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Viewpoints: Health costs crushing Detroit; Military care still faces funding issues; Romneycare scores

Legacy costs are bankrupting Detroit just as they crushed its automakers. Firefighters can retire at 55 and earn 70% of their highest salary plus a 2.25% annual cost-of-living inflator in perpetuity. The result? Employee benefits alone now make up about half of the city's general fund. Health costs have grown by more than 60% since 2008 while the city's pension bill has quadrupled to $200 million.

16 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Last interview with Oregon's assisted-suicide law architect; Med students spurn primary care for hospital jobs

Dr. Peter Goodwin, a family physician and right-to-die activist, took his own life on March 11, 2012, at age 83. He did it legally, with the blessing of his family and doctors, under the Oregon law allowing physician-assisted suicide - the first such law in the country - that Goodwin was instrumental in creating. … He did not look like a dying man; he was chirpy and alert ... However, as a result of his fatal disease - a Parkinsons-like condition called coritcobasal degeneration - he could not use his right hand or do much reliably with his left.

16 Mar 2012

Kodak retirees seek to protect health benefits in the face of Chapter 11 proceedings

Some former Kodak employees are asking a judge to appoint a retiree committee to protect their benefits as the photography company reorganizes under bankruptcy protection.

15 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 15, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about emerging Congressional budget battles and political strategies surrounding the health law.

15 Mar 2012

Santorum wins the South, but Romney focuses on Obama

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum solidified his claim to be the favored candidate of the party's conservative base with his wins in Alabama and Mississippi Tuesday night, while rival Mitt Romney stepped up his attacks on President Barack Obama.

15 Mar 2012

Preparing for 'Ryan 2.0'

Democrats and Republicans alike are girding for the unveiling of the 2013 budget plan by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R- Wis., and its provisions to overhaul Medicare.

15 Mar 2012

CBO: Deficit estimate for 2012 increased to $1.2 trillion; Baby boomers' health costs continue as long-term concern

The Congressional Budget Office issued a new round of estimates that also included revisions of the health law's costs and coverage expansion.

15 Mar 2012

New position paper outlines national approach to antimicrobial stewardship

As the supply of life-saving antibiotics becomes increasingly threatened, infectious diseases experts urge healthcare systems and policymakers to step up efforts to protect patients by preserving the effectiveness of available antibiotics through antimicrobial stewardship initiatives.

15 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Health law savings questioned; Ryan-Wyden plan for all; Penalizing hospitals may not save money

As we approach the second anniversary of ObamaCare, it's worth re-examining some of the claims its proponents made about the impact of the law on health-care costs. Three of the law's most-touted cost-control measures have already been shown to be unlikely to succeed.

15 Mar 2012

Teva commences commercial launch of Escitalopram Oxalate Tablets

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that it has commenced commercial launch of Escitalopram Oxalate Tablets, the Company's generic version of Forest Laboratories' depression and generalized anxiety disorder treatment, Lexapro Tablets.

15 Mar 2012

State roundup: Caregivers face 'burnout' threat as need grows, Kansas nursing home staff inadequate?

Long term care advocates say they're concerned about caregiver burnout. And they say Wisconsin may be overestimating projected savings from uncompensated care that relatives provide. State health officials need to find nearly $80 million in savings from a popular program that keeps the elderly and disabled out of nursing homes. The administration wants to know what assistance friends and family are giving so that care isn't replaced by Medicaid services.

15 Mar 2012

IPAB opponents eye curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits as means to pay for repeal

This idea has drawn support for some GOP lawmakers seeking to get rid of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, but trial lawyers are already lining up against it. Meanwhile, a new Congressional Budget Office estimate indicates that because Medicare spending is slowing, the board may never actually have to spring into action.

14 Mar 2012

New rule ensuring equal access for ESRD patients receives DPC praise

Dialysis Patient Citizens (DPC), the nation's largest patient-led organization representing dialysis patients, applauded the Administration for taking steps to solidify a key provision that will ensure end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients have equal access to private coverage as Affordable Care Act reforms are implemented.

14 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Sandra fluke on slurs; Shifting the cost of uncompensated care

(D)espite the misinformation being spread, the regulation under discussion has absolutely nothing to do with government funding: It is all about the insurance policies provided by private employers and universities that are financed by individual workers, students and their families -- not taxpayers.

14 Mar 2012

First Edition: March 14, 2012

Today's headlines feature coverage of the Congressional Budget Office's latest estimates regarding the health law's costs and the nation's deficit.

14 Mar 2012

GOP fissures likely to emerge with efforts to revamp budget deal, Medicare

House Republicans appear divided over whether to push for deeper spending cuts in the 2013 budget plan than those agreed upon during last year's debt ceiling deal. Democrats and Republicans are also preparing for a Medicare fight. Meanwhile, some GOP senators have requested a hearing with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to discuss revised cost estimates for the health law.

14 Mar 2012

Healthcare exchange regulations announced

The U.S. government this Monday released broad new operating rules for state-run health insurance exchanges, which form a key part of the 2010 federal healthcare reform law. The reforms would face Supreme Court hearings in just two weeks.

14 Mar 2012

Romney, now 65, won't enroll in Medicare

Instead, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will buy private health insurance. News reports describe this step as Romney's effort to make a political point. He supports transforming Medicare into a premium support program and has taken the position that wealthier seniors should pay more for their Medicare benefits.

14 Mar 2012

Quality issues: Patient safety and physicians' well-being

Medscape investigates the intersection between patient safety initiatives and how physicians practice medicine.

13 Mar 2012

Health program cuts, cost-saving measures big issues at state capitols

Legislatures around the country are dealing with changes or cost-saving measures to health programs as they consider their budgets.

13 Mar 2012

Medicare News and Research

Viewpoints: Health costs crushing Detroit; Military care still faces funding issues; Romneycare scores

Longer looks: Last interview with Oregon's assisted-suicide law architect; Med students spurn primary care for hospital jobs

Kodak retirees seek to protect health benefits in the face of Chapter 11 proceedings

First Edition: March 15, 2012

Santorum wins the South, but Romney focuses on Obama

Preparing for 'Ryan 2.0'

CBO: Deficit estimate for 2012 increased to $1.2 trillion; Baby boomers' health costs continue as long-term concern

New position paper outlines national approach to antimicrobial stewardship

Viewpoints: Health law savings questioned; Ryan-Wyden plan for all; Penalizing hospitals may not save money

Teva commences commercial launch of Escitalopram Oxalate Tablets

State roundup: Caregivers face 'burnout' threat as need grows, Kansas nursing home staff inadequate?

IPAB opponents eye curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits as means to pay for repeal

New rule ensuring equal access for ESRD patients receives DPC praise

Viewpoints: Sandra fluke on slurs; Shifting the cost of uncompensated care

First Edition: March 14, 2012

GOP fissures likely to emerge with efforts to revamp budget deal, Medicare

Healthcare exchange regulations announced

Romney, now 65, won't enroll in Medicare

Quality issues: Patient safety and physicians' well-being

Health program cuts, cost-saving measures big issues at state capitols

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