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Lawmakers don't have to say which staffers have to use health exchange

Members of Congress can choose who -- if any -- among their staffs go on the health law's insurance exchange.Sen. David Vitter, R-La., objects to the fact that they don't have to announce those decisions.

4 Nov 2013

Firearm injuries in the U.S. cost more than $16 billion in hospital resources

Firearm injuries in the U.S. cost more than $16 billion in hospital resources between 2000 and 2008, according to new research released today at the American Public Health Association's 141st Annual Meeting in Boston.

4 Nov 2013

Insurers seek to explain the factors behind wave of health plan cancellations

The top trade group for health insurers, among others, is attempting to explain the "why" behind these recent developments.

4 Nov 2013

Research roundup: States struggling with Medicaid expansion "complex issues"

We conducted a secondary analysis of data (2005 to 2010) from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. ... Comparisons were made between 2 groups to reflect likely movements in insurance status after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act implementation: (1) the uninsured who will be Medicaid eligible afterward versus Medicaid insured, and (2) the uninsured who will be Medicaid ineligible afterward versus the privately insured. ...

4 Nov 2013

As Healthcare.gov falters, navigators and marketing efforts forced to the sidelines

Navigators, who had planned to be working hard on online enrollments by now, are forced to try paper insurance applications or trying to answer consumers' questions about why they can't enroll. At the same time, a marketing blitz planned by health law advocates is on hold until the website works better.

4 Nov 2013

Johns Hopkins Hospital receives Magnet recognition for nursing excellence

The Johns Hopkins Hospital has once again achieved Magnet designation in recognition of its nursing excellence. The designation comes from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

4 Nov 2013

Romney says Obama's 'fundamental dishonesty' is undermining second term

Former GOP presidential candidate says Obama did not learn the lessons of the Massachusetts' health overhaul.

4 Nov 2013

A central health law question: Who is getting covered? Who is getting canceled?

The Associated Press reports that some of the newly insured will now become the faces of healthcare.gov, while The New York Times tells three stories about people who won't be able to keep their coverage.

4 Nov 2013

Stop L.A. Corruption: A new awareness campaign that highlights failures of LA County

Health and public policy advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will unveil 'Stop L.A. Corruption,' a new advocacy and awareness campaign highlighting the profound failures of Los Angeles County and its key elected and appointed officials in carrying out their sworn duties to serve and protect the nearly 10 million residents of the County.

4 Nov 2013

Most uninsured signing up on health website are going to Medicaid

The Washington Post reports that nine out of 10 new enrollees are in Medicaid. Meanwhile, White House documents turned over to investigators in the House show only six people enrolled on the day the troubled website launched.

4 Nov 2013

Healthcare-associated infections are less likely to occur in favorable critical care work environments

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are less likely to occur in favorable critical care work environments, according to a study of more than 3,200 nurses in the November issue of American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC).

4 Nov 2013

Three Johns Hopkins Medicine hospitals named 2012 Top Performers on Key Quality Measures

The Joint Commission is naming three Johns Hopkins Medicine hospitals as 2012 Top Performers on Key Quality Measures, a designation reserved for accredited hospitals that consistently and at a very high level follow best practices for treating people who require surgery or suffer heart attacks, heart failure, stroke, pneumonia or other serious conditions.

4 Nov 2013

Heart failure patients may benefit from advanced treatment by heart specialists

New research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that patients with heart failure have high mortality and often are undertreated. According to a study, published in the scientific periodical JACC, many more of these patients would benefit from advanced treatment by heart specialists - something that could be decided by a simple evaluation of five common risk factors for early death due to heart failure.

4 Nov 2013

Details emerge about key fixers in 'tech surge' to address website issues

News outlets report that the administration's so-called "tech surge" has been somewhat mysterious, but it's becoming clear that the administration has enlisted engineers from a number of major companies.

4 Nov 2013

Appeals court rules against health law's contraception rule

News outlets covered the blow to the Obama administration's requirement that insurance policies include free coverage for women's birth control.

4 Nov 2013

Democrats feeling health law anxiety over troubled start

Democrats are worried the health law's problems could hurt them politically as Senate Democrats push Obama administration officials to ease their anxiety and fix implementation of the law.

4 Nov 2013

Simulation-based team training improves patient safety and clinical outcomes

A study conducted by an inter-professional team of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans faculty found that simulation-based operating room team training of medical and nursing students resulted in more effective teamwork by improving attitudes, behaviors, interaction and overall performance leading to potential increased patient safety and better clinical outcomes.

4 Nov 2013

New IRS rule gives consumers a break on FSA accounts

The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service will allow Flexible Spending Account holders to carry over as much as $500 from one year to the next without a penalty.

3 Nov 2013

Federal appeals court reinstates Texas abortion law

A federal appeals court gave the OK for Texas to reinstate a controversial abortion law while its legal fate is being decided and reversed a decision issued earlier this week blocking the law, which now goes back into effect immediately. It requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and limits medication-induced abortions.

3 Nov 2013

COMS OPAL Award program recognizes top performers on a national basis

COMS Interactive, also known as Clinical Outcomes Management Systems, has launched the Outcomes Performance Achievement Leader (OPAL) Award program. The program is an extension of the company's focus on improving health care and clinical outcomes in the long-term care marketplace by leveraging Daylight IQ™, the COMS' flagship Disease Management Product Suite.

31 Oct 2013