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Senate approves $3.1 trillion FY 2009 budget resolution without proposed reductions in Medicare, Medicaid spending

The Senate on Wednesday voted 48-45 to approve a $3.1 trillion fiscal year 2009 budget resolution (S Con Res 70), which includes large increases in funds for domestic programs and excludes reductions in funds for Medicare and Medicaid proposed by President Bush, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

8 Jun 2008

SEC says companies must allow shareholders to vote on universal health coverage proposal

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in a reversal of a previous position, has told companies that they cannot exclude a health care proposal from proxy materials provided to shareholders, the New York Times reports.

28 May 2008

Having a big bum may protect you from diabetes!

Researchers at Harvard Medical School in the U.S. suggest that having a big bum may be a good thing from a health perspective.

7 May 2008

Joslin researchers find certain body fat reduces insulin resistance

It has long been known that type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity, particularly fat inside the belly. Now, researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have found that fat from other areas of the body can actually reduce insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity.

6 May 2008

Some states to ask Congress to regulate marketing of private Medicare plans

State officials soon will ask Congress to grant them more regulatory authority over the marketing of private Medicare drug benefit and Medicare Advantage plans to respond to continuing complaints of aggressive marketing practices, the New York Times reports. In a draft report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, state officials propose creating a set of marketing standards for private Medicare plans that states, if they adopt them, would enforce.

6 May 2008

Bush Administration directive to enroll low-income children in SCHIP before expanding coverage is unenforceable because it violates Federal law, according to GAO

The Bush administration violated federal law last year when it issued a policy directive that restricts states' ability to expand their SCHIP programs, according to a Government Accountability Office legal opinion released Friday, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 4/19).

21 Apr 2008

Developing cancer treatments directed at critical developmental pathway

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues discovered that the Notch signaling pathway, which determines the development of many cell types, and is also implicated in some cancers, is not universally essential for the maintenance of stem cells.

11 Apr 2008

Budget request from President Bush to increase spending for SCHIP by $19.7B over five years

President Bush on Monday will release a $3 trillion fiscal year 2009 budget request that would significantly reduce or eliminate spending for dozens of health and other programs but would significantly increase spending for SCHIP, the New York Times reports.

4 Feb 2008

Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report reports on Presidential campaigns related to health care

Forty-six percent of U.S. adults who responded to a recent survey conducted by Scripps Howard and Ohio University said that Democrats were more likely to improve access to health care than Republicans, Scripps Howard/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The survey, which included responses from 811 adults nationwide collected from Sept 24. to Oct. 10, has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

29 Oct 2007

Medicare part B premiums to increase by 3.1% in 2008 to $96.40 per month

CMS on Monday announced that the standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B, which covers physician visits and outpatient hospital care, will increase by $2.90, or 3.1%, to $96.40 in 2008 -- the smallest increase since 2000, when the premium remained the same, the New York Times reports.

2 Oct 2007

Democrats work to reauthorize, expand SCHIP while Bush administration tries to limit program growth

Congressional efforts to reauthorize SCHIP, which expires on Sept. 30, are "intensifying," but the Bush administration "has taken several steps to slow momentum for expansion of the program," the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 7/9).

10 Jul 2007

Food scientists develop rapid, reliable technique to ensure fruit and vegetable juices adhere to quality standards

Increasingly, consumer products, especially food and beverage products, are being scrutinized for better quality.

10 May 2007

Governors criticize provisions on SCHIP in fiscal year 2008 budget request from President Bush

A bipartisan group of governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting on Sunday asked Congress to provide $765 million in supplemental funds for SCHIP, the Bergen Record reports (Jackson, Bergen Record, 2/26).

27 Feb 2007

Bush Administration has no overall strategy to protect patient privacy in electronic health records

The Bush administration has no overall strategy to ensure patient privacy as it promotes expanded use of electronic health records among insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the New York Times reports.

21 Feb 2007

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries will have trouble getting medications in January 2007

Some pharmacists and advocates have raised concerns that many low-income Medicare beneficiaries "will again have trouble getting medications next month, as they did in January of this year," when the Medicare prescription drug benefit began, the New York Times reports.

5 Dec 2006

Bush Administration says it opposes Democrats' plan to allow Government to negotiate Medicare drug prices

The Bush administration will oppose any attempts by congressional Democrats to pass legislation that would authorize the government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, the New York Times reports.

13 Nov 2006

2007 Medicare prescription drug plans

Private health insurers that market Medicare prescription drug plans in 2007 will offer more plans, several of which will have lower premiums and more of which will provide coverage during the so-called "doughnut hole," Bush administration officials said on Friday, the New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2006

Medicare Part B premiums to rise 5.6% next year

The standard monthly premium for Medicare Part B in 2007 will increase to $93.50 from $88.50, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan announced on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports.

14 Sep 2006

Average Medicare drug benefit premium to remain unchanged at $24 in 2007

Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the program's prescription drug benefit in 2007 will pay an average monthly premium of about $24, the same as the average monthly premium for this year, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said Tuesday, the New York Times reports.

16 Aug 2006

Exercise important in reducing size of abdominal fat cells

Reducing the size of abdominal fat cells - which are a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease - takes more than cutting calories, according to new research from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

8 Aug 2006