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EHR Association to help hospitals install and use electronic health records

The HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association (EHR Association) responded with enthusiasm to the announcement on August 20 of the availability of grants totaling nearly $1.2 billion to help hospitals and health care providers successfully install and use electronic health records (EHRs) as part of the continued implementation of the healthcare IT provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

27 Aug 2009

Walgreens collaborates with Caterpillar to provide transparent prescription drug pricing for employers

Walgreens today announced an agreement with Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) that establishes a direct relationship for the purchase of prescription drugs using a transparent pricing model.

27 Aug 2009

Floundering health care campaign translates to slipping polls

Public anxiety about spending and a proposed public health insurance plan, routine distractions like Henry Lewis Gates Jr.'s arrest, and delays in rebutting Republican's attacks are triggering speculation that President Obama may be loosing his groove when it comes to his famous message discipline, the Boston Globe reports.

27 Aug 2009

eHealth releases updated data on the cost of individually-purchased health insurance plans

eHealth, Inc., parent company of eHealthInsurance, today released updated data on the cost of individually-purchased health insurance plans for individuals and families. The findings appear in The Cost of Individual and Family Health Insurance Plans 2009 Update, an internal evaluation of eHealth, Inc.'s data.

27 Aug 2009

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy -- health care champion -- dies

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy had a hand in nearly every piece of health care legislation that moved through Congress during his eight-term Senate tenure. He died Tuesday night of brain cancer at age 77.

27 Aug 2009

Analysis of a pending health reform bill reveals that more 1,800 caregivers in Michigan may lose their jobs

An American Health Care Association (AHCA) analysis of a pending U.S. House health reform bill, HR 3200, finds seniors in Michigan requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face funding cuts of $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. This equals the 10th highest state cut across the nation.

27 Aug 2009

Council for American Medical Innovation mourns the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy

The Council for American Medical Innovation joins with members of the health community in mourning the loss of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, one of America's foremost advocates for all health care causes, particularly the medically underserved. His work in advancing medical innovation has left an indelible mark on the innovation space and transformed America's ability to invest in cures for illnesses that affect patients around the world.

27 Aug 2009

US Department of Health funds a project to enhance the quality of care to women of color suffering from HIV/AIDS

Dr. S. Vincent Grasso, a member of the Stevens Healthcare Information Technology Management Advisory Board and Seminar Leader for the Stevens Healthcare Educational Partnership (SHEP), will act as technical lead, solution provider and systems integrator within a nation-wide initiative to enhance the quality of care to women of color suffering from HIV/AIDS. The US Department of Health and Human Services is the funding agency for the project, which will be implemented in urban centers across America.

27 Aug 2009

Kennedy leaves empty seat, successor to be chosen by special election

Even before he died, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., focused attention on how his Senate successor would be chosen. That issue again is landing in the news.

27 Aug 2009

Largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider mourns Senator Kennedy's death

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation’s largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider which now provides treatment and services for more than 100,000 individuals in 21 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, today mourned the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy (D, MA) who died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, MA.

27 Aug 2009

Seminar on epigenetics and applied positive psychology for health and longevity

Jennifer Mc Donell offers her audiences a unique opportunity to hear how she survived an airplane crash. Inspiring her audiences with her experience of overcoming one difficulty after another, Jennifer is in the San Francisco Bay area September/early October.

27 Aug 2009

Waxman seeks to save money on Medicare drugs

The New York Times: "Representative Henry A. Waxman is on a crusade to save Medicare billions of dollars — in a way that he says would end up helping the elderly."

27 Aug 2009

Illegal aliens to benefit from health care reform bill: Congressional Research Service

Tuesday, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the "research arm" for the United States Congress, issued a report validating an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), that illegal aliens would be able to receive benefits under the House health care reform bill, America's Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200).

27 Aug 2009

Health spending blamed for ballooning deficit projection

The White House's grim new budget projections, released Tuesday, show a decade-worth of deficits tallying $9.05 trillion, $2 trillion deeper than anticipated in February, the New York Times reports. Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, said "the key driver of our long-term deficits" is federal health spending, mainly on the ballooning Medicare and Medicaid programs, making health reform essential. "Over all, it underscores the dire fiscal situation that we inherited and the need for serious steps to put our nation back on a sustainable fiscal path," Orszag said, asserting that this White House was confronting a Bush administration legacy (Calmes, 8/25).

27 Aug 2009

Will Kennedy's death add momentum to the health care push?

News reports examine the speculation, which has already begun, regarding the impact of Sen. Edward Kennedy's passing might have on the current health reform debate.

27 Aug 2009

New website launched for comparing mortality risks by gender, age, cause of death and geographic region

A new Web site, www.DeathRiskRankings.com, developed by researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon University, allows users to query publicly available data from the United States and Europe, and compare mortality risks by gender, age, cause of death and geographic region. The Web site not only gives the risk of dying within the next year, but it also ranks the probable causes and allows for quick side-by-side comparison between groups.

26 Aug 2009

Asia will experience H1N1 vaccine shortage, WHO says

A spokesperson for the WHO said on Tuesday that Asia will not have enough H1N1 vaccines for swine flu when cold weather hits, Reuters reports.

26 Aug 2009

Stony Brook University Hospital and EPA sign historic green partnership

Stony Brook University Hospital in Stony Brook, N.Y. is not just the only university-based hospital on Long Island, it is the first hospital in the nation to pledge to reduce its environmental impact through a comprehensive agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

26 Aug 2009

Wednesday's round up of state health stories

State health news coverage includes political vandalism in Colorado, health-related bills in Maine, Medicaid cuts in Maryland and a dismissed medical malpractice lawsuit in Florida.

26 Aug 2009

Japanese health care: Lower costs and nearly no bankruptcy

The New York Times, in a series of ongoing stories about health care delivery in other countries, interviewed John Creighton Campbell, of the University of Michigan and visiting researcher at the Tokyo University Institute of Gerontology who has studied Japan's health care system.

26 Aug 2009