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Medicare part B premiums to increase by 3.1% in 2008 to $96.40 per month

CMS on Monday announced that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers physician visits and outpatient hospital care, will increase by $2.90, or 3.1%, to $96.40 in 2008 -- the smallest increase since 2000, when the premium remained the same, the New York Times reports.

2 Oct 2007

Democrats work to reauthorize, expand SCHIP while Bush administration tries to limit program growth

Congressional efforts to reauthorize SCHIP, which expires on Sept. 30, are "intensifying," but the Bush administration "has taken several steps to slow momentum for expansion of the program," the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 7/9).

10 Jul 2007

Food scientists develop rapid, reliable technique to ensure fruit and vegetable juices adhere to quality standards

Increasingly, consumer products, especially food and beverage products, are being scrutinized for better quality.

10 May 2007

Governors criticize provisions on SCHIP in fiscal year 2008 budget request from President Bush

A bipartisan group of governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting on Sunday asked Congress to provide $765 million in supplemental funds for SCHIP, the Bergen Record reports (Jackson, Bergen Record, 2/26).

27 Feb 2007

Bush Administration has no overall strategy to protect patient privacy in electronic health records

The Bush administration has no overall strategy to ensure patient privacy as it promotes expanded use of electronic health records among insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the New York Times reports.

21 Feb 2007

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries will have trouble getting medications in January 2007

Some pharmacists and advocates have raised concerns that many low-income Medicare beneficiaries "will again have trouble getting medications next month, as they did in January of this year," when the Medicare prescription drug benefit began, the New York Times reports.

5 Dec 2006

Bush Administration says it opposes Democrats' plan to allow Government to negotiate Medicare drug prices

The Bush administration will oppose any attempts by congressional Democrats to pass legislation that would authorize the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, the New York Times reports.

13 Nov 2006

2007 Medicare prescription drug plans

Private health insurers that market Medicare prescription drug plans in 2007 will offer more plans, several of which will have lower premiums and more of which will provide coverage during the so-called "doughnut hole," Bush administration officials said on Friday, the New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2006

Medicare Part B premiums to rise 5.6% next year

The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B in 2007 will increase to $93.50 from $88.50, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan announced on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports.

14 Sep 2006

Average Medicare drug benefit premium to remain unchanged at $24 in 2007

Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the program's prescription drug benefit in 2007 will pay an average monthly premium of about $24, the same as the average monthly premium for this year, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said Tuesday, the New York Times reports.

16 Aug 2006

Exercise important in reducing size of abdominal fat cells

Reducing the size of abdominal fat cells - which are a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease - takes more than cutting calories, according to new research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

8 Aug 2006

Fat cells surrounding coronary arteries may play a role in development of heart disease

The fat cells that surround coronary arteries may play a central and previously unrecognized role in development of cardiovascular disease, according to a study by University of Iowa researchers.

11 Apr 2006

When it comes to heart attack risk - being pear shape is better than being apple shape

New research says that a far better way of assessing a persons heart attack risk is to look at waist-to-hip ratio rather than a person's relative height and weight.

7 Nov 2005

Researchers shed light on a key molecular switch in T helper cells

Defects in immune system cells called T helper cells may lead to diseases characterized by a faulty inflammatory response such as autoimmunity and asthma. Understanding the molecular steps involved in how T helper cells mature may help researchers develop treatments for these diseases.

17 Oct 2005

Researchers clarifiy role of Notch protein in T-cell development

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have recently clarified the role of the Notch protein in T-cell development. T cells are required for many aspects of immunity, including fighting viral infections, providing cancer surveillance, and regulating multiple aspects of the immune response.

6 Jul 2005

The humble snail is helping scientists explore ways of treating memory loss in humans

Drug manufacturers are looking at ways to create a "Viagra for the brain", which could alleviate memory loss, one of the distressing symptoms of diseases such as Alzheimer's. Work carried out by Dr George Kemenes, Senior Fellow in the Department of Biology and Environmental Science at the University of Sussex, will hopefully help to show how such drugs could work.

4 May 2005

The role body fat plays in determining one's risk of chronic diseases

As the prevalence of obesity in America approaches epidemic proportions, researchers are scrambling to learn more about how the body stores fat, how fat tissues affect body systems and the role body fat plays in determining one's risk of chronic diseases.

27 Jan 2005

Pear News and Research

Medicare part B premiums to increase by 3.1% in 2008 to $96.40 per month

Democrats work to reauthorize, expand SCHIP while Bush administration tries to limit program growth

Food scientists develop rapid, reliable technique to ensure fruit and vegetable juices adhere to quality standards

Governors criticize provisions on SCHIP in fiscal year 2008 budget request from President Bush

Bush Administration has no overall strategy to protect patient privacy in electronic health records

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries will have trouble getting medications in January 2007

Bush Administration says it opposes Democrats' plan to allow Government to negotiate Medicare drug prices

2007 Medicare prescription drug plans

Medicare Part B premiums to rise 5.6% next year

Average Medicare drug benefit premium to remain unchanged at $24 in 2007

Exercise important in reducing size of abdominal fat cells

Fat cells surrounding coronary arteries may play a role in development of heart disease

When it comes to heart attack risk - being pear shape is better than being apple shape

Researchers shed light on a key molecular switch in T helper cells

Researchers clarifiy role of Notch protein in T-cell development

The humble snail is helping scientists explore ways of treating memory loss in humans

The role body fat plays in determining one's risk of chronic diseases

Measuring body fat has just got easier and a whole lot more sophisticated

Up to 220 young children a day could be exposed to potentially dangerous levels of pesticides from eating fruit

Opuntia ficus indica, a type of prickly pear cactus reduces hangover symptoms

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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