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S.C. GOP primary puts spotlight on Romney abortion stance

Nine days before the South Carolina primary, Mitt Romney has 'picked up his pro-life rhetoric' as Newt Gingrich goes on the attack.

13 Jan 2012

MedPAC: Raise, and also lower, Medicare reimbursements to hospitals

Medicare payments for hospitals' inpatient and outpatient services should increase 1%, Medicare's advisory panel recommended Thursday, while pay for evaluation and management in hospitals' outpatient facilities should drop to the amount provided to physicians' offices for such services. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted 16-1 to recommend the 1% update for inpatient and outpatient hospital services for 2013.

13 Jan 2012

Women's health, rights especially vulnerable during an election year

In this Huffington Post opinion piece, Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity, writes, "In 2012, there is a presidency at stake -- so what does that mean for women's health and rights in the coming year? How will political posturing and the race for votes affect what really matters?"

13 Jan 2012

State Roundup: Iowa mental health budget tussle; Calif. orders Anthem to pay docs, hospitals

Anthem Blue Cross has been ordered to pay doctors and hospitals for outstanding services dating back to 2007 after the insurer failed to remediate violations revealed by a state audit, California regulators said Thursday. It's unclear how much money the medical providers would get if Anthem complies with the order from the Department of Managed Health Care.

13 Jan 2012

Health law's individual mandate, essential benefits draw headlines

A new study concludes that dropping the individual mandate would result in overall lower health spending, but increases in health insurance premium costs. Meanwhile, CQ HealthBeat reports on the drama that surrounds the Obama administration's essential benefits proposal.

13 Jan 2012

Red wine and dark chocolate are the real food of love

Forget the oysters and the champagne this Valentine's Day. If you want to keep your true love's heart beating strong, Susan Ofria, clinical nutrition manager at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, said the real food of love is dark chocolate and red wine.

13 Jan 2012

Governors' agendas include Medicaid but not much on state insurance exchanges

Meanwhile, a Colorado legislator seeks to force the governor to ask for a waiver to change the Medicaid program.

13 Jan 2012

HHS Secretary Sebelius helps India mark one year since last recorded polio case

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "administered polio vaccination drops to children in New Delhi on Friday as India marked one year since its last case of the crippling disease," the Associated Press reports (1/13).

13 Jan 2012

U.S. Army working to bring virtual health care to Albanian hospitals

The U.S. Army in a news article on its website reports on how it is working to "bring virtual health care to Albanian hospitals" through a telemedicine program that "aims to link different levels of health care to ensure a better functioning and sustainable system."

13 Jan 2012

Oregon, Georgia following very different health exchange paths

In Georgia, the state GOP leaders and the governor have agreed not to push an exchange bill. Meanwhile, in Oregon, consumer groups have offered a list of priorities to the organization responsible for developing its exchange.

13 Jan 2012

Despite pending state health law legal challenge, some legislators take opposite stand

Media outlets from Connecticut, Texas and Iowa report on how a Supreme Court brief, which was filed by the Progressive States Network and signed by hundreds of state officials, is shaking up some state-level policy discussions.

13 Jan 2012

HHS says Trustmark's planned insurance rate hikes are 'unreasonable'

The insurance company, whose proposed increases would have taken place in five states, has a very different view of the situation.

13 Jan 2012

Journalists discuss challenges of reporting on global health issues

The Global Post's "Global Pulse" blog reports on a GlobalPost and Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard seminar that took place in December, at which "journalists discussed the challenges in telling compelling global health stories in the digital age."

13 Jan 2012

CVS agrees to pay $5M to settle Medicare drug false advertising claims

After more than two years of investigation, CVS Caremark agreed on Thursday to pay $5 million to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the company had misrepresented the price of certain prescription drugs in one of its Medicare drug plans, causing many older consumers to pay significantly higher prices than advertised.

13 Jan 2012

FDA under scrutiny for appointment of 3 scientists with ties to industry

Fiscal Times looks at concerns about conflicts of interest on FDA advisory committees. Also, ProPublica examines a bill that would make results from NIH-financed studies harder to get.

13 Jan 2012

Political cartooon: 'A Healthy Bottom Line'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "A Healthy Bottom Line" by Matt Wuerker.

13 Jan 2012

Chamber president calls for entitlement reform

Tom Donohue, the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security costs must be tamed.

13 Jan 2012

5 percent of Americans account for half of nation's health care spending

A new report from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has found that five percent of Americans are responsible for half the nation's health care spending. In the meantime, half the population spends practically nothing on health care in a year.

13 Jan 2012

USAID's Shah discusses progress in post-earthquake Haiti on NPR's Talk of the Nation

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on Thursday appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation to discuss rebuilding efforts in Haiti two years after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

13 Jan 2012

Despite one year without polio cases, threat of disease still looms in India

T. Jacob John, a former professor of clinical virology an the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, who has served on several Global and National Committees on Immunization and Polio Eradication, writes in this opinion piece in India's Hindu, "While one year has passed without polio caused by natural poliovirus, we can claim complete eradication only after we ensure the absence of wild and vaccine polioviruses in the population."

13 Jan 2012