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Passage of comprehensive health care reform: PhRMA issues statement

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) issued the following statement today on passage of comprehensive health care reform and accompanying reconciliation legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives:

22 Mar 2010

A new chapter in the history of healthcare reform

The US house of Representatives has voted narrowly to pass a landmark reform that has been on the agenda for quite some time now. The bill passed by 219 votes to 212, with no Republican backing after strong debate. This bill will extend insurance coverage to 32 million more Americans, and marks the biggest change to the US healthcare system in decades.

22 Mar 2010

Pelosi urged Obama to not cut back on health care plan

The New York Times recounts the steps Democrats took to regroup on the health overhaul legislation after losing their filibuster proof majority in the Senate after Massachusetts voters elected Republican Scott Brown in January. According to the Times account, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi helped steer President Barack Obama away from a more modest approach on health care. '"We're in the majority,' Ms. Pelosi told the president. 'We'll never have a better majority in your presidency in numbers than we've got right now. We can make this work," the paper reported.

22 Mar 2010

Public health emergency declaration for North Dakota in response to floods affecting the state

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has declared a public health emergency for North Dakota in response to floods affecting the state. The action ensures beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program receive benefits during this emergency time period.

20 Mar 2010

Study: Older adults with chronic illness often struggle to manage several prescribed drugs at a time

People with chronic illness often struggle to manage several prescribed drugs at a time. It's overwhelming when the vials, bottles and inhalers bulge from your medicine cabinet and you're confused about which drug is which, or when to take what.

20 Mar 2010

Arizona eliminates CHIP; Schwarzenegger seeks to reform California prison health care system

The New York Times: "Arizona on Thursday became the first state to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program when Gov. Jan Brewer signed an austere budget that will leave nearly 47,000 low-income children without coverage." The state's budget woes are a stark depiction of "how the fiscal crisis afflicting state governments is cutting deeply into health care.

20 Mar 2010

Defrauding Medicare: Hamilton, N.J. hospital to pay $6.35M for settling allegations

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, a New Jersey-based hospital, has agreed to pay $6.35 million to settle allegations that the hospital defrauded Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. Two lawsuits filed against the Hamilton, N.J., facility alleged that the hospital fraudulently inflated its charges to Medicare patients to obtain larger reimbursements from the federal health care program.

20 Mar 2010

Latino Coalition opposes health care bill

Hispanic groups wrote a second letter to congressional leaders to raise their concerns about provisions in the current health care bill that negatively targets minority communities. They believe that the current legislation will have a disproportionately negative impact on low-income minority groups and will lead to Medicare cuts for Hispanic seniors, increase in taxes for Hispanic small businesses and reduced wages for Hispanic workers. Congress has failed to listen to their concerns.

20 Mar 2010

U.S to face potential outbreak of hyperinflation by 2015

The National Inflation Association - http://inflation.us - today issued a warning to all Americans of a potential outbreak of hyperinflation in the U.S. by year 2015 caused primarily by the healthcare bill and rising interest payments on our national debt.

20 Mar 2010

Interest groups weigh in on reform: AHIP opposes it; Unions offer support

Politico: With the clock ticking toward an important health reform vote, major interest groups "are drawing lines in the sand and warning lawmakers that their vote will leave a mark. The groups are blasting a final round of ads into targeted districts ... and, in some cases, are threatening to support — and, more important, fund — challengers if members of Congress vote the wrong way.

20 Mar 2010

Hospital News: Insurer negotiations, exemptions at risk, and Florida money trouble

Hospitals are pushing for higher reimbursement rates - in some cases, raises of more than 20 percent - and insurers are increasingly fighting back, The Wall Street Journal reports. "Hospitals argue that low Medicare rates and cuts to Medicaid mean that hospitals have to get money from elsewhere, and increasingly that is private insurers.

20 Mar 2010

Obama emphasizes historic nature of health care vote during final rally

The Washington Post: "Thousands of people rallied loudly for passage of health-care legislation in Northern Virginia Friday as President Obama tried one final time to demonstrate public support for the health-care bill that is moving toward a Sunday afternoon vote in Congress.

20 Mar 2010

For undecided lawmakers, health care bill is personal

Politico: The decision on how to vote on the health care overhaul affects members differently than nearly any other issue. "[N]o other single issue — civil rights, Medicare, even war in this age of professional armies — quite matches the personal side of health care's stubborn details. … Everybody gets sick; everybody dies.

20 Mar 2010

NMA supports health system reform

"The National Medical Association believes the passage of health care legislation this weekend will be one of the most important steps Congress can take in securing America's future," remarked Dr. Willarda V. Edwards, president of the National Medical Association. "The NMA is hopeful that Sunday's vote will bring relief to millions of Americans who wonder what will happen to them if they get sick," she continued.

20 Mar 2010

Obama, Dem leaders confident about health reform legislation

The Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones: "House Democratic leaders expressed confidence Friday that they would have enough votes to pass health-care legislation, picking up one new 'yes' vote and promising that they would resolve lingering concerns raised by undecided Democrats." A House vote is planned for Sunday.

20 Mar 2010

Details of Democratic tweaks to health bill

News reports scour the latest health overhaul bill for specific provisions and adjustments.

20 Mar 2010

CCAGW calls upon Congress to vote against healthcare bill

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste today called upon Congress to reject any attempts to alter the nation’s healthcare system using parliamentary gimmicks and urged members to vote against the bill.

20 Mar 2010

CBO numbers buoy Democrats eyeing Sunday health reform vote

Democrats unveiled a health overhaul reconciliation bill the Congressional Budget Office says will cost $940 billion but also cut the deficit by $138 billion over the next 10 years.

20 Mar 2010

AARP urges Congressmen to support health care bill and help deliver relief to Idahoans

Hundreds of thousands of Idahoans unable to afford health care or struggling to pay soaring health care costs are watching Congress and hoping for relief. With a final showdown looming on health insurance reform legislation in Washington, D.C., AARP announced this morning it will back the bill containing key reform provisions, improving health care for older Americans and their families.

20 Mar 2010

Research roundup: Insurance crisis tough on middle class; Hospitals' profit margins on private patients up

Private-Payer Profits Can Induce Negative Medicare Margins - "Hospitals' profit margins on privately insured patients have risen dramatically in recent years, while profit margins on Medicare patients have fallen," write the authors, who all work for MedPAC.

20 Mar 2010

Medicare News and Research

Passage of comprehensive health care reform: PhRMA issues statement

A new chapter in the history of healthcare reform

Pelosi urged Obama to not cut back on health care plan

Public health emergency declaration for North Dakota in response to floods affecting the state

Study: Older adults with chronic illness often struggle to manage several prescribed drugs at a time

Arizona eliminates CHIP; Schwarzenegger seeks to reform California prison health care system

Defrauding Medicare: Hamilton, N.J. hospital to pay $6.35M for settling allegations

Latino Coalition opposes health care bill

U.S to face potential outbreak of hyperinflation by 2015

Interest groups weigh in on reform: AHIP opposes it; Unions offer support

Hospital News: Insurer negotiations, exemptions at risk, and Florida money trouble

Obama emphasizes historic nature of health care vote during final rally

For undecided lawmakers, health care bill is personal

NMA supports health system reform

Obama, Dem leaders confident about health reform legislation

Details of Democratic tweaks to health bill

CCAGW calls upon Congress to vote against healthcare bill

CBO numbers buoy Democrats eyeing Sunday health reform vote

AARP urges Congressmen to support health care bill and help deliver relief to Idahoans

Research roundup: Insurance crisis tough on middle class; Hospitals' profit margins on private patients up

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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