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Text messaging technology has important implications for public health initiatives, finds study

A recent study conducted by the Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare, found that text messaging is an innovative, low-cost and effective way to improve the daily use of sunscreen, and this technology may have important implications for larger-scale public health initiatives.

4 Dec 2009

Senate votes to reject Medicare cuts; Reid discusses next anticipated amendments

The Associated Press reported: "Senators voted 58-42 to reject an amendment by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona that would have stripped more than $400 billion in Medicare cuts from the health care bill. The measure would have sent the bill back to the Senate Finance Committee for a redo" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/3).

4 Dec 2009

Senate approves women's screening amendment in first health bill vote

The Associated Press: The Senate voted 61-39 Thursday "to safeguard coverage of mammograms and preventive screening tests for women under any health care overhaul legislation." The revision, which was advanced by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, "would allow the Health and Human Services secretary to require insurers to cover preventive health screenings free of charge" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/3).

3 Dec 2009

Senators prepare to debate abortion treatment in Senate bill

The Associated Press: "Senators debating health care legislation are headed for a clash over abortion, the issue that threatened to derail the bill in the House. Anticipating the showdown, hundreds of abortion rights supporters gathered on Capitol Hill Wednesday to call on senators to keep new abortion restrictions out of the health care bill.

3 Dec 2009

Will 'Cadillac tax' push employers to trim health insurance costs

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby examines the potential reach of the Cadillac tax.

3 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Defenders of the status quo in health care would happily let the drive for reform bog down amid a debate over President Obama's new war strategy. Democrats can't let this happen (12/3).

3 Dec 2009

Medicare cuts in Senate health bill get support from seniors' groups

Bloomberg: Senate Democratic leaders, who are battling Republican attempts to "block Medicare spending cuts, face an even bigger headache: overcoming concern among members of their own party about the program's future funding."

3 Dec 2009

KHN column: Debating cost control

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, James Capretta explores perspectives related to cost control in health reform.

3 Dec 2009

GOP playbook highlights Senate procedural tactics

A memo circulated by Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., spells out the arsenal of parliamentary maneuvers available to Republicans as they seek to stall the Senate's health debate, The New York Times reports on its Prescriptions blog. Gregg has a reputation as one of the GOP's "foremost experts on legislative war games."

3 Dec 2009

Reid still seeks common ground on public option

"The public option has gone through several stages of evolution this year, but it could soon face extinction unless one of the new versions picks up political momentum," The Hill reports.

3 Dec 2009

States weigh health cuts; Mass. considers student health 'revision'

News outlets report on budget squeezes in Oklahoma and Florida and a proposed overhaul of student health insurance in Massachusetts.

3 Dec 2009

Avisio forms new subsidiary to market its virus detecting nano sensory technology

Avisio, Inc. announced today that it has formed a majority-owned subsidiary to market and commercialize Instant Detect, the company's new nano sensory technology that instantly detects biological viruses. The new company, Diagnostic Nano Applications (DNA), will be headquartered in Riverside, California.

3 Dec 2009

CBO report shows hundreds of millions spent on direct marketing of drugs to consumers

The Congressional Budget Office released an "interesting report" on on how "pharmaceutical companies market prescription drugs, a subject that has received some scrutiny during the debate on ways to control health care spending," The New York Times reports.

3 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 3, 2009

Today's headlines indicate that Senate leaders may have broken their stalemate regarding the pending, Democratic-backed health reform legislation -- clearing the way today for votes on amendments.

3 Dec 2009

Majority of Canadians are concerned about access to high-quality primary care

A new poll of Canadians shows that public concern over the country's dire shortage of family doctors continues to run high.

3 Dec 2009

"Soft individual mandate" in the healthcare bills raises concern

Lockton Benefit Group is providing employers with a comprehensive, practical view on proposed health reform legislation working through Congress.

3 Dec 2009

Molina Healthcare of Utah ranked among the top fifty of “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans”

Molina Healthcare of Utah, a subsidiary of Molina Healthcare, Inc., today announced that U.S. News and World Report has ranked it among the top fifty of “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans” in the magazine’s annual report measuring the quality and performance of the nation’s Medicaid health plans.

3 Dec 2009

Health-care reform bills continue to benefit illegal aliens

Assurances that the two health-care reform bills would not benefit illegal aliens are not accurate. A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies examines in detail the immigration-related provisions of both the House-passed HR 3962 and the bill now being debated in the Senate, HR 3590. The report concludes that the bills, in their current form, would indeed give illegal aliens access to taxpayer-funded health care well beyond emergency medical treatment.

3 Dec 2009

Bishop-endorsed healthcare system can undermine medical treatments and preventative measures

If the Catholic bishops have their way, many medical treatments and preventative measures we take for granted may be under threat. The pressure that the US bishops have brought to bear on the debate over healthcare reform has been widely reported.

3 Dec 2009

Uninsured residents of Kansas City can now register for free health clinic

Uninsured residents of the Kansas City area who want to attend a free health clinic at Bartle Hall on Dec. 9-10 should call 877-249-5030 toll-free as soon as possible to schedule appointments.

3 Dec 2009