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President lashes out at GOP budget and Medicare plan, Romney

In a Tuesday speech billed by many as a preview of the Obama reelection campaign's favorite themes, President Barack Obama blasted the treatment of Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs by the Republicans and warned that their spending blueprint is a form of "Social Darwinism."

5 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Obama's 'diatribe' on Ryan budget; President 'recovers' on statements about the court; Other health care mandates

If there's a Laffer Curve for Presidential invective - some point at which dishonest political abuse yields diminishing returns - the White House political team must not think their boss has hit it. Even in this hyperpartisan age, President Obama's speech to the Associated Press yesterday was a parody of the form. This was a diatribe that managed to invoke "Social Darwinism" and "a Trojan Horse" in the same paragraph, amid the other high crimes that Mr. Obama says Paul Ryan wants to commit.

5 Apr 2012

State roundup: Feds deny Hawaii Medicaid hospital limit; Ariz. prison health care gets operator; States consider ins and outs of health law implementation

The Obama administration has rejected Hawaii's proposal to limit most adult Medicaid recipients to 10 days of hospital coverage per year, which would have been the strictest in the nation. Instead, Hawaii has been approved to implement a 30-day hospital coverage limit starting July 1, state and federal health officials say.

5 Apr 2012

Health care issues among women voters fueling Obama lead on Romney

A new poll finds that President Obama leads GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney among women in 12 swing states -- a finding fueled mostly by health care, the top issue for women, according to the poll.

4 Apr 2012

Trends in diagnostic coding may explain the cause of decline in pneumonia hospitalizations

Although data indicate that between 2003-2009 there was a substantial decline in the U.S. in hospitalizations for pneumonia and inpatient deaths, analysis suggests that trends in documentation and diagnostic coding, rather than improvements in actual outcomes, may explain much of the observed changes, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Apr 2012

CMS: Medicare Advantage, Part D to get 3 percent boost in 2013 reimbursements

Also in the news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced nearly $50 million in grants to state agencies to help seniors better understand Medicare.

4 Apr 2012

FTC blocks Ohio hospital merger; Kan. mental hospital's 'poor working conditions'

The Federal Trade Commission has blocked an Ohio hospital merger in a closely watched case that could slow the consolidation of health care providers around the country.

4 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 4, 2012

In today's headlines, President Barak Obama goes on attack against GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and the Republican budget blueprint; a federal court judge asks for clarifications regarding Obama's comment on judicial activism and the high court's consideration of the health law; as well as reports that doctors are stepping into the effort to curb unnecessary medical treatments.

4 Apr 2012

Obama attacks GOP budget on Medicare changes, entitlement spending cuts

In what has been described as a searing speech, President Barack Obama charged that the GOP budget would end Medicare "as we know it," and included GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in his criticisms.

4 Apr 2012

Higher-spending hospitals do have better outcomes for emergency patients

Higher-spending hospitals do have better outcomes for their emergency patients, including fewer deaths, according to a Vanderbilt study released as a working paper through the National Bureau of Economic Research.

4 Apr 2012

Ryan budget plan draws tough talk from Obama while insurers keep their distance

President Barack Obama offers sharp critcism of the GOP budget plan, which passed the House on a near-party-line vote last week and which has been embraced by GOP presidential hopefuls. Although the plan, written by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., would greatly expand the role of private insurers in Medicare, the insurance industry has been mostly silent as well.

4 Apr 2012

Infections in older adults may increase risk of hospitalization for dangerous blood clots

Research shows older adults who get infections of any kind - such as urinary, skin, or respiratory tract infections - are nearly three times more likely to be hospitalized for a dangerous blood clot in their deep veins or lungs, University of Michigan Health System research shows.

4 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Shouldering the health costs of the 'irresponsible'; Learning from the parallels between Obamacare and the 'war on terror'

The central idea of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - the formal name of the Obamacare law - emphasized in the hearings is to spread the cost of health care to ever-larger pools of Americans. In particular, to those who pay low health insurance premiums, the young who choose to have no insurance and the healthy.

4 Apr 2012

State roundup: Docs fight over HMO in Fla.; Striking health law wouldn't stop reform in Minn.; Calif. mulls public employee 'Bill of Rights'

Two doctors who are among Florida's most aggressive fundraisers for the Republican Party have had a nasty falling-out over control of an HMO. Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, a prominent Broward cardiologist, has filed suit against Dr. Akshay Desai, the chairman and CEO of Universal Health Care. Universal, founded in 2002, is a fast-growing Medicare HMO based in St. Petersburg.

4 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 3, 2012

In today's health policy headlines, President Barack Obama's expresses confidence that the health law will stand.

3 Apr 2012

Medicare: Republicans face uphill battle to find like minds across the aisle

House GOP lawmakers are having a hard time making the case that plans to revamp Medicare have broad bipartisan support.

3 Apr 2012

Supreme Court's health law ruling: If that falls, what's next?

News outlets offer analysis about how the high court's decision could play out -- both in terms of policy and politics.

3 Apr 2012

Secondary cancer risk from MDCT scans is low among older adults

The secondary cancer risk from multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scans is low among older adults, according to a study from Stanford University in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. MDCT is a high-speed imaging technique that is commonly used to diagnose a variety of diseases and conditions.

3 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: 'Outrageously high fee' for emergency services; Mysterious rise in autism cases

The calculus for medical charges in general is beyond comprehension, with outrageously high fees used as a starting point in a bizarre game of bargaining. Glenn Melnick, who teaches hospital finance at USC, told me it's as crazy as if he asked to buy the TV in my living room, and I gave him a price of $1 million to start the conversation.

3 Apr 2012

Views on the Supreme Court review: No matter what the decision, reform will go on; The case threatens the court's legacy

Listening to the lawyers talking nonstop last week about health care gave me a headache, so I decided to consult one of the nation's top doctors. He offered a real-world diagnosis of what's happening in health care - and a reminder of how much it's changing, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides about Obamacare. My medical guru is Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, chief executive of Cleveland Clinic, a $6 billion network that's one of the biggest and best providers in the country.

3 Apr 2012

Medicare News and Research

President lashes out at GOP budget and Medicare plan, Romney

Viewpoints: Obama's 'diatribe' on Ryan budget; President 'recovers' on statements about the court; Other health care mandates

State roundup: Feds deny Hawaii Medicaid hospital limit; Ariz. prison health care gets operator; States consider ins and outs of health law implementation

Health care issues among women voters fueling Obama lead on Romney

Trends in diagnostic coding may explain the cause of decline in pneumonia hospitalizations

CMS: Medicare Advantage, Part D to get 3 percent boost in 2013 reimbursements

FTC blocks Ohio hospital merger; Kan. mental hospital's 'poor working conditions'

First Edition: April 4, 2012

Obama attacks GOP budget on Medicare changes, entitlement spending cuts

Higher-spending hospitals do have better outcomes for emergency patients

Ryan budget plan draws tough talk from Obama while insurers keep their distance

Infections in older adults may increase risk of hospitalization for dangerous blood clots

Viewpoints: Shouldering the health costs of the 'irresponsible'; Learning from the parallels between Obamacare and the 'war on terror'

State roundup: Docs fight over HMO in Fla.; Striking health law wouldn't stop reform in Minn.; Calif. mulls public employee 'Bill of Rights'

First Edition: April 3, 2012

Medicare: Republicans face uphill battle to find like minds across the aisle

Supreme Court's health law ruling: If that falls, what's next?

Secondary cancer risk from MDCT scans is low among older adults

Viewpoints: 'Outrageously high fee' for emergency services; Mysterious rise in autism cases

Views on the Supreme Court review: No matter what the decision, reform will go on; The case threatens the court's legacy

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