Veterans Affairs News and Research

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First Edition: July 25, 2014

Today's headlines include reports that the Obama administration is moving ahead in preparations for the health law's employer mandate.

25 Jul 2014

Senate could vote on VA nominee's confirmation before the August break

Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell named Leslie Dach, a former Wal-Mart vice president, to be a senior adviser as part of Burwell's effort to head off difficulties in the upcoming health law enrollment period.

25 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 24, 2014

Today's headlines include more analysis of this week's conflicting appeals courts' decisions regarding a key part of the health law.

24 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 23, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage and analysis of yesterday's conflicting legal decisions regarding the health law.

23 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 22, 2014

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Susan Jaffe writes: "Medicare officials have allowed patients at dozens of hospitals participating in pilot projects across the country to be exempted from the controversial requirement that limits nursing home coverage to seniors admitted to a hospital for at least three days.

22 Jul 2014

Viewpoints: Problems in training docs; impact of HHS' territory decision; what Halbig decision might mean

ast week's burst of world disorder was ideal for a news dump, and the White House didn't disappoint: On no legal basis, all 4.5 million residents of the five U.S. territories were quietly released from ObamaCare.

22 Jul 2014

New strategies to help overcome hairstyle-related barriers to physical activity

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately four out of five black women are overweight or obese and 36 percent meet physical activity objectives as determined by the CDC.

22 Jul 2014

Psychology residency training program receives federal funding for 5th consecutive grant cycle

A psychology residency training program that's a joint effort of the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University and the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center has received federal funding for the fifth consecutive grant cycle.

21 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 18, 2014

Today's headlines include reports from the marketplace, including UnitedHealthcare's move toward the health law's insurance marketplaces and the latest on the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into insider trading related to a health policy change.

18 Jul 2014

Study illustrates how domino effect of one genetic error can contribute to hydrocephalus

The mysterious condition once known as "water on the brain" became just a bit less murky this week thanks to a global research group led in part by a Case Western Reserve researcher.

18 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 17, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how Capitol Hill politics are impacting health care policy. Houston Public Media's Carrie Feibel, working in partnership with Kaiser Health News and NPR, reports: "Primary care doctors have reported problems making referrals for patients who have purchased some of the cheaper plans from the federal insurance marketplace.

17 Jul 2014

New analysis provides information about which medications best after different types of surgery

Current guidelines do not distinguish between aspirin and more potent blood thinners for protecting against blood clots in patients who undergo major orthopedic operations, leaving the decision up to individual clinicians.

17 Jul 2014

Study finds no sign that health law has created crush of Medical demand

The industry study finds that visits to doctors are down slightly over 2013. Another study looks at how nurses could do more in managing chronic illnesses to relieve stress on doctors.

17 Jul 2014

Worse sleep quality predicts lower physical activity in people with PTSD

A new study shows that worse sleep quality predicts lower physical activity in people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

17 Jul 2014

Personal rejection sensitivity linked with more severe BDD and depressive symptoms

In a recent study, researchers at Rhode Island Hospital found that fear of being rejected because of one's appearance, as well as rejection sensitivity to general interpersonal situations, were significantly elevated in individuals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

16 Jul 2014

VA makes disability payments without evidence to cut backlog

The Department of Veterans Affairs is making disability payments to thousands of veterans without adequate medical evidence they deserve the benefits as the agency attempts to cut a huge backlog of claims, a department watchdog says.

16 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 15, 2014

Today's headlines include news about how some states are planning to address their backlogs of new Medicaid enrollees.

15 Jul 2014

VA struggles with sharp rise in disability claims

Also in the news, efforts continue to unravel the scandals related to delayed care at veterans' facilities.

15 Jul 2014

Lawmakers seek lower price for bill on vets’ care

Members of Congress are scrambling to lower the cost of a bill to fix veterans' health care amid a growing uproar over long waits for appointments, meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that congressional inaction is threatening a program for brain-damaged vets.

15 Jul 2014

Acute glaucoma is largely an inflammatory disease, say researchers

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Sun Yat-sen University in China have shown that acute glaucoma in mice is largely an inflammatory disease and that high pressure in the eye causes vision loss by setting in motion an inflammatory response similar to that evoked by bacterial infections.

14 Jul 2014