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Ala. mental hospitals to close; La. hospital copes with budget cuts; D.C. gets mental health system

Alabama will shut down most of its mental health hospitals by the spring of 2013 in a sweeping plan to cut costs and change how the state's psychiatric patients receive treatment, state officials announced on Wednesday.

18 Feb 2012

Patient education program may help reduce kidney transplant-related disparities

Being educated about your health and your treatment options is a good thing. According to a new study, kidney failure patients who take part in an education program are more likely to get evaluated for a kidney transplant.

17 Feb 2012

Home health industry fights minimum wage rule

USA Today reports about the effort by home health care companies fighting an administration proposal on pay. Meanwhile in Connecticut, officials are considering changes in pay rules.

17 Feb 2012

Biochemists determine first crystal structure of an immunoproteasome

Like a shredder, the immunoproteasome cuts down proteins into peptides that are subsequently presented on the cellular surface. The immune system can distinguish between self and nonself peptides and selectively kills cells that due to a viral infection present non-self peptides at their surface. In autoimmune diseases this mechanism is deregulated and the immune system also eliminates uninfected cells by mistake.

16 Feb 2012

Hospital apologizes to Amelia Rivera who was denied kidney transplant

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has issued an apology to the parents of Amelia Rivera, a disabled three-year-old girl who, according to her parents, was initially denied a chance at a kidney transplant because she is “mentally retarded.”

15 Feb 2012

GAO finds big disparities in prices of some medical devices

News outlets examine a variety of health workplace issues, including a GAO report on medical device prices and efforts to get health workers vaccinated for the flu.

14 Feb 2012

WHI program improves depression-related work disruption

A work-focused, telephone counseling program for depressed employees not only improves depression but also leads to increased productivity and decreased costs, reports a study in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

14 Feb 2012

New report on state of health insurance in California

Hard hit by one of the worst recessions in nearly a century, hundreds of thousands of Californians lost insurance coverage across the state as employers shed jobs and the health plans that came with those jobs, according to a new report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

6 Feb 2012

Support from supervisors can help employees recover from somatic symptoms

A worker experiencing the stress of intense workdays might develop somatic symptoms, such as stomach ache or headache, which will eventually lead to taking leave of absence.

6 Feb 2012

Comprehensive program to help reduce health risks of narcotics drugs on injured workers

Accident Fund Holdings, Inc. recently created a comprehensive narcotics program to help reduce the health risks of these drugs on injured workers and ultimately provide a mechanism for them to get back to work sooner.

6 Feb 2012

Business Group urges flu shot requirements for hospital workers

The National Business Group On Health is advocating this position as a way to reduce flu risk for health care workers and patients.

6 Feb 2012

State developments: Florida hospitals dodge budget bullet

Spending cuts to health programs will be less than half as much as forecast in the Senate budget, that chamber's health-spending chief announced today. Now, the Senate Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations will have to cut only $390 million from current spending levels, rather than the more-draconian $850 million that had originally been assigned, said Sen. Joe Negron, chair of the panel.

6 Feb 2012

With clock ticking, negotiators seek ways to pay for payroll tax, 'doc fix'

Lawmakers have different ideas about financing the payroll tax break extension and the Medicare physician payment fix. One proposal getting a lot of attention is using war savings.

3 Feb 2012

New UNC clinic to address individuals with Angelman Syndrome

February 3, 2012 marks the grand opening of the UNC Comprehensive Angelman Syndrome Clinic at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD).

1 Feb 2012

GOP leaders predict quick action on payroll tax break extension, Medicare 'doc fix'

Top GOP lawmakers took to the airwaves Sunday and said they expect to reach a deal with Democrats before the current payroll tax break and temporary Medicare physician payment fix expire at the end of February.

31 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 30, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include a report that GOP leaders are pledging quick action on legislation to extend the payroll tax break and to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare physician payment.

30 Jan 2012

State roundup: Conn. home worker demand soars; Family planning providers dwindle in Texas; Florida legislation on health budgets, prices, abortion

Ensuring that there are enough direct care workers to meet the growing demand is one of the most significant challenges facing state officials as they try to dramatically expand the availability of home-based long-term care. ... Home care work is often sensitive, challenging and poorly compensated.

27 Jan 2012

In State of the Union speech, health law gets short shrift

President Barack Obama's State of the Union address was light on health policy references, but he did say he would not "go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny your coverage or charge women more than men." News outlets also reported on Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Republican response and looked forward to what Obama is doing today to spin his speech.

25 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 25, 2012

Kaiser Health News listened to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address with an ear out for health policy references. He made just one explicit mention of the 2010 health law, and KHN has a transcript of the few parts of his speech that mentioned health care issues.

25 Jan 2012

Positive economic outcomes of paid family leave for workers

With a growing need for family-friendly workplace policies, a new study commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, concludes that providing paid family leave to workers leads to positive economic outcomes for working families, businesses and the public.

20 Jan 2012