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Anthem Blue Cross will go forward with rate hikes, execs tell Calif. lawmakers

Anthem Blue Cross executives told California lawmakers Tuesday that they plan to go ahead with a rate hike of up to 39 percent for individual health insurance policies.

24 Feb 2010

Consumer Watchdog calls for public release of Blue Cross premium hike investigation documents

Consumer Watchdog today condemned Blue Cross's transfer of $2.8 billion to its parent company since 2007, including approximately $719.5 million in 2009 alone, as a way of hiding its true financial condition from regulators scrutinizing steep rate hikes. Consumer Watchdog said Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner should seize on the transfers to invalidate recent premium hikes and should make Blue Cross documents available for public scrutiny.

24 Feb 2010

Guardian offers six questions to help employees and their families avoid critical illness

If you want to protect your finances from the costs of heart disease, and keep your heart healthy, the experts at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a leading provider of employee benefits, have compiled important questions that you should ask yourself before American Heart Month ends.

24 Feb 2010

Treadmill intervention may benefit infants with prenatal complications

Using a treadmill could help infants with prenatal complications or who were injured at birth walk earlier and better, according to a University of Michigan researcher.

24 Feb 2010

Insurers reject Obama's proposal for a rate-hike review panel

The health overhaul plan unveiled Monday by President Barack Obama puts the heat on insurers by requiring federal oversight of increases in health insurance premium rates, something the industry has strenuously objected to.

24 Feb 2010

Gross sales of Acorda Therapeutics' ZANAFLEX CAPSULES and tablets increase 9.1% to $58.3M in 2009

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

23 Feb 2010

More research needed for osteoporosis treatments

Dr. Angelo Malamis says that 90 percent of his patients who have undergone a treatment called balloon kyphoplasty for vertebral fractures report significant reductions in pain and disability.

23 Feb 2010

ATR rates Obama's draft healthcare plan

Today, the White House released President Obama's draft healthcare plan.

23 Feb 2010

GOP plans to attend health summit as Obama calls for compromise

President Barack Obama warned during the weekend that both Republicans and Democrats should be careful not to turn this week's health care summit into "political theater" but to work to find "common ground" on the issues, The Washington Post reports. "The Thursday event, scheduled to be televised live on C-SPAN, could prove a pivotal moment in the year-long effort to overhaul the health-care system.

22 Feb 2010

Insurers rebut criticisms of profits, rates

As the Obama Administration seizes on a proposed 39-percent rate hike by a California insurer earlier this month to rally new support for a health overhaul, that insurer's top executive is preparing to go before Congress, The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times reports.

22 Feb 2010

As health insurance premiums rise sharply, lawmakers and consumers face tough choices

Steep increases in individual health insurance premiums are sparking reactions across the country.

21 Feb 2010

Sebelius issues sharp rebuke against health insurance premium hikes across U.S.

News outlets paid close attention to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' release of a new report detailing double-digit insurance premium hikes for individual plans in six states across the country.

20 Feb 2010

Mayo Clinic's first DCD lung transplantation performed in 59-year-old Illinois man

Lung transplantation is a well-known therapy for patients with end-stage lung disease, but, as with other patients waiting for organs for transplantation, there are more recipients waiting than donors available. A potential solution for patients with end-stage lung disease is donation after cardiac death (DCD). Mayo Clinic reports its - and Minnesota's - first lung transplantation from DCD in the February issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

19 Feb 2010

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Elderly people with visual disorders that are left untreated are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease -- the most common form of dementia, according to a University of Michigan Health System study.

19 Feb 2010

Easier walking for amputees: Artificial foot that recycles energy

An artificial foot that recycles energy otherwise wasted in between steps could make it easier for amputees to walk, its developers say.

18 Feb 2010

People who are happy and content are less likely to develop heart disease

People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy, according to a major new study published today (Thursday 18 February).

18 Feb 2010

AHF to protest Merck’s Isentress pricing and policies at CROI

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a protest Wednesday morning, February 17 at 8:00am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the 17th Conference of Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco.

17 Feb 2010

Patients and doctors differ when it comes to daily health activities

When it comes to daily health activities such as diet and exercise, Americans and their doctors may not always see eye to eye.

17 Feb 2010

Progressive walking reduces arthritic pain, improves physical function

"Progressive walking" combined with glucosamine sulphate supplementation has been shown to improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open-access journal Arthritis Research and Therapy found that patients who walked at least two bouts of 1500 steps each on three days of the week reported significantly less arthritis pain, and significantly improved physical function.

16 Feb 2010

Podesta says Obama White House 'lost the narrative' on health bill

"John Podesta, the president of the Center for American Progress who led Barack Obama's presidential transition, acknowledges the White House has been unable to successfully drive the debate on health care reform," Politico reports.

15 Feb 2010