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Eight students to receive Hartford Doctoral Fellowship in geriatric social work

Eight outstanding students have been chosen as the newest recipients of the prestigious Hartford Doctoral Fellowship in geriatric social work. The program is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, administered by The Gerontological Society of America, and directed by James Lubben, DSW, MPH.

12 Nov 2010

American healthcare system not as safe as thought

A new tool for measuring patient safety shows that the American healthcare system "isn't as safe as we thought it was," according to David Classen, MD, senior partner at CSC and associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah.

12 Nov 2010

Docs continue to worry about Medicare payment cuts while CMS updates ratings for Medicare Advantage plans

WBUR in Boston reports on Medicare payments to doctors and the sustainable growth rate, and "the latest installment of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act and attempts to rein in spending on health care for the elderly." Congress set up the rate formula for doctors pay. But medical costs increased at a greater rate than expected and "Congress started telling doctors they had to take a cut to make the formula work.

12 Nov 2010

GOP prepares to grill Berwick at Senate hearing next week

Bloomberg: "Medicare Administrator Donald Berwick will face critics of President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul next week, his first appearance before Congress since he was appointed in a process that bypassed the Senate. Berwick will testify at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Medicare, the health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, and the Medicaid program for the poor, the panel said today in a statement.

12 Nov 2010

Debt panel's draft would take on Medicare, raise Social Security age

President Barack Obama's bipartisan debt-reduction panel laid out a draft version of its recommendations for cutting spending and raising taxes on Wednesday, The New York Times reports. The proposal includes increasing the retirement age for Social Security and plans to reduce the growth of the Medicare program. In all, the proposals would lower deficits by $4 trillion through 2020 and "stabilize" debt. Liberal groups immediately lashed back at what they see as excessive cuts in spending (Calmes, 11/10).

12 Nov 2010

AmerisourceBergen increases quarterly dividend 25% to $0.10 per common share

The Board of Directors of AmerisourceBergen Corporation today increased the Company's quarterly dividend rate 25 percent to $0.10 per common share from $0.08 per common share.

12 Nov 2010

Comparative effectiveness push tailed by controversy, distrust

Two-third of Americans agree that studies comparing treatments are needed, but even more 75 percent say the government and insurers would use the results of such studies to ration medical care, MarketWatch reports.

12 Nov 2010

Kaiser Permanente announces 2011 plans for Medicare-eligible beneficiaries

Kaiser Permanente has announced its 2011 plans for individual Medicare-eligible beneficiaries, reflecting its commitment to continuing participation in Medicare in all its existing service areas in nine states and the District of Columbia.

12 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 11, 2010

In today's headlines, health law advocates huddle in an effort to defend the measure against GOP efforts to undo it.

11 Nov 2010

CML HealthCare third quarter revenue decreases 8.9% to $116.8 million

CML HealthCare Income Fund today reported its financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2010.

11 Nov 2010

AMA, MOAA call upon Congress to protect health care for America's military families and seniors

This Veterans Day, with Medicare and TRICARE physician payment cuts of 25 percent looming, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) are calling on Congress to act immediately to protect health care for America's military families and seniors. The organizations are asking lawmakers to take action during this month's "lame duck" session to prevent a crisis in access to care for military families.

11 Nov 2010

$Androgen deprivation therapy may increase fracture risk in older men with localized prostate cancer: Research$

Androgen deprivation therapy may increase fracture risk in older men with localized prostate cancer: Research

Research presented today at a national conference by a team of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), shows careful consideration should be given before initiating androgen deprivation therapy, a common treatment for older men with localized prostate cancer.

11 Nov 2010

Watson’s Uracyst pilot study for interstitial cystitis fails to demonstrate efficacy endpoints

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. pilot study evaluating Uracyst (sodium chondroitin sulfate solution 2.0%) for the treatment of interstitial cystitis did not meet predefined efficacy endpoints.

11 Nov 2010

GOP lawmakers push health law investigation, Democrats consider revisions and legacy

GOP lawmakers are considering using their new posts in powerful House committees to go after President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, and they're focusing on questions uppermost in the minds of consumers.

10 Nov 2010

Ky. Health Plan audit; employee costs in Massachusetts; state reform implementation politics

An organization that manages taxpayer-funded health services for Kentucky's poor and disabled spent freely on luxury hotels, meals, salaries, lobbying and consulting, a state auditor found in a 200-plus-page report which calls for stricter accountability for Passport Health Plan, a Medicaid managed-care provider that serves 164,000 people in Louisville and more than a dozen nearby counties.

10 Nov 2010

CDC report: 50 million Americans uninsured

KBOI (Boise, Idaho)/ABC News Radio: "According to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 49.9 million people ages 18 to 64," or about 26.2 percent of the adult population, "had no medical coverage for at least part of the past 12 months. … Moreover, when children 17 and under are factored in, the number of Americans uninsured for at least part of a year span numbered 59.1 million."

10 Nov 2010

ICSI launches new initiative to save health care imaging costs, improve patient care

A new initiative launched by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement, a nonprofit, health care improvement organization, could save the Minnesota health care community more than $28 million annually, as well as improve patient care and provider groups' productivity.

10 Nov 2010

Depression in nursing home residents often unrecognized

Depression affects approximately 30 to 40 percent of nursing home residents, but it often goes unrecognized, according to American Geriatrics Society, which can lead to lower quality of life or even suicide. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found a series of indicators, other than changes in mood that are associated with the development of depression in nursing home residents.

10 Nov 2010

Investigations examine Medicare’s dialysis system, CT scanners and drugs

ProPublica reports on the costs and risks associated with dialysis: "In 1972, after a month of deliberation, Congress launched the nation's most ambitious experiment in universal health care: a change to the Social Security Act that granted comprehensive coverage under Medicare to virtually anyone diagnosed with kidney failure, regardless of age or income.

10 Nov 2010

Survey says majority of voters want some or all of health law repealed

The Washington Post: "A new Kaiser Family Foundation post-election poll suggests that a majority of people who voted on Nov. 2 favor repealing some or all of the health-care legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Congress and signed into law by President Obama earlier this year. ... Political strategists continue to debate just how much of an impact healthcare had on the 2010 midterms.

10 Nov 2010

Medicare News and Research

Eight students to receive Hartford Doctoral Fellowship in geriatric social work

American healthcare system not as safe as thought

Docs continue to worry about Medicare payment cuts while CMS updates ratings for Medicare Advantage plans

GOP prepares to grill Berwick at Senate hearing next week

Debt panel's draft would take on Medicare, raise Social Security age

AmerisourceBergen increases quarterly dividend 25% to $0.10 per common share

Comparative effectiveness push tailed by controversy, distrust

Kaiser Permanente announces 2011 plans for Medicare-eligible beneficiaries

First Edition: November 11, 2010

CML HealthCare third quarter revenue decreases 8.9% to $116.8 million

AMA, MOAA call upon Congress to protect health care for America's military families and seniors

Androgen deprivation therapy may increase fracture risk in older men with localized prostate cancer: Research

Watson’s Uracyst pilot study for interstitial cystitis fails to demonstrate efficacy endpoints

GOP lawmakers push health law investigation, Democrats consider revisions and legacy

Ky. Health Plan audit; employee costs in Massachusetts; state reform implementation politics

CDC report: 50 million Americans uninsured

ICSI launches new initiative to save health care imaging costs, improve patient care

Depression in nursing home residents often unrecognized

Investigations examine Medicare’s dialysis system, CT scanners and drugs

Survey says majority of voters want some or all of health law repealed

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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