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Romney and other GOP leaders have complicated histories with health law

The former governor has faced a fusillade from the right for the plan they call RomneyCare. But a look back at the birth of the Mass. law shows why he can't, and won't, back away. It was an amazing political feat, and no one's role was bigger than his. ... Six years later, the decision to press ahead with an individual mandate has had far-reaching and still evolving consequences.

1 Jun 2011

ACLU and Planned Parenthood sue South Dakota

Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in federal court charging that a South Dakota abortion law set to take effect July 1st violates both free speech rights and a woman's right to obtain an abortion.

1 Jun 2011

National survey finds gender and race affect self-reported health

A survey of nearly 4,000 Americans finds that obese women reported significantly worse health than obese men. Blacks who were overweight also reported better health than blacks in the normal or obese weight categories.

1 Jun 2011

Cancer Research renews call for EU to adopt plain packaging on all tobacco products

On World No Tobacco Day today Cancer Research UK has renewed its call for the European Union (EU) to adopt standardised, plain packaging with graphic pictures of health warnings on all tobacco products.

1 Jun 2011

Government questions plantiff's standing in challenge to health law

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on the Thomas More Law Center case in Cincinnati tomorrow. Government lawyers say one of the plaintiffs lacks standing.

1 Jun 2011

Hospitals facing pressure to hold down costs and cut infections; drug shortages reported

For the first time in its history, Medicare will soon track spending on millions of individual beneficiaries, reward hospitals that hold down costs and penalize those whose patients prove most expensive. The administration plans to establish "Medicare spending per beneficiary" as a new measure of hospital performance, just like the mortality rate for heart attack patients and the infection rate for surgery patients.

1 Jun 2011

POWER study examines impact of HIV infection on Ontario women

Despite significant clinical advances in HIV care, an estimated 25 per cent of new HIV infections in Ontario from 2006 to 2008 were among women, according to a health study by researchers from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and St. Michael's Hospital.

1 Jun 2011

HHS cutting high-risk pool premiums

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced new steps Tuesday to bolster enrollment in insurance pools for sick people, which have come under fire from Republicans after falling short of their enrollment goals. The department announced that it is cutting premiums and easing eligibility criteria for the high-risk pools.

1 Jun 2011

As work changes, docs and nurses changing too

There are no national surveys that track doctors' political leanings, but as more doctors move from business owner to shift worker, their historic alliance with the Republican Party is weakening ... Doctors were once overwhelmingly male and usually owned their own practices. They generally favored lower taxes and regularly fought lawyers to restrict patient lawsuits.

1 Jun 2011

Elsevier introduces new International Journal of Paleopathology

Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of a new journal, International Journal of Paleopathology, the official journal of the Paleopathology Association.

1 Jun 2011

Cell phones of hospital patients, visitors likely to contain potentially dangerous bacteria

Cell phones used by patients and their visitors were twice as likely to contain potentially dangerous bacteria as those of healthcare workers, according to a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

1 Jun 2011

Emory University launches AIDSVu interactive online map for public

On Wednesday, June 1, the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University will launch AIDSVu, an interactive online map that, 30 years into the epidemic, provides for the most detailed publicly available view of the impact of HIV across the United States by state and county.

1 Jun 2011

Pawlenty outlines plans for Medicare

The former Minnesota governor discusses his plans for the entitlement program on ABC's "This Week" and on the campaign trail in Iowa.

1 Jun 2011

State roundup: Texas budget cuts; Florida's 'F' in kids' teeth; new insurance programs for Conn., Maine

Texas lawmakers adopted a state budget Saturday night ... Facing a massive revenue shortfall, lawmakers crafted the $172 billion budget by making cuts and using deferrals rather than raising taxes or dipping into the $10 billion reserve fund.

1 Jun 2011

Queensland health director general quits

The director-general of Queensland Health will leave the department this week as the fallout from the failed payroll disaster continues. It was known that Mick Reid would vacate the director's chair after three years in the role. His contract expires later this month, however he will take leave from his position from Friday.

1 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Political impact of Ryan plan; would VA health system work for all?; Calif. insurance rates

Representative Paul Ryan is rebutting critics of his plan to turn Medicare into a "premium support" program, pointing to two existing programs that he says prove his approach would be better for beneficiaries. Don't believe it. The two programs he cites as prototypes — the insurance program for members of Congress and the Medicare prescription drug program — differ in critical respects from his proposal to sharply limit federal spending. The losers will be the beneficiaries who have to pay more.

1 Jun 2011

Health IT roundup: Feds monitor privacy breaches and propose changes to HIPPA records sharing

Federal health officials call it the Wall of Shame. It's a government Web page that lists nearly 300 hospitals, doctors and insurance companies that have reported significant breaches of medical privacy in the last couple of years. Such lapses, frightening to consumers, could impede the Obama administration's effort to shift the nation to electronic health care records.

31 May 2011

First Edition: May 31, 2011

Today's headlines include articles on the federal efforts to improve hospital quality, the politics of Medicare and the move by some GOP governors to set up health exchanges.

31 May 2011

Moisturisers, hair dyes cause serious adverse effects

Permanent hair dye gives the most serious adverse effects, yet there are also many reactions to facial and body moisturisers. This comes from the first report from the National Register of Adverse Effects from Cosmetic Products published by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

31 May 2011