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Wellness provisions advance in reform legislation

Employers could incentivize wellness if provisions passed by the Senate finance and health committees become law. The Washington Post reports: "By more than doubling the maximum penalties that companies can apply to employees who flunk medical evaluations, the legislation could put workers under intense financial pressure to lose weight, stop smoking or even lower their cholesterol."

19 Oct 2009

Leading Blue Dog suggests extending Medicare to uninsured

Leading Blue Dogs wrestle over options to increase coverage for the uninsured and extend Medicare. The Hill reports that Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., "who had emerged as a leader among centrist Blue Dog Democrats opposing the public health insurance option, has suggested something his colleagues consider even more drastic - opening Medicare to those under 65 without insurance. He made the suggestion in meetings with House Democratic leaders and brought the idea to the closed-door House Democratic Caucus meeting Thursday."

19 Oct 2009

Leahy's funds help physicians and independent pharmacies to adopt health information technology

More Vermont physicians will be using electronic prescribing and other health information technology to improve patient care, under a $1 million federal grant secured by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy.

19 Oct 2009

NCCN program on Discovery Health Channel profiles patients battling lung cancer

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. Although tobacco use is the strongest known risk factor for lung cancer, many people who never smoked also develop the disease.

19 Oct 2009

Lobbying efforts heat up on health care

All sorts of special interest groups are stepping up lobbying efforts and spending millions to shape health legislation.

19 Oct 2009

Clemson University receives a $9.3M NIH grant to establish a tissue regeneration center

Clemson University has received a $9.3 million, five-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to establish a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) for Tissue Regeneration. Faculty from the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina also will collaborate, providing expertise in medicine and developmental biology.

19 Oct 2009

Gloomy health care statistics in Texas top state news

New outlets report on a variety of health issues at the state level including gloomy health statistics and the rising cost of premiums for sick workers in Texas, a Medicaid program that could provide a model for national health care reform in North Carolina and Medicaid cuts in Michigan.

19 Oct 2009

Health debate in Congress could last well into December

Roll Call reports that after the Senate canceled the Columbus Day recess in October, it "will not be in session Nov. 11-13 and will take off the entire week of Thanksgiving, even though the chamber could be in session until Christmas to deal with health care reform.

19 Oct 2009

Insurer's "triple-barreled assault" triggers counter attacks

A "triple-barreled" insurance industry attack on the Senate Finance Committee's health legislation - including separate reports sponsored by America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, as well as television advertisements in six states - is "a reminder that the insurance industry has enormous financial stakes in a health care overhaul and will not sit by while its interests are threatened," the New York Times reports (Seelye, 10/14).

19 Oct 2009

Concierge medicine for the masses could succeed where insurance-based health care fails

Concierge medicine for the masses -- in which patients pay an annual fee or retainer directly to their physicians -- could succeed where insurance-based health care fails, former "New York Times" business reporter Lawrence Fisher argues in the latest "Milken Institute Review."

19 Oct 2009

Power coalesces among a few Senate players, not all elected

Some key personalities in the Senate and White House are gaining influence over the health care debate. One obvious group of negotiators are those who shaped the committee bills and the leader of the Democratic majority, who will negotiate a final version of the Senate bill, Roll Call reports.

19 Oct 2009

Controversy, lobbying surround Reid's Medicare payment 'fix' plan

Some news outlets are looking ahead to a vote expected next week "fixing" a planned cut in Medicare payments to physicians.

19 Oct 2009

Cultural frameworks and institutional practices for quality health care

As health care moves to the forefront of the national discourse, new research in the social sciences argues that the health of the population and the success or failure of many public health initiatives hinges as much on cultural and social factors as it does on doctors, facilities, or drugs.

19 Oct 2009

Aurora Visiting Nurse Association to suspend its seasonal flu vaccination clinics

Delays in shipments from vaccine manufacturers will force the Aurora Visiting Nurse Association of Wisconsin to suspend its seasonal flu vaccination clinics throughout eastern Wisconsin.

19 Oct 2009

Democratic lawmakers seek momentum, Republican votes as two versions of reform bills are combined

Democrats are seeking momentum and votes -- from both Democrats and Republicans -- as leaders work to combine the two versions of reform approved by Senate committees.

19 Oct 2009

Recent releases in global health

In light of a recent Guttmacher Institute report that indicated 70,000 women in developing countries die each year from unsafe abortion, a Lancet editorial outlines ways to reduce deaths, and says, "The current political climate is favourable, because the global-gag rule (the U.S. Government's policy on banning funding of foreign organisations linked to any type of abortion practice) is out of favour" (10/17).

19 Oct 2009

Also in global health news: Street pharmacies; China health care; Hospital safety; African cardinals; Cells phones for health

Agence France-Presse examines Adjegounle, the "drugs" district in Benin. Although some are able to support their families by selling drugs at "street pharmacies," a minimum of "250 deaths and 340 cases of chronic illnesses linked to such drugs were recorded between April 2007 and June 2008," according to a medical thesis, the news service writes.

19 Oct 2009

House panel sets stage for reconciliation maneuver

A key House panel approved a measure Thursday setting the stage for Senate Democrats to bypass likely Republican attempts to block health reform legislation, CBS News reports.

19 Oct 2009

Center remains elusive despite Snowe's support

The political center remains elusive in the health care debate, despite Democrats' glee after one version of the bill received a GOP vote, Politico reports. "If Democratic leadership hoped Republican Olympia Snowe's decision to cross party lines Tuesday would inspire her fellow middle-of-the-roaders, they were mistaken."

19 Oct 2009

Internet use among older Americans can reduce U.S. healthcare costs

Spending time online reduces depression by 20 percent for senior citizens, the Phoenix Center reports in a new Policy Paper released today. In addition to the quality of life benefits, the Policy Paper said reducing the incidence of depression by widespread Internet use among older Americans could trim the nation's health care bill.

19 Oct 2009