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SBCA urges Congressional representatives to consider detrimental impact of health care reform bill

The Small Business Council of America urges Members of the House of Representatives to vote against the Senate health care reform bill. The SBCA believes the details of this legislation will not only harm small businesses and their ability to provide health care to their employees, but that it could lead to the ultimate demise of this country's private health care system.

18 Mar 2010

Piecemeal COBRA health insurance subsidy extensions puzzle laid-off workers

In this updated story, Kaiser Health News staff writer Jenny Gold tries to breakdown the recent confusion surrounding COBRA. "Every day, dozens of confused, laid-off workers call the privately-run COBRA Help Center in Long Island, N.Y., which administers COBRA group health insurance plans.

18 Mar 2010

Health overhaul supporters, critics duel on airwaves

McClatchy/Miami Herald: "As a historic vote on sweeping healthcare legislation nears, Democratic moderates in the House of Representatives face relentless pressure as they juggle personal pleas from President Barack Obama, a multimillion-dollar ad barrage and constituents who are fed up with the convoluted congressional process.

18 Mar 2010

Idaho Health Freedom Act does nothing to tackle state's health care crisis, says AARP

The health care crisis hundreds of thousands of Idahoans face every day may have just gone from bad to worse with the stroke of a pen. Today, Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter signed the Idaho Health Freedom Act into law, a bill strongly opposed by AARP.

18 Mar 2010

Aetna, SBUH announce new agreement for hospital’s participation in Aetna network

Aetna and Stony Brook University Hospital are pleased to announce today a new agreement for the hospital’s participation in the Aetna network. The agreement is effective through April 30, 2011, and will enable Stony Brook physicians currently participating with Aetna to continue their participation uninterrupted.

18 Mar 2010

Cut looms for Medicare payments to doctors

Marketwatch/The Seattle Times reports on the looming 21 percent cut to physicians' Medicare payments. "The cut was to take effect March 1 until Congress delayed it by 30 days. The Senate then voted last Wednesday to postpone the cut an additional six months as part of a larger bill that extends unemployment benefits. The measure now moves to the House."

17 Mar 2010

Renhuang Pharmaceuticals' net income for first-quarter of 2010 increases 17.8%

Renhuang Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer, manufacturer and distributor of botanical products, bio-pharmaceuticals and traditional Chinese medicines, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended January 31, 2010.

17 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 17, 2010

Today's news continues to focus on Democratic leaders' efforts to finalize their health reform package and gather the votes necessary to gain House passage.

17 Mar 2010

EBRI analysis shows increasing number of older Americans are staying in work force

Reflecting the changing economic landscape, more older workers are staying in the work force, but increasingly in part-time rather than full-time jobs, according to new research released today by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

17 Mar 2010

Congress should exempt Americans from excise tax on health care plans, says Teamsters President

"Now is the time to get this done. Teamster members have solid health care coverage, but the outrageous cost of insurance is hurting our employers and dragging down the economy.

17 Mar 2010

AIDS activists set to rally at South Carolina State House to reinstate all $5.9M in HIV/AIDS funding

A coalition of hundreds of AIDS activists, patients, medical care providers and concerned citizens of all backgrounds are expected to gather tomorrow, Wednesday, March 17th at 12:30 pm on the north side of the South Carolina State House for a rally to reinstate all $5.9 million in HIV/AIDS funding.

17 Mar 2010

Health reform could boost number of young adults buying insurance

The Wall Street Journal: "Although insurers generally oppose the Democrats' health-care bill, an overhaul would give the industry a chance to boost its diminishing rolls with an influx of young customers who tend to be healthy and profitable to cover. The legislation, which Congress will vote on soon, is designed to get millions of young people to buy health insurance, using a mixture of subsidies to make coverage more affordable and penalties for people who remain uninsured."

17 Mar 2010

Democrats continue tallying health bill support; Republicans criticize 'deem and pass' rule

Politico: "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that Democrats don't yet have the votes to pass a bill this week and that they're still talking with every single member of the caucus. He also told reporters during his half-hour weekly news conference that he hopes to have language for a reconciliation bill finalized later in the day and defended the possible use of the rules to deem the Senate bill passed without forcing members to actually take the uncomfortable vote to support it."

17 Mar 2010

Obama makes a final overhaul pitch in Ohio

With a possible deciding vote on health care overhaul legislation nearing, President Obama traveled Monday to Ohio to make a last-minute plea for political "courage" to pass the legislation, The Washington Post reports. "Making an impassioned pitch in a part of the country where unemployment runs high and insurance coverage is uncertain, Obama said in a speech at a senior center here, 'I don't know about the politics, but I know what's the right thing to do'" (Slevin and Branigin, 3/15).

17 Mar 2010

Democrats making final push for health reform votes

The Associated Press: As "Democratic leaders make a desperate scramble for votes," President Obama "is wooing freshman Democrats in the Oval Office, holding at least two one-on-one sessions in the past few days that never appeared on his official schedule, according to aides to two lawmakers invited, Reps. Scott Murphy, D-N.Y., and Suzanne Kosmas, D-Fla.," who both voted no on a House health reform measure last year.

17 Mar 2010

Novel health programs try to help uninsured

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, working in collaboration with USA Today, writes about an approach known as "three share" which helps expand health coverage by spreading health insurance premium costs among the community, the employer and the worker.

17 Mar 2010

Study: Jump in number of California's uninsured

"The state's uninsured population jumped to 8.2 million in 2009, up from 6.4 million in 2007, marking the highest number over the last decade, investigators from UCLA's Center for Health Policy Research said," the Los Angeles Times reports.

17 Mar 2010

HCSC offers CareProfile tool to assist physicians, healthcare facilities identify health risks

Health Care Service Corporation is offering physicians and healthcare facilities access to a new tool that will assist them in identifying health risks for 9 million patients across the country. The CareProfile® is an electronic health record (EHR) created with the collaborative input of MEDecision, Availity and HCSC’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

16 Mar 2010

HealthyKidsMN.org Web site launched

The Minnesota Coalition for Kids Health Coverage today announced the launch of HealthyKidsMN.org, a statewide resource that aims to connect families with uninsured children to non-profit agencies that can assist them with eligibility requirements and enrollment into state-sponsored health care coverage options.

16 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 16, 2010

In today's headlines, ongoing efforts by President Obama and Democratic leaders to press and persuade wavering votes in support of health reform take center stage.

16 Mar 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

SBCA urges Congressional representatives to consider detrimental impact of health care reform bill

Piecemeal COBRA health insurance subsidy extensions puzzle laid-off workers

Health overhaul supporters, critics duel on airwaves

Idaho Health Freedom Act does nothing to tackle state's health care crisis, says AARP

Aetna, SBUH announce new agreement for hospital’s participation in Aetna network

Cut looms for Medicare payments to doctors

Renhuang Pharmaceuticals' net income for first-quarter of 2010 increases 17.8%

First Edition: March 17, 2010

EBRI analysis shows increasing number of older Americans are staying in work force

Congress should exempt Americans from excise tax on health care plans, says Teamsters President

AIDS activists set to rally at South Carolina State House to reinstate all $5.9M in HIV/AIDS funding

Health reform could boost number of young adults buying insurance

Democrats continue tallying health bill support; Republicans criticize 'deem and pass' rule

Obama makes a final overhaul pitch in Ohio

Democrats making final push for health reform votes

Novel health programs try to help uninsured

Study: Jump in number of California's uninsured

HCSC offers CareProfile tool to assist physicians, healthcare facilities identify health risks

HealthyKidsMN.org Web site launched

First Edition: March 16, 2010

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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