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Roundup: Calpers rate hike approved; Painkiller databases slow abuse in Mass., Minn.; Health workers authorize strike in Philly

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the third-largest purchaser of health benefits in the country, approved a 9.6 percent increase in health premiums next year for its nearly 1.3 million members.

15 Jun 2012

Healthcare becomes target in antitrust reviews

Healthcare found itself a prominent target of antitrust enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission last year, as all three of the new cases litigated by the agency related to hospitals or life-science companies.

15 Jun 2012

Under ACA 90% of Californians below age of 65 will be enrolled in health insurance programs

Nine out of 10 Californians under the age of 65 will be enrolled in health insurance programs as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a joint study by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

15 Jun 2012

African Sahel faces food insecurity despite record increase in cereal production; New partnership to address food supply in Middle East, North Africa

"According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) quarterly forecast of agricultural production and food," the world is expected to see a record increase in cereal production in 2012, "[b]ut despite the positive global trends, countries in Africa's Sahel region continue to face serious challenges to food security due to locally high food prices and civil strife, FAO said in a news release," the U.N. News Centre reports.

15 Jun 2012

Study examines constitutionality of pharmaceutical gift laws

We've all seen them in the waiting room of the doctor's office-pens, notepads, magnets, and clipboards adorned with the logos of brand-name drugs. These freebies may seem inconsequential, but a large and compelling body of evidence shows that even these small gifts may influence which drug a doctor prescribes.

14 Jun 2012

CalPERS readies nearly 10% rate hike; Blue Shield of Calif. faces lawsuit

California's Public Employees' Retirement System premium increase is more than twice as large as last year's. Meanwhile, the lawsuit against Blue Shield alleges that the insurer is seeking to push customers into new options that offer less coverage.

14 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 14, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about how the pending Supreme Court decision is being viewed by investors, and the latest from the campaign trail.

14 Jun 2012

Insurers, politicians girding for Supreme Court health law decision

Insurance company executives tell news outlets they support the mandate to buy insurance or pay a fine, as Republicans try to refine their post-SCOTUS decision strategy.

14 Jun 2012

Medicare Advantage enrollment goes up as premium costs decline

A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the enrollment increases were also due in part to seniors' reduced access to supplemental coverage as well as greater comfort with managed care.

14 Jun 2012

U.N. holds panel discussion regarding strategic AIDS financing

"Coinciding with the 2012 General Assembly AIDS review, the Permanent Missions of Malawi and Luxembourg to the United Nations and UNAIDS organized a panel discussion to further understand the strategic investments needed for the AIDS response," a UNAIDS reports in a feature story on its webpage, adding, "The discussion brought together representatives of member states, U.N. organizations and civil society."

14 Jun 2012

Health care costs to reach nearly one-fifth of GDP by 2021

New health care cost projections released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services indicate that the nation's health care spending will keep outpacing economic growth despite a recent slowdown.

14 Jun 2012

Iowa Gov. wants state workers to pay for part of health care

This pair of stories from the Des Moines Register, based on a meeting with Gov. Terry Branstad, details Branstad's plans for state employees' health benefits and efforts to develop a state alternative to the health law.

14 Jun 2012

Romney sees 'consumer' health care in the post-health law landscape

As the country awaits the health law decision and President Barack Obama appears to be playing down campaign talk about the health law, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney took the opposite approach by offering his vision of health care in America when the law is undone.

14 Jun 2012

WHO agency classifies diesel exhaust as 'carcinogenic'

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO's cancer arm, on Tuesday announced it has reclassified diesel engine exhaust from "probably carcinogenic" to "carcinogenic," the U.N. News Centre reports, noting the decision came "after a week-long meeting of international experts, and the agency based its decision on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer."

14 Jun 2012

OAS members must assist U.S. efforts to ensure food security in Americas

"Together with international partners, the United States has launched an unprecedented effort over the past three years to reverse a decades-long decline in agricultural investments," with a goal of "alleviating the chronic hunger that afflicts nearly one billion people around the world, including an estimated 53 million in Latin America and the Caribbean," a VOA editorial states.

14 Jun 2012

'Child Survival Call to Action' event to take place in Washington this week

"The governments of the United States, India, and Ethiopia will in collaboration with UNICEF convene the Child Survival Call to Action in Washington, D.C.," a two-day event beginning Thursday, which "brings together 700 leaders and global experts to launch a sustained effort to save children's lives," a UNICEF press release reports.

14 Jun 2012

Use, overuse of imaging tests adds about $100 billion to U.S. medical bills

The use of diagnostic imaging has nearly tripled since the mid-1990s, according to a new study, raising questions about whether the benefits outweigh the risks of increased radiation exposure.

14 Jun 2012

Senate panel includes funding for implementing health law in spending bill

A Senate Appropriations panel on Tuesday approved a fiscal 2013 spending bill for labor, health and education programs that includes funding to implement provisions of the 2010 health care overhaul, despite Republican objections. The Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee approved the draft measure along party lines, 10-7.

14 Jun 2012

UHCO alumnus donate $5 million to University of Houston

University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) alumnus Dr. Doug Barnes and his wife, Molly, have made a $5 million pledge to the University of Houston. The gift will be submitted for state matching funds through the Texas Research Incentive Program.

14 Jun 2012

State roundup: Mass. bill seeking Alzheimer's care standards moves forward

A proposal to create minimum standards for Alzheimer's and dementia care in Massachusetts nursing homes is one step closer to becoming law. The state Senate Tuesday unanimously passed legislation that would require the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which regulates nursing homes, to establish minimum standards for facilities with dementia care units. The House approved the proposal last month.

14 Jun 2012