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A gradual approach? The health law in the states

The Obama administration's surprise announcement Friday that it planned to give states broad leeway to pick the benefits offered under the federal health care law offers yet another example of a gradualist approach to carrying out its signal domestic policy achievement.

22 Dec 2011

Federal officials extend Medicaid waiver for Mass.

The federal government on Tuesday extended a Medicaid waiver in Massachusetts, which was first implemented as part of then-Gov. Mitt Romney's healthcare overhaul. The waiver will now run through 2014. It is focused primarily on efforts to improve the cost and quality of the Medicaid program and better coordinate care. The waiver provides incentives for hospitals to improve their efforts to integrate their services.

22 Dec 2011

Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute earns CoC accreditation

The Commission on Cancer, a national consortium of organizations dedicated to improving survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients, has recognized Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute as one of nation's foremost cancer programs.

22 Dec 2011

Drugmaker Merck to pay $24M to settle Medicaid case

Drugmaker Merck & Co. will pay Massachusetts $24 million to settle a civil lawsuit accusing a former subsidiary of causing the state to overpay pharmacists for a widely used asthma medication. Attorney General Martha Coakley said Tuesday that the deal with Merck and 12 other drugmakers who settled previously enables the state to recover more than $47 million for its Medicaid program.

22 Dec 2011

Study analyzes how often patients receive preoperative medical consultation

Researchers in Toronto, Canada found that whether a patient received a preoperative medical consultation was not tied to his/her health or the risk of the operation, rather which hospital he/she was having surgery was a large determining factor.

22 Dec 2011

'Global Pulse' blog examines declining TB incidence in Estonia

In this post in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, journalist John Donnelly reports on tuberculosis (TB) in Estonia and how the country has significantly reduced the proportion of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases since 1998. He writes, "The numbers of new TB cases in Estonia were five times that of the Nordic countries in 1998, but the numbers have tumbled since then and last year Estonia had cut that in half, to 2.5 times the number."

22 Dec 2011

Asynchronous telemedicine can improve healthcare delivery in rural areas

A lack of infrastructure in developing countries, and particularly in rural areas, often ensures that healthcare provision is absent. Research published in the International Journal of Services, Economics and Management by a team at Howard University in Washington DC suggests a solution to this insidious problem involving the development of telemedicine.

22 Dec 2011

HHS rule keeps information about physician misconduct secret

Buried deep in a federal database is Practitioner No. 222117, perhaps the most frequently disciplined doctor in America. … But who is this doctor? … The Department of Health and Human Services imposed new rules this fall restricting how researchers and reporters can use anonymous information the government keeps in the database where No. 222117 resides - along with more than 196,000 other doctors with malpractice or discipline issues.

22 Dec 2011

Report: Funding cuts put public health preparedness at risk

Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concluded the nation's public health capacity is being undermined by funding cuts to state and local health departments.

22 Dec 2011

New model to analyze health hazards linked with pesticides and toxic chemicals

Approximately 80,000 industrial chemicals are in use and about 700 new chemicals are introduced to commerce each year in the United States, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. To assess human health risks from exposure to harmful substances, James Englehardt, professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Miami, is proposing a new technique that is more efficient than current methods.

22 Dec 2011

Haiti experiencing decline in cholera cases as dry season begins

"Haiti has seen a steady decline in the number of cholera cases, as the Caribbean nation settles into its dry season, humanitarian groups said Tuesday," the Associated Press reports, adding, "The seasonal decline in the number of cholera cases is consistent with the findings of a report released Tuesday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs."

22 Dec 2011

Examining the proposed federal global health appropriations

In this post on the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Denizhan Duran and Amanda Glassman of CGD review the proposed FY12 federal global health appropriation approved recently by Congress.

22 Dec 2011

PolitiFact's 2011 Lie of the Year: 'Mediscare'

This marks the third year in a row that a health care claim has won this title. This time around, the Democrats take the prize for their assertions that Republicans had advanced policies to "end Medicare."

22 Dec 2011

Without resolution on payroll tax cut or 'doc fix,' congress packs up

House Republicans rejected the deal - approved by the Senate before it adjourned for the holidays - to extend the payroll tax cut. This event is the latest in a chain of ongoing congressional sagas marked by questions of what the government should fund and how it pay for it.

22 Dec 2011

Household washing machines seem to be a major source of microplastic pollution

The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions" podcast series discusses the discovery that household washing machines seem to be a major source of so-called "microplastic" pollution -- bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin -- that researchers now have detected on ocean shorelines worldwide.

22 Dec 2011

Romney, Obama on the attack

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney used a TV appearance to take on rival candidate Newt Gingrich regarding a range of policy and political issues. Meanwhile, aides to President Barack Obama blasted Romney for shying away from the similarities between Massachusetts' health reforms and the 2010 health law. Negative ads also flood the Iowa airwaves.

22 Dec 2011

Scottish ethnic groups more likely to be admitted in hospital with chest pain and angina

Scots of Pakistani origin are 50 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital with chest pain and angina than those of Indian ethnicity, a study has found.

22 Dec 2011

Analyzing the politics and policies of the Wyden-Ryan Medicare plan

Politico reports on how the Medicare revamp proposal announced last week by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., may add to Ryan's conservative street cred. Meanwhile, Medscape reports on one of the cost controls included in the approach.

22 Dec 2011

Gottlieb specialist, NWCR offer top weight-loss tips

Losing weight and saving money are the top New Year's resolutions expected to challenge Americans this year, experts say.

22 Dec 2011

Guardian podcast examines development issues of 2011, outlook for 2012

This Guardian "Global Development" podcast looks back at development issues in 2011 and asks "what the big development stories might be in 2012," examining the impact of the economic crisis on developing countries and the outlook for future global health funding.

22 Dec 2011