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PwC: Top Health Industry Issues of 2011

Health organizations will undergo a strategy makeover in 2011 as they react to new rules and payment models, continuing cost pressures and new customer demands, according to the Top Health Industry Issues of 2011, published today by PwC's Health Research Institute. But in a recent nationwide survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, PwC found that consumers don't fully understand or buy-in to all the changes.

20 Dec 2010

Americans' confidence in ability to obtain, afford healthcare continues to decline

Americans' confidence in their ability to obtain and afford healthcare continued its decline in November, falling another point according to a consumer sentiment index produced by Thomson Reuters.

20 Dec 2010

Tips to keep alcohol intake in check for a healthier, safer holiday season

There seems to be a little bit more of everything during the holidays: more travel, more parties, more food, and certainly more alcoholic drinks.

20 Dec 2010

Donors pledge almost $49.3B for World Bank's International Development Association fund

The World Bank on Wednesday announced that its International Development Association (IDA) fund will receive $49.3 billion over the next three years, Bloomberg reports (Christie/Martens, 12/15).

20 Dec 2010

New U.N. commission will track donors' pledges on maternal, child health

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete will co-chair a new "U.N. commission tasked with tracking whether $40 billion in pledges from countries and aid groups are really flowing to efforts to improve the health of mothers and young children in poor countries, and what impact the programs have," the Globe and Mail reports (Clark, 12/16).

20 Dec 2010

Medicare bonus payment pilot program also a test for ACOs

Half of 10 physician groups testing Medicare bonus payments for quality and spending control earned payouts during the fourth year of the five-year experiment, the CMS has announced. Bonuses, which totaled $31.7 million for the fourth year, are based on how much physician groups save Medicare and how well doctors perform on measures of quality.

20 Dec 2010

FDA warns against consumption of Sally Jackson cheese due to risk of E. coli O157:H7

The FDA, in cooperation with other state and local public health agencies, is warning consumers not to eat any Sally Jackson cheeses. The products were processed under conditions that create a significant risk of contamination of the unpasteurized raw milk and finished cheese, and Sally Jackson cheeses have been identified as one possible source of eight cases of E. coli O157 infections in an ongoing investigation.

20 Dec 2010

Implementation roundup: HHS meets on state exchanges; Regs out soon on 'unreasonable' insurance rate increases; Plan 'B' options for the individual mandate

The first of a two-day, closed-door, HHS meeting with representatives from 44 states suggested that in many cases states will delay passing laws to create health insurance exchanges until 2012, according to one attendee. ... States have flexibility under the law to structure exchanges in different ways. HHS has urged that, if possible, they begin passing legislation in 2011 to get that process underway (Reichard, 12/16).

20 Dec 2010

CNA Warranty, MVP to provide cost-effective equipment maintenance coverage for hospitals

CNA recently announced an expansion of its current offerings to include equipment maintenance coverage. Through a collaboration between CNA Warranty and Maintenance Value Plan, this program will provide an alternative solution for the maintenance of complex medical/healthcare equipment - commonly used within hospitals and allied healthcare facilities.

20 Dec 2010

House rejects Senate bill to fight child marriage, citing cost as main concern

"A bill to combat the practice of child marriage in developing countries stalled in the House on Thursday," CQ Today reports. In a 241-166 vote "the House rejected … the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S 987). Suspension of the rules is an expedited procedure that limits debate and requires a two-thirds majority for passage," the news service writes (Dumain, 12/16).

20 Dec 2010

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan seeks dismissal of federal antitrust lawsuit

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan today filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Detroit seeking dismissal of the antitrust lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Michigan Attorney General in October.

20 Dec 2010

BioNeutral Group, KHA to introduce Ogiene and Ygiene products

BioNeutral Group, Inc., a specialty life science technology-based company, today announced it is entering into discussions with the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) through its subsidiary Kentucky Hospital Services Corporation LLC (KHSC) to introduce BioNeutral's Ogiene™ and Ygiene™ products into its member hospital association.

20 Dec 2010

U.N. Security Council adopts resolution to ramp up fight against sexual violence

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday "called on the U.N. Security Council to make combating sexual violence a 'top priority'" during the opening of a two-day meeting of the 15-member Council on women, peace and security, Xinhua/People's Daily Online reports (12/17).

20 Dec 2010

Research roundup: Gender differences in health spending; How the states could fare under the new law; Increased Medicare premiums

Health Affairs: Pronounced Gender And Age Differences Are Evident In Personal Health Care Spending Per Person - This paper examines health care spending by men and women in 2004, including comparisons "by age group, goods and services consumed, and payers, and an analysis of some of the most frequently cited health conditions and treatments associated with that spending."

20 Dec 2010

Sanofi-aventis, Oxford University to conduct multi-phase oncology research in India

Sanofi-aventis US and Oxford University have entered into an agreement to conduct multi-phase oncology clinical and epidemiological research with INDOX, India's leading academic oncology network.

20 Dec 2010

Walgreens partners with HHS to provide over $10M worth of flu shots for people without adequate health insurance

Walgreens and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are teaming up in an effort to make 2011 a healthier New Year for those without adequate health insurance.

20 Dec 2010

In Florida, federal court judge considers health-care challenge by states

In Florida, a federal court judge heard oral arguments surrounding the 20-state challenge to the health overhaul. At issue are two key elements of the new law: its mandate requiring that almost everyone have health insurance and its expansions of the Medicaid program. Although the judge said his ruling would take some time, he did offer some signals about the direction he might take.

20 Dec 2010

The Hill: GOP leaders for House Energy and Commerce health panel named

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman-in-waiting of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, announced on Thursday the chairmen and vice-chairmen on his committee. As predicted, abortion-rights foe Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) got the chairmanship of the health subcommittee in a sop to conservatives who bitterly opposed Upton because he has not supported efforts to enact parental notification laws, to defund embryonic stem cell research or oppose "partial-birth" abortion.

20 Dec 2010

State Roundup: UMass bone marrow registry practices probed; Insurance woes hit many Calif. middle income families

Bone marrow registries are usually noble efforts to find donors with the right genetic match to save the life of a terminally ill person, but one such program in New England is under investigation by attorneys general in two states (Greenberg, 12/17).

20 Dec 2010

Significant gap exists in medical services for ER patients

Almost three quarters of hospital emergency department administrators nationwide report that lack of medical specialists at their facilities poses a risk to ER patients – in some cases a very significant risk.

20 Dec 2010

Healthcare News

PwC: Top Health Industry Issues of 2011

Americans' confidence in ability to obtain, afford healthcare continues to decline

Tips to keep alcohol intake in check for a healthier, safer holiday season

Donors pledge almost $49.3B for World Bank's International Development Association fund

New U.N. commission will track donors' pledges on maternal, child health

Medicare bonus payment pilot program also a test for ACOs

FDA warns against consumption of Sally Jackson cheese due to risk of E. coli O157:H7

Implementation roundup: HHS meets on state exchanges; Regs out soon on 'unreasonable' insurance rate increases; Plan 'B' options for the individual mandate

CNA Warranty, MVP to provide cost-effective equipment maintenance coverage for hospitals

House rejects Senate bill to fight child marriage, citing cost as main concern

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan seeks dismissal of federal antitrust lawsuit

BioNeutral Group, KHA to introduce Ogiene and Ygiene products

U.N. Security Council adopts resolution to ramp up fight against sexual violence

Research roundup: Gender differences in health spending; How the states could fare under the new law; Increased Medicare premiums

Sanofi-aventis, Oxford University to conduct multi-phase oncology research in India

Walgreens partners with HHS to provide over $10M worth of flu shots for people without adequate health insurance

In Florida, federal court judge considers health-care challenge by states

The Hill: GOP leaders for House Energy and Commerce health panel named

State Roundup: UMass bone marrow registry practices probed; Insurance woes hit many Calif. middle income families

Significant gap exists in medical services for ER patients

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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