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Roundup: Abortion cases against Kan. Planned Parenthood dropped; Maine Readies session on money owed hospitals; Calif. suing doc over billing practices

The first criminal prosecution of Planned Parenthood came to an abrupt end Friday when Kansas prosecutors dropped all charges against a local affiliate accused of failing to determine the viability of fetuses before abortions were performed. ... They said that state law did not prohibit Planned Parenthood from using the gestational age of fetuses to determine whether they were viable or could survive outside of the womb.

21 Aug 2012

How's Medicare playing in the Florida Senate race

News outlets report on how Medicare is shaping the much-watched Florida Senate race as well as how this year's House candidates that are physicians also tend to be Democrats.

20 Aug 2012

Mo. Senate candidate blasted for comments on rape

Republican Rep. Todd Akin, who is challenging Sen. Claire McCaskill, suggested in a TV interview that some rapes are "legitimate" and women can shut down a pregnancy from such an attack.

20 Aug 2012

Appeals court dismisses challenge to doctor-owned hospital expansion limit in health law

An appeals court has dismissed a challenge to a part of the health law that limits expansion of doctor-owned hospitals on grounds that a lower court that issued an earlier ruling didn't have jurisdiction in the case.

20 Aug 2012

Political cartoon: 'A Little Extra Slice?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "A Little Extra Slice?" by Jerry King.

20 Aug 2012

'Not enough exercise' cited as top children's health concern

Adults across the U.S. rate not getting enough exercise as the top health concern for children in 2012, according to a new University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

20 Aug 2012

Ryan's positions on women's issues becomes campaign target

Politico reports on how Rep. Paul Ryan's record on reproductive issues -- including co-sponosring a "personhood amendment" that would declare a fertilized egg to be a person, and voting to defund Planned Parenthood -- could widen President Barack Obama's lead among women. Meanwhile, a controversial comment about rape by a GOP candidate running for Senate in Missouri has stirred anger and angst.

20 Aug 2012

Happtique introduces mRx solution for electronically prescribing medical apps

Happtique, a mobile health application store and total app management solution, today announced the commencement of its pilot program of mRx, Happtique's patent-pending solution that enables physicians and other health practitioners to electronically prescribe medical, health, and fitness apps to their patients.

20 Aug 2012

Aetna to buy Coventry Health for $5.7B

Aetna is joining the post-health law insurer purchasing fray and buying Coventry Health for a proposed $5.7 billion to increase its Medicaid business.

20 Aug 2012

Clash over Medicaid opt-in

The three governors, whose states have among the highest uninsured populations and some of the most limited Medicaid programs in the country, say their states can't afford Medicaid expansion and don't want the federal government interfering with their programs.

20 Aug 2012

Presidential campaign keeps focus on Medicare

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his running-mate pick Paul Ryan are taking their Medicare message to New Hampshire today. Meanwhile, President Obama blasts the Republican ticket on its Medicare plan.

20 Aug 2012

Emergency communications system automatically piggybacks on domestic wireless routers

An emergency communications system that could automatically piggyback on domestic wireless routers connected in urban locations could help first responders stay in touch even if cell phone towers and networks are down. Details are published in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Mobile Network Design and Innovation.

20 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 20, 2012

Today's headlines focus on how the Medicare story is continuing to unfold on the presidential campaign trail.

20 Aug 2012

Binge drinkers happier with their college social experience

Why do some colleges have persistently high levels of binge drinking? It may be because, at these schools, binge drinking is associated with high status and binge drinkers are happier with their college social experience than their non-binge drinking peers, suggests new research to be presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

20 Aug 2012

Obama, Ryan make pitches for Medicare plans

After several days in which he mentioned only generalities on the campaign trail, Representative Paul D. Ryan sought on Saturday to play offense on Medicare, attacking in detail President Obama's health care plan, seizing an issue that has the potential to be one of Mr. Ryan's biggest liabilities in joining the Republican presidential ticket.

20 Aug 2012

CDC: Baby boomers should be tested for Hep C

Americans born between 1945 and 1965 are at particularly high risk for Hepatitis C and should be tested, according to new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

18 Aug 2012

For hospitals, the rush is not on to become an ACO

According to a Commonwealth Fund report, only about 13 percent of hospitals surveyed are participating or planning to participate in an accountable care organizations.

18 Aug 2012

Obama and Romney offer competing Medicare visions

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney broke out a whiteboard outside an air terminal to illustrate his key points. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's campaign launched a new ad to argue his approach strengthens the program, citing plaudits from the seniors group AARP.

18 Aug 2012

Vanderbilt University signs TIPQC to increase breast-feeding in hospitals and delivery centers

Vanderbilt University has signed on for a statewide project to increase exclusive breast-feeding in hospitals and delivery centers.

18 Aug 2012

USAID blog examines structural issues fueling HIV epidemic

"During the recent International XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C., exciting breakthroughs in HIV prevention, treatment, and care -- even a possible cure -- took center stage," but, "despite recent advances, many men and women remain at risk of HIV as a result of structural issues that fuel and have an impact on the epidemic," Molly Fitzgerald, technical advisor for AIDSTAR-One, writes in this post in USAID's "Impact Blog."

18 Aug 2012