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First Edition: August 31, 2011

Today's headlines include details about the GOP tax expert who has been named to help run the deficit-reduction "super committee" as well as the health policy ideas Republican governors are offering in the context of the nation's fiscal fix.

31 Aug 2011

Goodwin House selects Healthsense as aging services technology provider

Healthsense, Inc. is pleased to announce that Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads has selected Healthsense as their aging services technology provider.

31 Aug 2011

Infant rotavirus vaccination may provide indirect protection to older children, adults in the U.S.

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus also prevents serious disease in unvaccinated older children and adults, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

31 Aug 2011

Regis to host one-day haircutting event in support of breast cancer research

This year, the American Cancer Society estimates over 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.

31 Aug 2011

Family planning can improve maternal and child health, survival

Describing a maternal health program that promotes family planning in the rural village of Bweremana in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Michael Gerson writes in his Washington Post column that "the very words 'family planning' light up the limbic centers of American politics."

31 Aug 2011

ALEC offers state legislators advice on the health law's repeal

The American Legislative Exchange Council, a controversial and somewhat shadowy national group that works to influence state legislators, has a manual for fighting the federal health reform law.

31 Aug 2011

Bracing for deficit panel battle between defense, health interests

Meanwhile, home health advocates are launching campaigns to ward off more Medicare payment cuts when Congress returns to Capitol Hill.

31 Aug 2011

GAO reviews impact of health law's medical-loss ratio provision

Also in today's health policy headlines, the Wall Street Journal reports that a new state-federal program will put steep health premium increases under the microscope and the Washington Post showcases a map detailing state-by-state progress on creating health exchanges.

31 Aug 2011

Dems, union activists flex Medicare muscle at town hall meetings

Democrats and union activists have made a concerted effort to play the town hall game this summer, pressing lawmakers to preserve Medicare and end tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

31 Aug 2011

Medicare costs will increase with weight of baby boomers

The largest generation may now be the fattest generation ever. And that spells trouble for the health care system. Studies show that baby boomers - 81 million born between 1946 to 1964 - are losing the battle of the bulge.

31 Aug 2011

Chagas parasite infects 18M worldwide, often without detection

Chagas, which is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects 18 million people worldwide, but is particularly prevalent in Latin American countries, "where a bug called the vinchuga, sometimes known as the kissing bug, transmits the disease," the Atlantic reports. The parasite "remains dormant in peoples' bodies for up to 30 years, until it kills them suddenly by stopping their hearts or rupturing their intestines," the magazine writes.

31 Aug 2011

Ramped-up anti-fraud efforts trigger significant jump in prosecutions

New government statistics show federal health care fraud prosecutions in the first eight months of 2011 are on pace to rise 85 percent over last year due in large part to ramped-up enforcement efforts under the Obama administration.

31 Aug 2011

Changes to Medigap plans meet resistance

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, Susan Jaffe writes: A provision of the 2010 federal health law seeking to increase Medicare beneficiaries' share of health care costs is meeting resistance from an unlikely group of 33 state insurance regulators, health insurers and consumer advocates charged with revising Medigap insurance policies that cover most out-of-pocket expenses.

31 Aug 2011

Medical professionals play a role in prevention of abuse, harassment and bullying in sport

Sport and exercise medicine professionals have an important responsibility to protect the athletes under their care against abuse, harassment, and bullying, according to a position paper published in the September issue of Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine.

31 Aug 2011

Many women give birth in Haiti's tent camps without medical services

In the refugee camps in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince nearly two years after a devastating earthquake, "health and human rights officials warn of another crisis: an explosion of tent babies," the Miami Herald reports.

31 Aug 2011

Nova Southeastern University's medical school plans to expand residency programs

Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) medical school announced plans to expand its affiliated residency programs following recent Congressional legislation to increase the number of residency spots in Florida.

31 Aug 2011

Poll: Understanding of health law slipping — especially among uninsured

The poll also shows that, among people with employer-sponsored health insurance, very few respondents would accept changes - such as a more restricted list of doctors or hospitals - to their current coverage levels.

31 Aug 2011

Erratic weather exacerbates food insecurity in Indonesia's eastern province

"Erratic weather has exacerbated food insecurity in one of Indonesia's driest regions," including the districts of West Timor (TTS), Nusa Tengarra Timor (NTT), and North Central Timor (TTU), "leaving farmers and families hoping for the best as October's planting season approaches," IRIN reports.

31 Aug 2011

Aid floods into Tripoli, hospitals reopen as fighting ends in Libya's capital city

"Tripoli's hospitals have put the worst behind them after an end to the fighting in Libya's capital opened the way to a flood of aid and enabled medical staff to get back to work, aid agencies said on Monday," Reuters reports, adding, "Although the violence in Tripoli has not completely ended, the relative peace has reassured aid agencies that they can now get into the capital."

31 Aug 2011

New innovations in plant biotechnology could bring hope for patients with Celiac disease

From medicine and food to energy and agriculture, bio-based innovations are in great demand, providing new solutions to the challenges faced by societies in the 21st century. New innovations in plant biotechnology, such as the development of gluten-free wheat, could bring hope to those suffering from Celiac disease. On a global scale, as the world population nears seven billion people, biotechnology plays an increasing role in plant health and thereby, human food supplies.

31 Aug 2011