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GOP lawmakers draw comparisons between Medicare plan, FEHBP

GOP Lawmakers Tout Medicare Reform By Stretching A Comparison To The Health Benefits They Receive During the congressional recess, Rep. Ryan and other Republican lawmakers have been selling their proposal to restructure Medicare with what appears to be a poll-tested phrase: It will be similar to a system "just like" what members of Congress have.

3 May 2011

New study: Text-heavy labels can reduce acetaminophen overdose

While well known for relieving everyday aches and pains, few realize that when misused, acetaminophen can lead to acute liver failure and even death, often due to accidental overdose by an uninformed consumer. A new small study looked at what's missing in consumer education about acetaminophen and how to overcome those gaps.

3 May 2011

Romney discusses his state's overhaul at Republican event

Speaking at a "tea party" forum on Friday evening, former governor Mitt Romney, now a GOP presidential hopeful, offered "tepid" defenses of his state's health law and said that the Mass. overhaul was an "experiment" and some parts of it "didn't work."

3 May 2011

Tips on how to stay safe and heal emotionally after tornado attack

Although the threat of another tornado is gone for now, other potential dangers lurk in the storm's aftermath, said several University of Alabama at Birmingham experts. They recently offered tips on how to stay safe and heal emotionally in the days after the devastating April 27 storm.

3 May 2011

Study finds disparities in male, female patients for heart disease treatment at U.S. hospitals

A study released today by HealthGrades, the nation's leading, independent source of physician information and hospital quality ratings, found notable disparities in the treatment and outcomes of male and female patients at U.S. hospitals.

3 May 2011

Sparks continue to fly around GOP Medicare plan

News outlets offer varying takes on how voters and fellow Republicans are reacting to the GOP plan to transform Medicare.

3 May 2011

Medicare unveils rules for hospital quality bonuses

The shift in payment strategy will reward hospitals for the quality, rather than the quantity, of care they provide. The change was set in motion by the health law.

3 May 2011

Poor asthma training among GP’s: Report

According to figures revealed by authorities, a lack of training for GPs in how to treat asthma is putting sufferers' lives at risk. Asthma UK says a survey found that 47 per cent of GPs admit their own knowledge about the condition could be better. Emergency hospital admissions for asthma cost the NHS over £60m a year, yet the charity maintains 75 per cent of admissions are avoidable. It estimates at least £45m could be saved if GPs were better informed and care was better managed.

3 May 2011

Leeds hospitals fined over levels of superbug related cases

According to latest figures the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) superbug cases are again above allowed levels at Leeds hospitals and the hospitals are now facing a fine of £500,000 over failure to tackle the bug. As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post earlier this year, every month that the number of MRSA cases exceeds a target agreed by health bosses, a fine of £100,000 is levied. Between April last year and the end of January, the target was breached four times.

3 May 2011

U.Va, Coulter Foundation partner for translational research in biomedical engineering

The University of Virginia and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation have teamed to create a $20 million endowment to foster research collaboration between biomedical engineers and clinicians, with the goal of developing new technologies to improve patient care and human health.

3 May 2011

Sports-specialization can increase risk of injuries in young athletes

Competitive young athletes are under increasing pressure to play only one sport year round, but such specialization could increase the risk of injuries, a Loyola University Health System study has found.

3 May 2011

Helping Babies Breathe focuses on resuscitation in 'The Golden Minute'

A program that teaches health care workers in developing countries basic techniques to resuscitate babies immediately after birth is saving lives, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, May 3, at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Denver.

3 May 2011

Congress returns to work on the budget; Medicare will be key

All sides of the budget issue are preparing for a long fight. Among the key players is the so-called "Gang of Six," which is honing its deficit reduction plan.

3 May 2011

Study shows how secondhand smoke may increase vulnerability to nicotine addiction

Exposure to secondhand smoke, such as a person can get by riding in an enclosed car while someone else smokes, has a direct, measurable impact on the brain-and the effect is similar to what happens in the brain of the person doing the smoking.

3 May 2011

Incentive-based wellness programs can lead to low health care costs

A new longitudinal study conducted among participants in the world's largest incentive-based health enhancement program shows that wellness programs incorporating positive incentives can lead to behavior change that, over time, are associated with lower health care costs.

3 May 2011

Washing hands with contaminated soap can increase bacterial infection

People who wash their hands with contaminated soap from bulk-soap-refillable dispensers can increase the number of disease-causing microbes on their hands and may play a role in transmission of bacteria in public settings according to research published in the May issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

3 May 2011

Opinions: Population growth; global HIV response; global malaria fight; child brides

International population dynamics are a "ticking time bomb, which we cannot afford to neglect any longer," George Tsereteli, president of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development, writes in a New Europe opinion piece.

3 May 2011

Case Western Reserve launches new scientific and computational programs in Ohio

The Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is pleased to announce it has established the first PhD and MS program in Systems Biology and Bioinformatics in the State of Ohio. Based in the School of Medicine, with the Center for Proteomics and Bioinformatics as its administrative home, the faculty cohort will include faculty from multiple departments and schools, and the fundamental core competencies for this program will include: genes and proteins; bioinformatics; and quantitative analysis and modeling.

3 May 2011

CMS: States to analyze Medicaid provider payments, access issues

CMS officials may have kept the Supreme Court from injecting itself into the controversy over disparate state Medicaid payment rates for various providers through a proposed rule issued Friday.

3 May 2011

State roundup: Assisted living hazards in Fla.; Ariz.'s Medicaid limits

Despite some efforts to ease the blow to pediatric health care providers, Texas' proposed budget cuts will most likely have a disproportionate effect on children's hospitals.

3 May 2011