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Concord Coalition sends list of suggestions concerning the healthcare reform bill

In the coming days, you have the unenviable task of combining the Senate Finance Committee's health care reform bill with the bill that emerged from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Aware of the difficulty and the competing pressures you face, we have identified in the attached memorandum key areas where we believe the potential of the legislation to produce fiscal gains can be strengthened. We hope our views will help guide your work -- consistent with fiscal responsibility and sustainability.

12 Oct 2009

Public plan - or something like it - still on the table in health reform debate

Some news outlets looked beyond the Senate Finance Committee vote on health reform to what may be in the final package considered by the full Senate.

12 Oct 2009

Czura Thornton to acquire global central laboratory operations of MDS Pharma Services

Private investment firm Czura Thornton today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire the global central laboratory ('GCL') operations of MDS Pharma Services, a business unit of MDS Inc.

12 Oct 2009

Lawmakers renew demands for public option in health bill

Senate and House Democrats are renewing their calls for a strong government-run public option in their respective chambers.

9 Oct 2009

AST assembles at Capitol Hill to support health care reform for kidney transplant recipients

As Congress wraps up work on health care reform, members of the American Society of Transplantation's (AST) Public Policy Committee arrived on Capitol Hill today to discuss the importance of supporting a health care provision that would ensure kidney transplant recipients continue to receive.

9 Oct 2009

Physician shortage affects older Americans' access to basic care

As members of Congress debate what form a national health care plan should take, older Americans continue to suffer the consequences of a physician shortage that makes accessing basic care a struggle. Barriers to care could be greatly eased, however, by legislation that lifts restrictions preventing physician assistants (PAs) from treating Medicare patients.

9 Oct 2009

House Republicans, disputatious Democrats discuss health reform bills

The Hill reports that "three dozen" House Republicans were invited, for the first time since the health reform debate started, to talk with top-level Democrats: "'The bottom line is, [Democrats are] going to do what they are going to do. I guess they just don't want to look like they didn't (sit down); it's more of a dog and pony show,' Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) told The Hill as he walked out of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) meeting with Sebelius."

9 Oct 2009

Development of lab-on-chip system for breast cancer detection and therapy

IMEC, a leading European research center in nanotechnology, the Institüt für Mikrotechnik Mainz (IMM), one of the leading European research centers in microfluidics, and their partners within the European Sixth Framework Project MASCOT achieve a major milestone in the development of a lab-on-chip for the detection and therapy evaluation of breast cancer.

8 Oct 2009

Clinical and health status outcomes information repository of heart attack patients completed

An important observational registry evaluating processes of care and one-year outcomes of over 4300 heart attack patients is now being completed. Researchers at the Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, MO have led this observational research study in collaboration with 23 other hospitals throughout the U.S.

8 Oct 2009

New entitlement is not a viable health care reform, says Concord Coalition

As House and Senate leaders negotiate the final details of their respective health care reforms bills, The Concord Coalition warned today that one provision under consideration, the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, is structurally unsound and fiscally irresponsible.

8 Oct 2009

Health reform bill vote delayed

Senate Finance Committee Republicans and Democratic moderates are asking for more time to consider their vote on the health overhaul proposal, once the Congressional Budget Office "scores" the bill.

8 Oct 2009

The Prescription Center Pharmacy launches 'Be Prepared, Not Scared' campaign

The Prescription Center Pharmacy, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California announced its “Be Prepared, Not Scared” campaign today. The purpose of the campaign is to help both businesses and consumers stay healthy, without dramatically changing their daily routines. Dr. Afshin Nassir, the pharmacy’s Founder and CEO, states that “We want to help businesses and consumers create a realistic plan to deal with the H1N1 (Swine Flu) Virus, which is now, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), at a Pandemic stage.”

8 Oct 2009

UNICEF issues progress report on protecting children

According to a U.N. report released Tuesday, millions of children worldwide are subjected to trafficking, abuse, violence and child labor, United Press International reports (10/6).

8 Oct 2009

As House begins new push for reform, taxes on 'Cadillac' plans trigger Democrats' opposition

More than half of the House's Democrats Tuesday signed a letter expressing opposition to a key element of the Senate Finance Committee's health overhaul -- the proposal to tax expensive health insurance plans.

8 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 7, 2009

A new poll offers some positive news for President Obama about his popularity ratings, but public concerns about health reform persist -- even as some high profile, outside-the-beltway Republicans lend conditional support.

7 Oct 2009

CAPT continues its efforts to end harmful staffing reductions and cuts

The California Association of Psychiatric Technicians is continuing a series of weekly informational pickets at state hospitals, developmental centers and prisons, this time – for the second time – at Napa State Hospital.

7 Oct 2009

Senate Finance Committee vote delayed; House Republicans prepare to meet Sebelius

The Senate Finance Committee will delay its vote on health care reform — and, likely the bill's move to the Senate floor — as members await cost estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.

7 Oct 2009

New energy efficient cooling systems from Custom Mechanical Systems

Custom Mechanical Systems (CMS), a leading provider of custom cooling/HVAC solutions for mission-critical facilities, including data centers, laboratories, cleanrooms and hospitals, today announces the new CMS InRack and CRAC Cooling Systems for data centers looking to achieve upwards of 40% energy savings. Unlike mass-produced antiquated fan-based cooling products, the CMS cooling systems are customized for each data center project and include the most technologically advanced fan design on the market today.

7 Oct 2009

Health experts examine maternal mortality in Africa at conference

Inter Press Service reports on a discussion among health experts at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics' (FIGO) 19th World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Cape Town, South Africa, about maternal mortality rates in Africa. More than 2,000 gynecologists, obstetricians and other health workers are attending the conference, which runs from Oct. 4-9.

7 Oct 2009

Baucus says bill score could come Wednesday

Roll Call reports that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said today that he could receive on Wednesday the final Congressional Budget Office cost estimate of the latest version of his panel's health reform bill.

7 Oct 2009