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Continuation of federal UC benefits and health insurance assistance for Pennsylvanians

Governor Edward G. Rendell today said Pennsylvanians who are out of work through no fault of their own now may qualify for two more months of emergency unemployment compensation and health care coverage through the COBRA premium reduction.

24 Dec 2009

Increase in COBRA health care plan enrollment rates among subsidy-eligible employees

A new analysis from Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, indicates that average monthly enrollment rates in COBRA health care plans among subsidy-eligible employees have increased by 20 percentage points since the COBRA subsidy was enacted in March 2009.

24 Dec 2009

VOA News examines obstetric fistula in Africa

VOA News examines obstetric fistula in Africa and looks at health officials' efforts to prevent and treat the condition.

24 Dec 2009

AARP calls on Senators to vote in favor of health care reform bill

While Washington, D.C. couldn't seem further away to most Idaho families this holiday season, rising health care costs are an issue that's hitting much closer to home. As Idaho's health care woes grow increasingly worse, AARP is calling on Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch to vote in favor of the Senate health care reform bill expected to come up for a vote Christmas Eve, and is sending the Senators a "Christmas List" of Idaho's health care crisis.

24 Dec 2009

Mediware Information Systems introduces new system interface to the U.S. Biovigilance Network

Continuing its diligent focus on patient safety, Mediware Information Systems, Inc. has announced the availability of a new system interface that will enable customers using the Company's LifeTrak® blood donor management software to electronically transmit blood donation data to the U.S. Biovigilance Network.

23 Dec 2009

Guardian Technologies International meets and presents SM TBDx to Indian healthcare officials

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a serious global pandemic health threat with more than 9 million new cases diagnosed annually. TB is a leading cause of mortality in India, killing nearly 1,000 people each day.

23 Dec 2009

High prevalence of type 2 diabetes may be linked to excess niacin intake

Facing the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide in the past few decades, one may ask what is wrong with humans. Geneticists tell us that the human genome has not changed markedly in such a short time.

23 Dec 2009

Arab states need to address food security, other factors to meet MDGs by 2015, report says

Arab states must develop a plan to increase food security and create more jobs in order to meet Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets by 2015, according to a report published Sunday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Reuters reports.

22 Dec 2009

Local leaders react to Senate health overhaul bill

Local leaders are reacting to the health care overhaul as the Senate passage of the bill creeps closer.

22 Dec 2009

Safe Cell Phone's SAR Shield absorbs potentially harmful cell phone radiation

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on October 26, 2009 that its 10 year study has shown a proven link between long term cell phone usage and increased risks in brain cancer and tumors. The ten year study headed by Dr. Elisabeth Cardis shows a 18% increase in brain tumor development with long term cell phone usage.

22 Dec 2009

Difficult issues will remain even if Senate Democrats pass health bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made two major changes to the Senate's version of the health overhaul legislation - removing the proposed "public option" and restricting abortion coverage - that have helped ease tension enough to secure more votes for the bill, but left advocates with much to complain about.

22 Dec 2009

Labor leaders term Senate health bill 'inadequate'

CBS News: "Labor leaders from two influential unions today called the Senate health care bill 'inadequate,' but they stopped short of pulling their support for the bill. Instead, they are pressing the White House and Congress to modify the bill more to make it more like the House health reform package. After a meeting yesterday with leaders of the Service Employees International Union and a meeting today with its members, SEIU President Andy Stern said the union does not think the Senate is willing or able to make any more progress on its bill.

18 Dec 2009

White House stung by Liberal health bill backlash

The Wall Street Journal reports on the criticism emanating from the left regarding the Senate health bill. "Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is mounting a campaign of sorts against the initiative in its current form.

18 Dec 2009

PSS World Medical chooses inVNT to produce its annual national meeting for 1,500 employees

PSS World Medical, Inc., a national distributor of medical products to physicians and long-term health care providers, chose the live events agency inVNT to produce its annual national meeting for 1,500 employees. inVNT used creative cost-saving measures to stage a high-energy meeting while supporting PSS’ efforts to reduce spending.

18 Dec 2009

NCD to address disability-related issues at next quarterly meeting

The National Council on Disability (NCD) will conduct its next quarterly meeting at the JW Marriott Houston, 5150 Westheimer, Houston, TX, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 19, 2010, and ending at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 21, 2010. This meeting is open to the public.

18 Dec 2009

Medicare expenditures less for POHs compared to non-POHs, says new study

The cost to Medicare of a patient receiving treatment at a physician owned and operated hospitals is "4.6 to 6.00% lower" than hospitals not run by physicians, according to a new study by Oxford Outcomes, an internationally respected research agency.

18 Dec 2009

Union issues report regarding so-called 'cadillac tax'

The Hill: "Growing increasingly anxious at the direction in which healthcare reform is heading, the labor movement is sending yet another signal of friction with the White House. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) released a new report Thursday that counters analysis by one of President Barack Obama's senior aides that the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill would not be tantamount to a tax hike on those making $250,000 or less."

17 Dec 2009

Obama says government will go bankrupt without health reforms to rein in costs

President Obama said in a Wednesday ABC News interview that if Congress fails to pass health care reform that reins in costs it will "bankrupt" the federal government.

17 Dec 2009

Lieberman's health care move still reverberating

Politico: "Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is taking a thrashing from his former Democratic colleagues and liberal activists for forcing a Medicare expansion out of the health bill. But in the end, Lieberman may have done President Barack Obama one of the biggest favors in the health care debate. That's because any bill with the Medicare buy-in would have drawn fierce opposition from doctors and hospitals, two groups Obama has worked hard to keep on board.

17 Dec 2009