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Proper diet and exercise reduce risk of type 2 diabetes

Intensive lifestyle changes aimed at modest weight loss reduced the rate of developing type 2 diabetes by 34 percent over 10 years in people at high risk for the disease.

29 Oct 2009

No scientific proof that patients with Alzheimer's disease benefit from drugs containing the agent memantine

There is no scientific proof that patients with moderate or severe Alzheimer's disease benefit from drugs containing the agent memantine. This is the conclusion in the final report that the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) published in September 2009.

29 Oct 2009

Statement regarding the need to eliminate waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid submitted

Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, on behalf of the American Association for Homecare's more than 4,000 member locations serving Medicare beneficiaries in every state in the nation, we appreciate the opportunity to submit this statement to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary regarding the need to eliminate waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid.

29 Oct 2009

Crescent Healthcare to implement its Medical Management Solutions at Providence's Los Angeles area hospitals

Crescent Healthcare has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Providence Health & Services, California to implement its Medical Management Solutions (MMS) at three of Providence's Los Angeles area hospitals.

29 Oct 2009

House Democrats prepare for Thursday release of health bill

The Associated Press: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is making plans to release on Thursday afternoon the House version of sweeping health reform legislation, depending on the outcome of a Wednesday afternoon meeting with House leaders.

28 Oct 2009

Fletcher-Flora Health Care Systems announces new enhancements in the FFlex ePortal Outreach solution

Fletcher-Flora Health Care Systems, Inc. announced today the availability of FFlex ePortal Outreach solution. FFlex ePortal is a comprehensive laboratory outreach solution for healthcare facilities, including hospitals, large or small, reference labs, physician offices, nursing homes, clinics or any other facility that requires secure remote access to patient lab data.

28 Oct 2009

Is an individual mandate constitutional? Legal scholars are divided

Some legal scholars are questioning the constitutionality of a proposed mandate that would require most Americans to carry health insurance or pay a tax penalty, The Washington Times reports. This would be the first time that Congress has "required citizens to purchase any good or service." The argument against the constitutionality of such a provision "strikes at a pivotal part of the health care plan's finances."

28 Oct 2009

Insurer stocks rise after Reid's 'opt-out' announcement

A day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proposed an 'opt-out' public option plan, health-care insurers' stocks climbed Tuesday," Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal reports.

28 Oct 2009

Lawmakers struggle with how age should influence insurance premiums

Age issues emerge in the health care reform debate as lawmakers struggle with how much young and old people should pay for insurance. Meanwhile, lawmakers and different groups try to woo seniors.

28 Oct 2009

Cost issues surround long term care insurance, nursing homes

As Congress considers a proposed long-term care insurance program as part of health overhaul plans, nursing homes costs are going up.

28 Oct 2009

Obama seeks health reform support from small businesses

Roll Call: "The White House is aggressively courting the small-business community, believing that some on GOP-friendly Main Street can be enlisted in the fight for health care reform and that assistance to mom-and-pop shops is vital to chipping away at the unemployment rate. ... White House officials were on the phone to the [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] and the GOP-leaning National Federation of Independent Business on Friday asking them to provide a group of small-business owners for Obama to talk with at the White House on Thursday."

28 Oct 2009

AHIP, Chamber of Commerce ramp up opposition to health reform

Insurers and the Chamber of Commerce are stepping up lobbying against a health care overhaul with new television ads.

28 Oct 2009

House leaders seek to unify Dems on public option, unveil bill

House Democratic leaders are planning to unveil their version of the health care overhaul that will include a more tempered public insurance plan in which the federal government would negotiate prices with doctors and hospitals, Roll Call reports.

28 Oct 2009

Centrist Democrats are cool to Reid's plan for public option

With his announcement regarding support for the public option, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plans to move health legislation to the Senate floor face big challenges.

28 Oct 2009

Cuomo announces new database to guide insurers' prices, unveil doctors fees

A new database operated by a New York nonprofit will help insurers determine their rates for out-of-network care and give consumers a heads-up on what to expect their policy to pay when they seek such care, the New York Times reports. The program, which will be operated by the new nonprofit FAIR Health with support from Syracuse University and other states universities, was announced Tuesday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose office investigated the insurance industry's existing out-of-network pricing system (Abelson, 10/27).

28 Oct 2009

Rove, Dean trade one-liners on health reform, Senators offer their take

Former Democratic Party head Howard Dean joined former Bush adviser Karl Rove for a debate on health care reform in Pennsylvania Tuesday night while other Senators are offering their take on the public option's role in a health care overhaul.

28 Oct 2009

Also in Global Health News: Germany HIV/AIDS grant; Sumatra water situation; India's unlicensed doctors; land ownership, food security

The Organisation for the Coordination of the Struggle Against Epidemics in Central Africa (OCEAC) on Tuesday announced that the German government has granted $34 million to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in central Africa, Agence France-Presse reports.

28 Oct 2009