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State roundup: Fla. seeks MLR waiver; hospitals struggle

Alabama's Robert Bentley is one of two current governors to have "doctor" on his résumé. In an interview with Stateline last week, Bentley elaborated on his health care agenda. His plan emphasizes individual health savings accounts, which he says will lower costs by letting patients decide how they want to spend their health care dollars. He wants to give state tax breaks to businesses that purchase insurance for their employees and state-based incentives to attract more insurance carriers.

16 Mar 2011

Roundup: Poll finds satisfaction with Mass. health coverage; Kan. Gov. seeks Medicaid block grant

The first survey of consumers who receive subsidized health insurance through the state's Health Connector shows most give it high marks, according to results released yesterday by the Connector Authority. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed said they were pleased with the range of services covered and the quality of care available, and 82 percent had similar feelings about their choice of doctors.

11 Mar 2011

CIC to host Scientific Colloquium on tumor immunotherapy in National Harbor, MD

The Cancer Immunotherapy Consortium, a program of the nonprofit Cancer Research Institute, will host its 2011 Scientific Colloquium March 17-19, 2011, at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.

11 Mar 2011

Roundup: Legislatures pressured on health cuts, malpractice laws; Mass. Blue Cross board salaries; pension costs

This week, the Assembly and Senate will debate the final package of budget reductions. Among the $6 billion in health-related cuts is the elimination of the Maddy Fund, a $55 million attempt to reimburse emergency departments for indigent care.

9 Mar 2011

State roundup: Mass. effort to manage care for chronically ill; promoting organ donations

For a glimpse of the future of Massachusetts health care as Gov. Deval Patrick envisions it, consider Phyllis Minsky. At 82, Phyllis is complex. Medically, that is. ... Older patients with multiple chronic diseases are the biggest consumers of health care; some 15 percent of Medicare patients make up over 75 percent of health care spending.

8 Mar 2011

State roundup: N.Y. malpractice fight; costly prisoners in Calif.; abortion battles

Last week, hospital leaders stood alongside Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at the Capitol, pledging their support for billions in cuts proposed by his Medicaid redesign team.

4 Mar 2011

Psychologists develop cognitive-bias modification to help alcoholics stay sober

Alcoholism is a tough addiction to kick. Eventually, most people return to drinking. But some Dutch and German psychological scientists have tested a short-term regime that promises to help alcoholics stay sober. Their study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association of Psychological Science.

2 Mar 2011

State News: N.Y. Medicaid's compromise; Va. ups health spending; Medi-Cal ruling

One of the most familiar criticisms of the new national health care law is that it doesn't do much to contain costs. ... Cost controls are supposed to come later. "Later" has arrived now for Massachusetts' statewide plan, enacted in 2006 and similar in many ways to the federal one. Some 98 percent of all adults and nearly 100 percent of all children are covered, but costs have spiraled out of control.

28 Feb 2011

Targets against MRSA in microgravity

NASA astronauts onboard Space Shuttle Discovery's final mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will carry out the eleventh scientific payload for Astrogenetix, a commercial biotech company based out of Austin, Texas. The research on STS-133 will focus on changes that occur to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in microgravity, which can be targeted to create new vaccines and therapeutics.

25 Feb 2011

State roundup: Budget cuts to affect health care for state workers, disabled, elderly

A year after making a name for himself by slashing spending, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie presented a $29.4 billion budget on Tuesday that makes nips and tucks to programs—notably Medicaid—but puts much of the state in a holding pattern.

24 Feb 2011

State roundup: Mass. cost control plan advances; Texas Senate's abortion bill vote; Miami's public hospital crisis

The governor of Massachusetts proposed changes on Thursday to the state's comprehensive healthcare program, one often seen as a prototype for national reforms, to attempt to bring rising costs under control. The plan would give the U.S. state more authority to scrutinize fees paid to hospitals and doctors, reform the current standard by which healthcare providers are compensated and enact medical malpractice reform.

19 Feb 2011

State roundup: Gov't workers face benefit changes; worry over social service cuts

For many states, 2011 is the most trying budget year of a fiscal crisis now in its fourth year. Revenues generally remain lower than what they used to be; widespread joblessness is putting unprecedented strains on safety-net programs like Medicaid; and all this is happening as federal stimulus money runs out.

18 Feb 2011

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Among the strategies being used are efforts to change rules, revise definitions, tighten anti-fraud efforts and cut services.

17 Feb 2011

Essential benefits, child-only policies among health overhaul issues gaining attention

News outlets report on developments related to the implementation of these health law provisions.

9 Feb 2011

Helix Medical to invest over $4M for new manufacturing facility in Costa Rica

Helix Medical, LLC, a global manufacturer for the medical device and healthcare industries, will soon begin construction on a new medical manufacturing facility in Costa Rica. Helix Medical signed a leasing agreement in The Coyol Free Trade Zone and Business Park in Alajuela, Costa Rica, just outside of San Jose. The company will invest more than $4M in the new plant that will soon employ more than 100 people.

7 Feb 2011

Roundup: N.Y., Texas, Calif. Medicaid plans spark protests; Conn. nursing homes; Fla. Medical Board

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's effort to strip lawmakers of power over the state's Medicaid program is facing a barrage of criticism in both houses and parties. Lawmakers on Wednesday described the governor's Medicaid proposal as an intrusion on their powers and said they would block it from becoming law.

4 Feb 2011

Single DNA variation linked to decreased risk of coronary disease in African-Americans

A team of scientists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere has discovered that a single alteration in the genetic code of about a fourth of African-Americans helps protect them from coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in Americans of all races.

28 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif. wrestles with prison health costs; Texas legislator challenges GOP thinking; Mass. Gov. seeks remedy for municipal workers' health expenses

Amid California's budget crisis, the receiver put in charge of the prison health system by a federal judge has spent $82 million on blueprints for medical facilities that have been largely scrapped, more than $50,000 a month on an architectural consultant and millions hiring medical professionals — more per inmate than in many other states.

27 Jan 2011

Major changes at Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology

The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology-the monthly, peer-reviewed flagship publication of the Society of Interventional Radiology-announced several major changes for 2011-all directed at highlighting the global impact of this minimally invasive medical specialty and its lead journal.

27 Jan 2011

Research shows how pathogenic bacteria hide inside host cells

A new study into Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium which is responsible for severe chronic infections worldwide, reveals how bacteria have developed a strategy of hiding within host cells to escape the immune system as well as many antibacterial treatments. The research, published by EMBO Molecular Medicine, demonstrates how ‘phenotype switching’ enables bacteria to adapt to their environmental conditions, lie dormant inside host cells and become a reservoir for relapsing infections.

26 Jan 2011

Becker News and Research

State roundup: Fla. seeks MLR waiver; hospitals struggle

Roundup: Poll finds satisfaction with Mass. health coverage; Kan. Gov. seeks Medicaid block grant

CIC to host Scientific Colloquium on tumor immunotherapy in National Harbor, MD

Roundup: Legislatures pressured on health cuts, malpractice laws; Mass. Blue Cross board salaries; pension costs

State roundup: Mass. effort to manage care for chronically ill; promoting organ donations

State roundup: N.Y. malpractice fight; costly prisoners in Calif.; abortion battles

Psychologists develop cognitive-bias modification to help alcoholics stay sober

State News: N.Y. Medicaid's compromise; Va. ups health spending; Medi-Cal ruling

Targets against MRSA in microgravity

State roundup: Budget cuts to affect health care for state workers, disabled, elderly

State roundup: Mass. cost control plan advances; Texas Senate's abortion bill vote; Miami's public hospital crisis

State roundup: Gov't workers face benefit changes; worry over social service cuts

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Essential benefits, child-only policies among health overhaul issues gaining attention

Helix Medical to invest over $4M for new manufacturing facility in Costa Rica

Roundup: N.Y., Texas, Calif. Medicaid plans spark protests; Conn. nursing homes; Fla. Medical Board

Single DNA variation linked to decreased risk of coronary disease in African-Americans

Roundup: Calif. wrestles with prison health costs; Texas legislator challenges GOP thinking; Mass. Gov. seeks remedy for municipal workers' health expenses

Major changes at Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology

Research shows how pathogenic bacteria hide inside host cells

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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