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Microsoft to shift part of health care costs to workers

Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal: "Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world's largest software company, said on Friday it will trim its generous healthcare benefits for employees starting in 2013 because of rising coverage costs. In a staff meeting, the Redmond, Wash. company told employees they will be required to contribute some portion of their annual healthcare insurance premiums, although it didn't detail what portion staff members would be asked to shoulder.

12 Oct 2010

Loyola continues mandatory employee flu-vaccination policy for second straight year

The best way to prevent the spread of the flu to patients in a medical setting would be to require all health-care workers to get an annual flu shot, says the American Academy of Pediatrics.

12 Oct 2010

HHS awards $5 million grant to support teen pregnancy prevention programs

The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS), in partnership with three community-based organizations, has been awarded a five-year, $5 million grant from the Department of Heath and Human Service's (HHS) Office of Adolescent Health. This grant is part of a $155 million commitment by HHS to support the replication of teen pregnancy prevention programs that have been shown to be effective through rigorous research as well as the testing of new, innovative approaches to combating teen pregnancy.

12 Oct 2010

Arizona struggles with severe Medicaid cuts; Medicaid fraud task force targets abuse in Iowa

Doctors and health advocates are up in arms over significant cuts to Arizona's Medicaid program to save $27 million, but the worst is yet to come: A $1 billion budget shortfall is expected next year.

12 Oct 2010

Family-centered care approach may improve children's care

As physicians and scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital work to find new insights into pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases, a central tenant of any treatment plan is to keep families at the center of children's care.

12 Oct 2010

Physician shortage expected to balloon to 91,500 in 2020

News outlets report on workforce issues, including the doctor shortage, Medicaid pay cuts and the effects of long work hours on medical residents.

12 Oct 2010

New, multidisciplinary Senior Adult Oncology Center established at Kimmel Cancer Center

The odds of developing some type of cancer increase with age; sixty percent of cancer in the United States occurs in persons aged 65 and older. At the same time, senior patients may have acute or chronic diseases that make treating their cancer challenging. That's why the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson has established a new, multidisciplinary Senior Adult Oncology Center to provide a comprehensive consultation for senior patients in order to meet those special challenges.

12 Oct 2010

Doctors pushing hard for Medicare pay fix

The Hill: "Capitol Hill and K Street are starting to wonder if a Republican victory in the House or Senate could be good news for doctors in 2011. ... Physicians are asking for a 13-month fix to the problem, and sources say a Republican victory could create momentum for that to happen in November" (Pecquet, 10/9).

12 Oct 2010

Health premiums climb

Buffalo (N.Y.) News: "Two of the region's three dominant health insurers intend to raise premiums on average by double digits for next year, and the third wants a double-digit increase for plans not structured as health maintenance organizations. The premium for one insurance plan could rise almost 36 percent. The insurers cite rising costs of medical care and federal health care reforms." The increases must be approved by the state (Epstein, 10/10).

12 Oct 2010

Hospital staff go on 4 hour strike over pay issues

Hospital staff across Western Australia will strike today for better pay. The Industrial Relations Commission failed to assure the government that it would stop workers from carrying out industrial action. On Friday, the union rejected an offer to increase their weekly pay by $27.

11 Oct 2010

ZeroNines launches ZenVault Medical Personal Health Record portal

ZeroNines® Technology, Inc. announced the launch of ZenVault™ Medical, a Personal Health Record portal (PHR) that gives consumers instant, secure, private access to their medical records online. ZenVault Medical was specifically designed to address the public's concerns over data security, privacy, convenience, and expense associated with the national push to convert from traditional paper to digital medical records.

11 Oct 2010

Atomic Tattoos launches 'Tats for Tatas' breast cancer awareness fundraising campaign

Atomic Tattoos has announced the launch of their "Tats for Tatas" fundraising campaign that will take place throughout October, benefiting the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation in Florida and Southeast Regional Breast Cancer Fund in Wisconsin. In the company's concerted efforts to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Awareness, Atomic Tattoos is offering several specials throughout the month if customers donate $5 to breast cancer awareness.

11 Oct 2010

Obesity treatments falter, but researchers announce gene links

The Wall Street Journal: "An international research consortium says it has identified 18 new gene sites linked to obesity and 13 others associated with how fat is distributed in the body, advances that shed new light on the complex biology underlying one of the world's most pressing public-health problems. The findings are based on studies involving nearly 250,000 people, making the effort the largest so far to unravel the genetic basis of common human traits, researchers said.

11 Oct 2010

Texas Community Care announces debut of new office location in El Paso

Texas Community Care, a subsidiary of Arcadian Health, has just announced the debut of a new office location in El Paso, TX at the Sunland Park Mall located at 750 Sunland Park Drive, Space J2. The office location will give representatives the opportunity to have an even stronger presence in the community.

11 Oct 2010

Health care interests push to make ACOS pay off for them

Kaiser Health News staff writers Phil Galewitz and Jenny Gold write about increasing interest in the accountable care organizations that may come out of the new health overhaul.

11 Oct 2010

Pelosi issues statement on HHS announcement of $727 million in grants

Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement today after Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced $727 million in grants to community health centers across the nation, including more than $4 million to San Francisco's South of Market Health Center and $91.5 million for California, as part of the Affordable Care Act.

11 Oct 2010

NCQA recertifies Lilly's online Health Education Answers program

Lilly's Health Education Answers program, an interactive online health and wellness tool, has received Health Information Product Recertification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

11 Oct 2010

Florida Governor issues Proclamation recognizing outstanding work of Healthcare Quality Professionals

Florida Governor Charlie Crist issued a Proclamation recognizing the outstanding work Healthcare Quality Professionals do for the people of Florida. This proclamation mirrors the sentiments of National Healthcare Quality Week, October 17-23rd, which celebrates the work of Healthcare Quality Professionals in improving patient outcomes and healthcare delivery systems.

11 Oct 2010

Prescription Solutions' MS DTM program wins URAC Best Practices Platinum Award

Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) organization and a UnitedHealth Group company, received a platinum award in the URAC Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards. Prescription Solutions was recognized for its Multiple Sclerosis Disease Therapy Management (MS DTM) program, which empowers patients through education and support to successfully attain skills in self-managing their symptoms and medication therapy for their chronic condition.

11 Oct 2010

The insurance straw man

In this Kaiser Health News column, James C. Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center criticizes Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for some of her tough tactics with insurance companies.

11 Oct 2010