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Low-tech, inexpensive interventions for bedsores could benefit long-term care residents

Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that low-tech, inexpensive interventions for bedsores could improve health for long-term care residents and reduce health-care costs for the facilities that house them.

29 Sep 2011

African leaders showing 'clear commitment' to fighting malaria

"The focused attention that malaria has received by African governments and international organizations has had a major impact, with the rates of mortality coming down dramatically in the continent," and the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) has helped lead this campaign, an IPP Media editorial states.

29 Sep 2011

NFIB asks Supreme Court to strike down all of the 2010 health law

The National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business advocacy organization, will file an appeal today. In it, the group will ask the high court to move beyond the law's individual mandate and strike down the entire measure.

29 Sep 2011

Costs of premiums for employer-provided health insurance jump

A study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average annual premium for family coverage was 9 percent higher in 2011 than in the previous year. Although many benefit analysts say the federal health law's requirements played only a small part in the rise, the results could provide political fodder for the law's supporters and opponents.

29 Sep 2011

With ALMA scorecard, African leaders are taking responsibility in malaria fight

The African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) is "spearheading the fight against malaria" in Africa, bringing together 40 heads of state and "offering a compelling example of what is possible through co-operation, leadership, commitment, and sound management of national and international funds," Tanzania President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete writes in a post on the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

29 Sep 2011

ACOs: Will feds be ready for the start date?

Health care stakeholders and lobbyists are increasingly convinced that CMS will not make the Jan. 1 deadline for launching the flagship accountable care organization program mandated by the Affordable Care Act as release of the final rule slips later into the fall.

29 Sep 2011

National Partnership for Women & Families, ACP commend Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the National Partnership for Women & Families joined today to commend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the announcement of the new Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative.

29 Sep 2011

HHS awards prevention funds with Community Transformation Grants

News outlets report on local winners, how they will use these new resources to promote healthy living and disease prevention and how the funding is sometimes at odds with their leaders' opposition to the health law.

29 Sep 2011

Hospitals fall short in efforts to curb readmissions

A Dartmouth Atlas report that studied Medicare beneficiaries concluded that hospital readmission rates are largely static. Facilities will face financial penalities next year if they do not improve their statistics.

29 Sep 2011

House GOP lawmakers launch new investigation into Planned Parenthood

House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., sent Planned Parenthood a six-page letter earlier this month requesting financial information and details on how the women's health organization keeps federal funds separate from abortion services.

29 Sep 2011

NPR: What boomers think about health and retirement

Most baby boomers say they're planning on an active and healthy retirement, according to a new poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. And, in a switch from earlier years, more than two-thirds recognize the threat of long-term care expenses to their financial futures.

29 Sep 2011

Debt panel operates in secret, eyes 'dual eligibles' as possible source of savings

The 'super committee' is taking a look at proposals to reduce spending on this population, which qualifies for both Medicare and Medicaid and is made up of the sickest and poorest American citizens. In the background, the New York Times examines what congressional "short-term fixes" say about the legislative body.

29 Sep 2011

Administration seeks quick Supreme Court health law ruling

This Justice Department step is being viewed as a signal that the Obama administration wants the high court to decide the question of the health law's constitutionality before the 2012 presidential election.

29 Sep 2011

NORC report shows clear trend toward greater tolerance of homosexuality

Although sharply divided, public attitudes toward gays and lesbians are rapidly changing to reflect greater acceptance, with younger generations leading the way, research by NORC at the University of Chicago shows.

29 Sep 2011

Plans to cut municipal workers' health benefits reconsidered in L.A.; DeKalb County, Ga.

Los Angeles officials are being challenged on their authority to make changes and, in Georgia, officials have delayed their vote after concerns were raised about costs of the popular program.

29 Sep 2011

ICSU endorses plans for new global initiative on urban health

The General Assembly of the International Council for Science (ICSU) today endorsed plans for a new global initiative " Health and Wellbeing in the Changing Urban Environment: A Systems Analysis Approach".

29 Sep 2011

Roundup: Calif. legislator's health bill comes under scrutiny; D.C. facing doctor shortage

A few hours earlier, using an obscure parliamentary procedure, the senator had carved the contents out of a bill about local gas taxes and "amended" it into a proposal to warn women about breast cancer risks. It was now speeding through the statehouse so fast, and with so little scrutiny, that Sen. Joe Simitian would later be on the defensive about one significant effect: a possible multimillion-dollar windfall for a medical business in his district.

29 Sep 2011