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First Edition: June 24, 2011

In today's headlines, reports that Republicans have quit the debt-ceiling negotiations and details about how the Supreme Court sided with drug makers in two decisions.

24 Jun 2011

CMS official grilled on Medicare Secondary Payer program

Politics were at work as Deborah Taylor, the chief financial officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, faced tough questioning during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee On Oversight and Investigations hearing regarding the financial controls applied to this aspect of Medicare — a generally complex and obscure part of the program.

24 Jun 2011

InVasc commences INV-144 Phase IIa trial in chronic kidney disease

InVasc Therapeutics, Inc., announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIa, proof of concept (POC), clinical trial with INV-144, a combination drug of losartan with alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in hypertensive diabetic patients.

24 Jun 2011

Tensions rise in bipartisan debt-ceiling negotiations

Both Democrats and Republicans appear to be increasingly entrenched on key issues, including changes to entitlement programs like Medicare. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office issued a daunting report, warning that the national debt will exceed the size of the national economy by 2021.

24 Jun 2011

Health law politics cause sparks to fly among GOP presidential hopefuls

In the background, Republicans on Capitol Hill are renewing their criticisms of the health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board as a "rationing" panel. Also reverberating — how candidates are handling the GOP anti-abortion pledge, and findings from a new poll suggest Americans are leery of the Medicare plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

24 Jun 2011

News outlets detail ACO concerns, historic perspectives

The idea of coordinating care through accountable care organizations used to be a non-ideological notion. Not anymore. At a briefing for Capitol Hill staff sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, conservative critics complained about the Obama administration's work on ACOs.

24 Jun 2011

Longer looks: Prenatal care for dads; rise in bipolar diagnosis for children

Perhaps it's because mom has the burgeoning belly, but dads have largely been left out of prenatal care. That could be damaging to the family's health, contends research in a recent issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

24 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: McKinsey report contentiousness; Medicare facts vs. beliefs; insurers' HSA 'strategy'

The White House routinely tries to intimidate its health-care critics, but the campaign against McKinsey & Co. is something else. The management consultants attempted to find out how U.S. business will respond to the government restructuring of 17.3% of the economy, Democrats don't like the results, and so McKinsey must pay with its reputation.

24 Jun 2011

RACGP welcomes Senate Inquiry into mental health funding cuts

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed the move yesterday to hold a Senate Inquiry into the Federal Government’s decision to cut the Medicare patient rebates for GP mental health services in the 2011‐2012 Federal Budget. The Senate Inquiry comes after strong and consistent lobbying on the issue by the RACGP and our colleagues within United General Practice Australia (UGPA).

23 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 23, 2011

In today's headlines, reports that the Department of Health and Human Services will scale back the health law's rules on patient health care appeals.

23 Jun 2011

Middle-class early retirees may be eligible for Medicaid in 2014

As a result of the health law, many early retirees may in 2014 be eligible for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for the poor. This expansion, which is being termed a "glitch" and is drawing significant Republican reaction, could mean that early retirees with household incomes up to $64,000 would qualify.

23 Jun 2011

Policy news: Speculation surrounds soon-to-be released exchange regs

Meanwhile, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick takes a message about accountable care organizations on the road, selling the model in Minneapolis to nurses, doctors and other health professionals.

23 Jun 2011

Debt-reduction package continues to take shape

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the goal of trimming $2 trillion from the federal budget in the next 10 years will not be enough to change the rate of growth of the nation's debt. In the background, negotiators continue to "bear down" on the remaining "serious" issues.

23 Jun 2011

State roundup: Okla. caps 'non-economic damages' in lawsuits

With Republicans in control of the Oklahoma governorship and the Legislature for the first time ever, they swiftly passed a series of changes to the civil justice system. Lawmakers put a cap of $350,000 on the amount of money that plaintiffs can recoup for so-called "non-economic damages," such as the pain and suffering caused by medical malpractice, faulty products or other forms of professional negligence.

23 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Medicare and politics; concerns about AARP; Medicaid's future

Leading Republicans — after proposing to gut Medicare — are still trying to pose as the program's saviors. How cynical can they get? At the recent Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota warned that health care reform will take $500 billion out of Medicare and harm "senior citizens who have the most to lose."

23 Jun 2011