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Monday's opinions: Justice Anthony Kennedy may hold key to health care outlook; Minn.'s Medicaid plans; Improving food choices

Unless someone can drop into Anthony Kennedy's dreamspace and, "Inception"-style, either figure out what he thinks of the individual mandate or simply tell him what to think of the individual mandate, it's not worth spending much time speculating on the ultimate legal fate of the provision. The case will eventually make its way to the Supreme Court, and when it does, Kennedy will decide which side has the majority, and until that happens, the various legal decisions are little different from op-ed columns (Ezra Klein, 12/18).

20 Dec 2010

Health overhaul roundup: Analyzing the individual mandate, watching the politics around reform

While last week's biggest news focused on the court action surrounding the health law, some reports now analyze the controversial provision at the heart of these cases and what the future could look like if it did or did not survive. But reform news also translates into political news, as PolitiFact pinpoints its "Lie of the Year" and the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports on how federal reforms could influence the state's gubernatorial election.

20 Dec 2010

First Edition: December 20, 2010

Today's headlines include more analysis on the continuing legal challenges to the health law and the path they might take to the Supreme Court.

20 Dec 2010

MEDNAX acquires Neonatology Associates in Kingsport

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of a neonatal physician group based in Kingsport, TN.

20 Dec 2010

Food sack to help supplement Cincinnati students' nutrition through the holiday break

To help fight childhood hunger, every pledge to Cincinnati Public Radio today will feed four Cincinnati children through Childhood Food Solutions (CFS) Food Sacks and Green B.E.A.N. Delivery.

20 Dec 2010

AHF calls on Sen. Nelson to address Florida's AIDS drug crisis

On Monday, December 20 at 6:00 PM, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a town hall and public forum at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center calling on U.S. Senator Bill Nelson to immediately address Florida's AIDS drug crisis which has left nearly 2,400 patients without access to lifesaving AIDS medications. Town hall attendees will include AIDS advocates, patients, healthcare professionals, community leaders and concerned citizens.

20 Dec 2010

Dell receives CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation

Dell has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, recognizing the company's commitment to reducing the cancer risk of its employees and their families by encouraging healthy lifestyles and promoting early detection through screenings, and by providing quality care, including access to cancer clinical trials, when a cancer diagnosis becomes a reality.

20 Dec 2010

Participants in CMS, Premier healthcare alliance HQID VBP project raise quality by 18.3%

With value-based purchasing (VBP) now law under health reform, hospitals participating in the nation's largest hospital VBP demonstration are providing lessons learned that can help others save lives and better craft rules to govern the new program.

20 Dec 2010

Progress report on 'Strategy for Europe on nutrition, overweight and obesity'

December has been a busy month for the European Commission, and Despina Spanou, Principal Adviser at the Directorate General for Health and Consumers, talks to EUFIC, about Europe's Nutrition Strategy mid-term progress report, the evaluation of the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, the OECD/EC report "Health at a Glance: Europe 2010", and the Belgian Presidency/EC Conference on Monitoring and Evaluation of EU and Member States' strategies on nutrition, overweight and obesity-related health issues.

20 Dec 2010

Health Care at Home: Trends and issues

Leaders in the nation's Health Care at Home movement outlined trends and issues during a webinar for physicians across the country today. The webinar, "Why Health Care is Going Home," offered industry insights and detailed the reasons why home care will play a major role in the future of health care in America.

20 Dec 2010

NAFC forms council to establish independent quality standards for incontinence products

The National Association For Continence (NAFC) is heading a newly formed council with the objective of establishing national, independent quality standards for disposable adult absorbent products provided by states to Medicaid waiver recipients cared for in their private homes rather than as residents of a state-funded nursing home.

20 Dec 2010

Comprehensive guidance for care providers on Dementia Care Mapping process

Dementia is a critical health concern, but are the current care services able to offer appropriate support? Only a few days ago, the review by the Royal College of Psychiatrists found many dementia patients were not getting the support on nutrition and mental health that they should. The need for improved care is higher than ever.

20 Dec 2010

Take charge of your medical tests

Whether you're healthy or ill, there are a variety of medical tests your health care team might recommend for you. A yearly checkup often includes routine tests such as blood sugar and cholesterol levels, vision and hearing assessments, tests for heart functioning and others used to monitor a chronic condition—such as a lung function test for those with asthma.

20 Dec 2010

PRI receives CLO Gold award for online physician communication course

Physicians' Reciprocal Insurers, the second largest medical malpractice insurer in New York state, today announced that its physician communication course "Tuning In: Communication Skills for Partnering with Patients" has been honored as the winner of the 2010 Chief Learning Officer Gold Award in the "Excellence in E-Learning" category.

20 Dec 2010

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