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Newspapers examine effect of economic downturn on prospects for candidates' health proposals

The current economic downturn and the recent enactment of a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street firms could have implications for the next president's health care proposal, as well as other plans, the Chicago Tribune reports.

28 Oct 2008

Direct link found between college students' health and academic achievement

Research from the United States has found that lack of sleep, excessive computer screen time and stress have a negative effect on college students' grades.

22 Oct 2008

Cumulative spending on Medicaid benefits projected to reach $4.9 trillion over 10 years

Under current law, spending on Medicaid is expected to substantially outpace the rate of growth in the U.S. economy over the next decade, according to a new annual report released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

19 Oct 2008

Health care questions we want to hear answered tonight

How does a $5000 tax credit help when the average family health care plan now costs more than $12,500/year, and how are working families expected to pay the difference?

15 Oct 2008

New advert questions entrusting health care reform to the same people who created the banking crisis

A new ad appearing in today's New York Times asks if "we will let conservatives do to health care what they did for banking?" The ad is the fifth in a seven-part campaign series sponsored by the Institute for America's Future encouraging Americans to demand a real debate focused on major crises facing the nation.

14 Oct 2008

Diabetics more likely to lose their vision

Experts in the United States have found that vision loss is more common in people with diabetes than those without the disease.

14 Oct 2008

Visual impairment more common in people with diabetes

Visual impairment appears to be more common in people with diabetes than in those without the disease, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

13 Oct 2008

More Arizona Hispanics uninsured in 2005 than whites, new census analysis finds

In 2005, 34.6% of Hispanics in Arizona were uninsured, compared with 12.7% of whites, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday, Cronkite News/Arizona Republic reports (Konopken, Cronkite News/Arizona Republic, 10/10).

13 Oct 2008

Voters pick Obama to tackle nation's health care problems

Health care - cost and coverage - has been a hot topic among presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 4 election.

13 Oct 2008

Pennsylvania Governor revises health insurance expansion proposal

In a letter to several state Senate Republicans on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) described two alternative funding mechanisms for a scaled-down version of his proposal to expand health coverage to more uninsured state residents, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

5 Oct 2008

Florida regulators try to determine specifics of new law that allows some adults to stay on parents' health policies up to age 30

A Florida state law allowing certain workers to keep dependents on their health insurance policies until age 30 was scheduled to take effect on Wednesday, but some of the specifics of the law still are being discussed, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

5 Oct 2008

Medicare stops paying for 10 reasonably preventable medical errors

Medicare starting Wednesday will no longer pay hospitals for additional care resulting from "reasonably preventable" errors, the New York Times reports.

5 Oct 2008

Newspapers examine efforts, reaction to easing ban on HIV-positive visitors to U.S.

Some HIV/AIDS advocates are "being cautious with their optimism" regarding new immigration rules for HIV-positive visitors as well as HHS efforts to remove HIV from the list of diseases barring entry into the U.S., the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Fulbright, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/2).

5 Oct 2008

Commonwealth Fund report examines health care proposals of major Presidential candidates

The health care proposal of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) is more likely to improve health care affordability, accessibility, efficiency and quality than the plan of Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), according to a report released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

5 Oct 2008

Vice Presidential debate includes references to health care

Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.) and Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Thursday during a debate at Washington University in St. Louis discussed health care and other proposals offered by Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Washington Post reports.

5 Oct 2008

States see rising enrollment in Medicaid as economy falters

With states confronting a weakening economy, enrollment in Medicaid began to rise last year with states expecting even larger increases for fiscal year 2009, according to a new 50-state survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU). With the increased enrollment, Medicaid spending is also rising more rapidly than in the recent past, raising the potential for program cutbacks as states confront the combined impact of more enrollees and fewer available resources.

29 Sep 2008

Office of personnel management estimates premiums for Federal employees will increase by 8% in 2009

The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday announced that federal employees in 2009 will have to pay on average about 8% more for their health insurance premiums, the Washington Post reports. The projected increase is significantly higher than the 2.9% increase in 2008 and the 2.3% increase in 2007.

29 Sep 2008

Protecting patient privacy the new fashioned way

Protecting patient privacy has been recognized as the duty of health-care providers for aHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Actbout as long as doctors have seen patients. Since 1996, that duty became a legal obligation when Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

25 Sep 2008

Massachusetts lawmakers pass legislation to attract more primary care physicians to state as wait times for appointments increase

The average wait time for an appointment with a primary care physician in Massachusetts this year increased to 36 days from 34 days in 2007, according to an annual study by the Massachusetts Medical Society, the AP/Boston Herald reports (AP/Boston Herald, 9/22).

24 Sep 2008

Obama releases new ad criticizing McCain on health insurance regulation

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) on Monday released an advertisement that criticized Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for his views on health care and an article in which he discusses regulation of the health insurance market, the Boston Globe's "Political Intelligence" reports (Rhee, "Political Intelligence," Boston Globe, 9/22).

24 Sep 2008

Health Insurance News and Research

Newspapers examine effect of economic downturn on prospects for candidates' health proposals

Direct link found between college students' health and academic achievement

Cumulative spending on Medicaid benefits projected to reach $4.9 trillion over 10 years

Health care questions we want to hear answered tonight

New advert questions entrusting health care reform to the same people who created the banking crisis

Diabetics more likely to lose their vision

Visual impairment more common in people with diabetes

More Arizona Hispanics uninsured in 2005 than whites, new census analysis finds

Voters pick Obama to tackle nation's health care problems

Pennsylvania Governor revises health insurance expansion proposal

Florida regulators try to determine specifics of new law that allows some adults to stay on parents' health policies up to age 30

Medicare stops paying for 10 reasonably preventable medical errors

Newspapers examine efforts, reaction to easing ban on HIV-positive visitors to U.S.

Commonwealth Fund report examines health care proposals of major Presidential candidates

Vice Presidential debate includes references to health care

States see rising enrollment in Medicaid as economy falters

Office of personnel management estimates premiums for Federal employees will increase by 8% in 2009

Protecting patient privacy the new fashioned way

Massachusetts lawmakers pass legislation to attract more primary care physicians to state as wait times for appointments increase

Obama releases new ad criticizing McCain on health insurance regulation

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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