Health Care News and Research

RSS

Senate health bill could come this week, 'compromise' public option now seems likely

Senate Democrats will need to move quickly if they want to pass some version of health overhaul legislation by the end of the year.

27 Oct 2009

Physicians launch SUCCEED, program for breast cancer survivors

Breast cancer. A diagnosis of those two words elicits an array of emotions ranging from fear and anger, to confusion and uncertainty. To cope, women often look to family, friends and survivors for support, forming a network of people to help guide them through their diagnosis and treatment. As treatment begins, the plan seems clear.

27 Oct 2009

Reid to announce his support for public plan

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to announce at a 3:15 press conference today his support for inclusion of a public option in health care reform legislation.

27 Oct 2009

Romer sees health care reform as critical to ease deficit

Top White House advisor Christina Romer said that health reform would help to ease the deficit at a speech today. Reuters reports: "While some critics say Democrats' efforts to regulate the insurance sector should wait until the deficit is under control, they should instead see it 'as the most significant act we could take to tackle the deficit,' Romer said in speech to the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based think-tank" (Heavey, 10/26).

27 Oct 2009

President Obama declares H1N1 national emergency

President Barack Obama declared the H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak a national emergency, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The declaration, which Mr. Obama signed Friday, authorizes the administration to waive or modify certain federal requirements involving Medicare, Medicaid and health-privacy rules to speed treatment," the newspaper writes (McKay/Simpson/Whalen, 10/26).

26 Oct 2009

Congressional hearing addresses International Violence Against Women Act

VOA News reports on the recent appeals by human rights advocates for the U.S. Congress to pass the International Violence Against Women Act, a bill that would fund "a five-year program to reduce violence in countries where the problem is most serious." Then Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) first introduced the legislation in 2007.

26 Oct 2009

Report finds hundreds of billions of dollars of waste in U.S. healthcare system

The U.S. health care system wastes between $505 billion and $850 billion every year, according to a new report from Thomson Reuters, the parent company of the Reuters news service.

26 Oct 2009

Health care legislation benefits insurers, but annual profits are not so hot

The health insurance industry is likely to benefit from a health care overhaul, but industry profits are not as high as many seem to believe.

26 Oct 2009

House Democratic leaders huddle on public insurance option

House Democratic leaders faced an impasse late last week as it became clear that a liberal version of the public option did not have enough support in the caucus.

26 Oct 2009

Health care bills could leave millions uninsured

The cost of health insurance could hinder President Obama's goal of achieving universal coverage.

26 Oct 2009

A selection of today's opinions and editorials

Aging in Place" is the popular rallying cry in the senior community. But living at home is not so easy, either for the frail elderly or younger people with disabilities. Interestingly enough, the reasons may have more to do with social issues than medical concerns (Howard Gleckman, 10/26).

26 Oct 2009

Initiative from BankAtlantic and Tenet South Florida Hospitals to meet healthcare needs of local community

BankAtlantic, Florida’s Most Convenient Bank, announced today that it has partnered with Tenet South Florida Hospitals to provide outreach events designed to improve the health of the local community. The partnership involves branches and hospitals from Miami-Dade to Martin County, and includes events such as screenings and lectures.

26 Oct 2009

Lobbying to 'tweak' health reform bills heats up

"In Washington, there are two ways to wage legislative war: fight to kill and fight to tweak," the Washington Post reports. "With a growing sense that Democrats may have the votes to pass health-care reform, many participants are now attempting to shape the components of landmark legislation rather than to defeat it.

26 Oct 2009

In the House, Democrats opposed to abortion threaten reform bill

Some House Democrats opposed to abortion are threatening to thwart health care reform legislation if it does not clearly steer away from funding abortions. Congress Daily reports: "With Republicans likely to try to use the emotional issue to draw support and money for 2010 contests, Democrats tried to make the bill 'abortion neutral' -- maintaining existing federal policy without further restricting abortion rights.

26 Oct 2009

Moderates spotlighted in health debate, stir tension with liberal colleagues

Roll Call reports that the two longtime Connecticut Senators, Democrat Chris Dodd and Independent Joe Lieberman, are at "near-opposite ends of a health care debate that amounts to Congress' biggest undertaking in a generation." The relationship between to the two lawmakers was strained in 2008, when Dodd ran for president, but Lieberman supported Republican John McCain. In 2006, Lieberman left the Democratic Party after losing a primary race and Dodd endorsed his challenger.

26 Oct 2009

Integrated care's drawback: It could lead to health monopolies

President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders have repeatedly praised integrated health care for its ability to improve safety and quality while reducing costs, citing examples such as the Mayo Clinic. But health economists worry that such consolidation may actually increase costs and could lead to monopolies.

26 Oct 2009

Health IT opportunities abound, some studies question value

"The rest of the world has embraced e-mail, online forms and iPhone apps, but health care still communicates in the centuries-old technology of paper," McClatchy/Tribune News reports. Now, technology companies are recognizing a business opportunity in that shortcoming. Moving to electronic medical records can be expensive - Kaiser Permanente spent $4 billion switching from paper to digital - meaning money in the bank for well-poised vendors.

26 Oct 2009

Axolotl launches Elysium Image Exchange

Axolotl Corp., the nationwide leader in health information exchange (HIE) solutions and services, today announced the immediate availability of Elysium Image Exchange, a state-of-the-art technology integrated with Axolotl’s Elysium® Exchange suite of products. Powered by Axolotl’s partner eHealth Global Technologies, Inc. (eHGT), Elysium Image Exchange enables the electronic sharing of diagnostic quality medical images between health care providers participating in an HIE.

26 Oct 2009

Winners of the EDCTP Award For Outstanding African Scientist

The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) has given its Awards for Outstanding African Scientist to Dr Alexis Nzila and Dr Dominique Pepper.

26 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 26, 2009

Several Democratic senators voiced optimism on Sunday that Congress would pass a health care bill containing at least the germ of a government-run insurance program. Their expectations were grudgingly seconded by Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008 (The New York Times).

26 Oct 2009