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Stakeholders, GOP lawmakers focus efforts against Medicare spending panel

News outlets report on how the health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board is the focus of negative attention from numerous vantage points.

27 Jan 2011

ASPS, FDA collaborate to establish national breast implant registry

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is establishing a national registry for breast implants in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The registry is being developed in response to reports of a rare lymphoma--Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL)—in a very small number of women with breast implants.

27 Jan 2011

MRSA screening in ICU patients can save costs for hospitals

Screening patients in the intensive care unit for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus roduces cost savings for the whole hospital, according to a study that used a statistical simulation model published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

27 Jan 2011

FAQ: Selling health insurance across state lines

"A day after voting to repeal the federal health law, a group of more than 60 House Republicans introduced a bill reviving an idea long popular with conservatives: allowing consumers to buy health insurance across state lines so that residents of a state with expensive health plans could find cheaper options"

27 Jan 2011

Parents who share caregiving for preschool children may experience more conflict

Parents who share caregiving for their preschool children may experience more conflict than those in which the mother is the primary caregiver, according to a new study.

27 Jan 2011

New study: 'Difficult' patient-clinician encounters have negative impact on health outcomes

'Difficult' patient-clinician encounters have a negative impact on patients' health outcomes in the short-term, according to a new study by Sheri Hinchey from the Tripler Army Medical Centre in Honolulu and Jeffrey Jackson from the Zablocki VA Medical Centre in Milwaukee.

27 Jan 2011

It may not be the end for employer-sponsored insurance

A new study finds the effects of health care reform to be minimal on employer-sponsored insurance, despite criticism that changes to how insurance premiums are calculated will force employers to stop offering coverage.

27 Jan 2011

Highly-caffeinated energy drinks with no alcohol may pose threat to individuals

Highly-caffeinated energy drinks - even those containing no alcohol - may pose a significant threat to individuals and public health, say researchers at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

27 Jan 2011

WSJ: Biotech generics battle heats up

A battle is heating up over the meaning of a single word in the health overhaul that could mean billions of dollars to the makers of biotechnology drugs (Mundy, 1/26).

27 Jan 2011

Six key points to tackle substance abuse, addiction problems among nurses

As many as ten to 20 per cent of nurses and nursing students may have substance abuse and addiction problems, but the key to tackling this difficult issue - and protecting public safety - is support and treatment, not punishment. That is the key message in a paper in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

27 Jan 2011

Impulse Monitoring signs agreement with MidMichigan Health

Impulse Monitoring, a leading provider of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring services to hospitals, today announced that it has signed an agreement with MidMichigan Health, Midland, MI.

26 Jan 2011

Viewpoints: Trying to regulate insurance premium rates, fighting Medicare fraud

Big, powerful industries facing tougher government oversight — the health insurance industry, say — know that the legislative battle in Congress or state capitals is just the first skirmish. The more important fight is over the regulations that implement legislative policies (Michael Hiltzik, 1/25).

26 Jan 2011

Medica Health Plans grants $6.5 million to Research Institute

The Medica Research Institute has received a contribution from Medica Health Plans in the amount of $6.5 million. This contribution will be used by the Research Institute to further its mission.

26 Jan 2011

Lehigh Valley Physician Hospital, Aetna reach agreement on new four-year contract for LVHN

Aetna announced that it has reached agreement on a new four-year contract for Lehigh Valley Health Network with Lehigh Valley Physician Hospital, DBA Valley Preferred.

26 Jan 2011

First Edition: January 26, 2011

Reporting for KHN, in collaboration with Politico, Bara Vaida writes: "Lobbyists for doctors, hospitals and drug companies are urging lawmakers to derail a planned government panel that health industry officials fear will sharply curb Medicare spending -- a critical revenue source for them".

26 Jan 2011

ECCA and EDMA advance the EU health literacy debate

As part of the 2011 European Cervical Cancer Week, EDMA, the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association and the ECCA, the European Cervical Cancer Association jointly organised the "Better Health Literacy for Better Health in Europe" dinner debate.

26 Jan 2011

Mental health laws delayed to take into account public opinion

The Victorian government has extended the closing date for public comment on changes to the state’s Mental Health Act. The deadline has been extended to February 28. Submissions on the Exposure Draft Mental Health Bill 2010 can be lodged online.

26 Jan 2011

First Edition: January 25, 2011

Today's health policy headlines include speculation about what President Barack Obama will say during tonight's State of The Union address and how the GOP will respond to it.

25 Jan 2011

Arizona State University sponsored forum addresses child health crises in America

Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, FACS, 17th Surgeon General of the U.S. (2002-2006), said there is "no choice but to act" today to find solutions to the child obesity epidemic and mental health problems in the nation at a forum attended by more than 200 health leaders at the National Press Club. Dr. Carmona made his remarks at "America's Children at Peril: Solving the Child Obesity and Mental Health Epidemics," a forum sponsored by Arizona State University and its College of Nursing & Health Innovation.

25 Jan 2011

Majority of the public favor physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients in great pain

A new Harris/BBC World News America poll finds that large majorities of Americans now favor physician assisted suicide and euthanasia for terminally ill patients in great pain who wish to end their lives. It also finds that a majority of people over 65 now have written directives regarding the type of care they would like to receive, or not to receive, at the end stages of their lives.

25 Jan 2011