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Group that once supported healthier school lunches has about-face

The School Nutrition Association now says the new rules are too costly. Meanwhile, NPR looks at the difficulties for employers to deal with workers' weight problems and the increasing number of obese seniors.

3 Jul 2014

Eligibility for subsidies not properly checked, audit finds

The HHS inspector general issues two reports concluding the federal health marketplace and some state exchanges had inadequate safeguards to stop people who were ineligible from getting tax credits to help pay for premiums.

3 Jul 2014

New meta-analysis highlights significant gaps in hepatitis C care

A new meta-analysis published online in PLOS ONE by infectious disease and epidemiology specialists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania highlights significant gaps in hepatitis C care that will prove useful as the U.S. health care system continues to see an influx of patients with the disease because of improved screening efforts and new, promising drugs.

3 Jul 2014

Study explores how surgical innovation can lead to adverse events for patients

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that the risk of patient harm increased two-fold in 2006 - the peak year that teaching hospitals nationwide embraced the pursuit of minimally invasive robotic surgery for prostate cancer. Results of the study are published in the July 2 online issue of JAMA Surgery.

3 Jul 2014

Despite management background, VA nominee faces even bigger challenge now

Robert McDonald, the VA secretary nominee, is facing a huge bureaucracy with more than 300,000 employees. Elsewhere, a new poll finds most veterans say getting care at VA hospitals is "very" or "somewhat" difficult.

3 Jul 2014

Democrats campaign against high court after Hobby Lobby ruling

Borrowing a tactic from the GOP, Democrats use the Supreme Court ruling to energize their voters and raise money, The Los Angeles Times reports.

3 Jul 2014

Implementation of national health insurance expansion could result in more discretionary surgeries

Full implementation of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) national health insurance expansion could result in many more discretionary surgical procedures in the next few years based on how utilization changed after an earlier insurance reform in Massachusetts.

3 Jul 2014

Ralphs Pharmacies continue to offer Tdap vaccinations for whooping cough in Southern California

As the number of pertussis cases, also known as whooping cough, reaches epidemic proportions in California, Ralphs Pharmacies continue to offer Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccinations at its 85 in-store pharmacies throughout Southern California.

2 Jul 2014

Prescription drug deaths drop in Fla. after crackdown on doctors

Deaths involving narcotic painkillers dropped 26 percent over two years in Florida after stricter doctor scrutiny, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 Jul 2014

Arthritis Foundation raises public awareness about juvenile arthritis

Juvenile arthritis (JA) is one of the most common, chronic childhood diseases in the U.S., affecting nearly 300,000 children. During Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month, the Arthritis Foundation raises public awareness about this painful and debilitating disease—a disease that currently has no cure and can affect children for a lifetime.

2 Jul 2014

Biotest Pharmaceuticals opens new plasma collection center in Valdosta, Georgia

Biotest Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a leading developer of immunology biotherapeutic products, is pleased to announce the addition of its newest plasma collection center located at 311 North Patterson Road, in Valdosta, Georgia.

2 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 2, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about a new audit's findings that the health law's online insurance marketplaces did not adequately screen applicants seeking subsidies.

2 Jul 2014

GHC begins annual leadership training for next wave of young leaders in global health

Global Health Corps (GHC) welcomed its sixth class of fellows today at Yale University, for the opening of its annual Leadership Training Institute. Selected from a pool of nearly 5,000 applicants, the incoming class of fellows - the largest ever - reflects the growing enthusiasm and commitment of millennials to engage globally and address inequities worldwide.

2 Jul 2014

CTBTO and NorthStar sign RadioXenon Emissions Pledge

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the U.S. medical isotope producer NorthStar have signed a RadioXenon Emissions Pledge.

2 Jul 2014

New collaborative fundraising effort focuses on AYA cancer

Leaders from Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals this evening announced a new collaborative fundraising effort focused on Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer.

2 Jul 2014

Researchers use simple tactics to reduce unnecessary blood tests, health care spending

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center used two relatively simple tactics to significantly reduce the number of unnecessary blood tests to assess symptoms of heart attack and chest pain and to achieve a large decrease in patient charges.

2 Jul 2014

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act can improve health of the US population

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law by US President Barack Obama in 2010, can advance public health in the USA by supporting increased emphasis on prevention, and reversing the historic division between public health and private health care services, according to the authors of new research published in The Lancet as part of a new Series, The health of Americans.

2 Jul 2014

USA witnesses dramatic slowdown in health spending growth over last decade

Growth in health expenditure in the USA slowed dramatically between 2000 and 2011, bringing the growth rate of the country’s health budget in line with other high-spending countries, according to new research published in The Lancet as part of a new Series, The health of Americans.

2 Jul 2014

Study results may help prevent eye injuries among soldiers

Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio are discovering that the current protective eyewear used by our U.S. armed forces might not be adequate to protect soldiers exposed to explosive blasts.

2 Jul 2014

Reform roundup: Georgia exchange attracts more insurers; Kansas embraces one part of health law

UnitedHealthcare, Coventry, Cigna and Time Insurance Company have each submitted plans with the state to offer health insurance in the federally run exchange in Georgia next year. They join the five holdovers from this year's exchange that are also submitting rates for review: Alliant Health Plans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, and Peach State Health Plans. The state's deadline for applications for the Georgia exchange was midnight Monday (Miller, 6/30).

2 Jul 2014