24 Nov 2011

Norway after terrorist attacks on July 22

How will the terrorist attacks in Norway on 22 July change the country? That question has been put to three social scientists at the University of Stavanger.

24 Nov 2011

Cholera outbreak hits Kenya's largest refugee camp

"Cholera has broken out in the world's largest refugee camp in Kenya, home to nearly 500,000 Somali refugees, the United Nations said on Tuesday," Reuters reports.

17 Nov 2011