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Inova, Aetna partner to establish Innovation Health Plans in Northern Virginia

Inova Health System and Aetna today announced an exclusive partnership to establish Innovation Health Plans, a jointly owned health plan serving Northern Virginia, including more than 1.1 million residents currently served by Inova.

23 Jun 2012

State news: Conn. taps former Mass. official for health exchange

Merger talks between two of New York City's biggest hospital systems - NYU Langone Medical Center and Continuum Health Partners - broke down abruptly on Thursday after Continuum got a competing offer, officials said. The offer came from Mount Sinai Medical Center.

23 Jun 2012

Planned spending cuts would hit some discretionary health programs

While programs like Medicare and Medicaid are virtually untouched by the cuts designed to reduce the deficit, other scheduled trims to the budget will have significant reach. Meanwhile, Democrats find an unlikely ally in their opposition to the GOP Medicare plan.

23 Jun 2012

Stanford Woods Institute awards five new EVP grants for interdisciplinary research

The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment has awarded five new Environmental Venture Projects (EVP) grants for interdisciplinary research aimed at finding practical solutions to major environmental and sustainability challenges.

23 Jun 2012

Medicaid highlights: Calif. readies expansion to foster youths

State Medicaid news includes discussions around the expansion of Medicaid in California both for the general public who need assistance and for youth in foster care. Additionally, Oregon is close to finalizing its waiver request with the federal government to move forward with its own reforms in the program.

23 Jun 2012

Health care system or patient-directed programs help prevent or manage diabetes

A new study has found that programs aimed at helping people prevent or manage diabetes are most successful if they are directed at the patient or the health care system. Programs aimed at physicians were only successful for patients with poorer diabetes control.

23 Jun 2012

HHS says health insurers will pay beneficiaries $1.1 billion in rebates

Under the health law, insurance companies must use at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Any excess is owed back to customers.

23 Jun 2012

Cedars-Sinai named among '100 Best Places to Work in IT 2012'

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has earned a distinction for the fourth year in a row as one of the best places for technology professionals to work, winning a top spot in a national ranking for its use of IT staffers as strategic partners in patient care.

23 Jun 2012

Ill. Gov. signs bill requiring retired state workers to pay health premiums

Retired public employees will now have to chip in for the cost of their health insurance -- on a scale based on their income -- after Gov. Pat Quinn approved legislation Thursday.

23 Jun 2012

'Rest of the country should take a good look at the situation in Texas'

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Roni Caryn Rabin writes: They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the problem of the uninsured is no exception. The Houston metropolitan area has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in America, and a health safety net imploding under the demands of too many people and too few resources.

23 Jun 2012

LUHS to renovate Postpartum Unit this summer

Loyola University Health System (LUHS) will renovate its Postpartum Unit to create a state-of-the-art area that provides a comfortable and convenient setting for mothers and infants. The renovation will begin this summer and will be complete by the end of the year.

23 Jun 2012

Research roundup: Helping the homeless transition out of the hospital

Transitioning from a hospital visit can be challenge for many patients, but the homeless face particular difficulties as they move to a shelter, or even back to the streets. Researchers in this study surveyed 98 homeless individuals in New Haven, Conn., as well as interviewed them about their experiences leaving the hospital. More than half said that their providers did not address housing or transportation, and 11 percent reported living on the streets on the night of their discharge. The authors recommend "improved assessment of housing status, communication between hospital and shelter providers, and arrangement of safe transportation" for homeless individuals.

23 Jun 2012

High court's health law ruling likely to renew debate on range of issues

News outlets report on what's at stake in terms of politics and policies when the Supreme Court issues its health law decision.

23 Jun 2012

Zimbabwean lawmakers take public HIV tests in campaign to fight stigma

"Zimbabwean lawmakers started taking public HIV tests on Wednesday in a campaign seeking to raise awareness and fight the stigma associated with AIDS," VOA News reports.

23 Jun 2012

U.N. SG Ban announces 'Zero Hunger Challenge' in message to Rio+20 summit

In a video message addressing the Rio+20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "announced a 'Zero Hunger Challenge' to rid the world of malnutrition," Bloomberg News reports.

23 Jun 2012

Hospital collection company criticized for failing to turn over records to Congress

Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman and Diana DeGette press Accretive for documents related to its debt collection practices, which resulted in a lawsuit against the company by the Minnesota attorney general.

23 Jun 2012

Rensselaer Center for Stem Cell Research launches today

Ground-breaking research to advance the application of stem cells to address critical injuries and diseases will be taking place at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in a new center funded by New York state and opened today.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 23 Jun 2012

AIDS.gov blog republishes post in which U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator discusses AIDS 2012 conference

In an effort to "raise awareness around the U.S. global response to HIV/AIDS," the AIDS.gov blog has republished a post by U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby in which he discusses the XIX International AIDS Conference, taking place in the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years from July 22-27.

23 Jun 2012

Parental employment may affect family food environments

In a tight economy, with fewer jobs, many people end up working harder and sacrificing more to stay employed. A new study finds that one of those sacrifices is sometimes their own and their family's nutrition.

23 Jun 2012

Simple reforms to U.S. farm bill would enable international food aid programs to reach millions more

"In this year's farm bill, there is a crucial opportunity to reform how the United States handles international food aid programs," GROW campaign manager Vicky Rateau writes in this post in Oxfam's "The Politics of Poverty" blog.

23 Jun 2012