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Ongoing Medicare physician payment dilemma

"Because of Congress's inability to find answers to the ongoing Medicare physician payment dilemma, physicians across the country are unable to accept and treat new Medicare patients," Joseph W. Stubbs, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians declared today as he considered the impending effects of the cut to the Sustainable Growth Rate.

16 Apr 2010

Expanding Canada Pension Plan will ensure adequate retirement incomes, says CCPA report

Expanding the Canada Pension Plan would be the most effective way to ensure all Canadian have adequate retirement incomes, says a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

16 Apr 2010

Lawmaker cancels hearing on big corporations' tax deductions related to health reform

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., canceled a hearing set for next week that would have probed recent announcements by large firms that they are taking millions of dollars in health law-related write-downs, Kaiser Health News reports.

16 Apr 2010

Health reform affects high-risk patients, abortion and doctor practices

NPR: "Recent fights between anti-abortion groups could leave people with the impression that the new health overhaul law expands women's access to abortion. But abortion-rights groups vehemently disagree."

16 Apr 2010

Obesity prejudice in medical community

Prejudice towards obese people is rife among trainee health professionals, but can be modified, new research has found.

16 Apr 2010

Community colleges to have new curriculum to educate HIT workers

Community colleges will soon have the capacity and ability to educate much-needed health information technology workers. Using a new six to 12 month informatics curriculum developed at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and deployed throughout the U.S., local colleges will have access to high-quality HIT educational programs, while helping their instructors supplement their own level of knowledge.

16 Apr 2010

Director of Mass. Health Connector Authority steps down

Jon Kingsdale, the executive director of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, the state agency that helps people in Massachusetts find health insurance, is leaving his job, Gov. Deval Patrick" announced Thursday, the Boston Herald reports.

16 Apr 2010

Obama enforces visitation rights of same sex partners

President Obama passed a memo on Thursday while at a fundraiser in Miami which prohibits hospitals from discriminating against gay and lesbian couples in extending visitation rights. The decision seems to be inspired by the publicity given to the Lisa Pond and Janice Langbehn case. The hospital refused to allow Lisa Pond the visitation of Janice Langbehn and their children at her death bed.

16 Apr 2010

Vote expected today on COBRA subsidy extension

Democrats' extension of jobless benefits - including provisions to extend a subsidy to help the newly laid-off afford health insurance - passed a key procedural test yesterday. A final Senate vote on the bill could come today.

16 Apr 2010

CLASS Act provision in health law will provide long-term care for elderly, disabled

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act program, a provision of the health reform law, "establishes a voluntary, long-term care program that will provide cash to enrollees who suffer at least two limitations in daily activities, such as eating, bathing and dressing. … There are about 10 million Americans who need long-term care services, including 4 million under age 65."

16 Apr 2010

Senate gridlock hurts seniors' health: Medicare physician payment down to the wire

“Medicare physician payment comes down to the wire today as the Senate scrambles once again to delay the 21 percent Medicare cut before physicians feel the impact in their payments this week and a Medicare meltdown begins. Congress’ failure to stave off the Medicare physician payment cut leaves physicians in limbo and puts seniors’ access to care and choice of physician in serious jeopardy. This continued uncertainty coupled with the fact that Medicare payments, even without the 21 percent cut, have not kept up with the cost of providing care to seniors demonstrates the need for a permanent solution to this annual problem.

15 Apr 2010

Pennsylvania Medical Society comments on court ruling against state

The following is a statement from James A. Goodyear, MD, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, regarding a Commonwealth Court 4-1 ruling indicating the state should not have diverted money from the Mcare Fund and Health Care Provider Retention Account to help with state budget problems.

15 Apr 2010

Sorrento Therapeutics completes construction of fully human mAbs library

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has completed the construction of an extensive library of full-length, fully human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Initial analysis indicates a potential diversity of more than one trillion unique mAbs. The company believes this makes its library the largest full-length, fully human antibody library available for drug discovery and development partnerships.

15 Apr 2010

Complete Women's Imaging selects Merge Healthcare as IT partner

Merge Healthcare today announced that it was selected by Complete Women's Imaging, P.C., a designated Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Commission on Breast Imaging, to provide a complete diagnostic imaging workflow and physician reporting solution to the Atlantic Coastal Plain region of New York.

15 Apr 2010

Texas Health, LHP form joint venture to acquire Wilson N. Jones Medical Center

Texas Health Resources, the largest health care system in North Texas in terms of patients served, and LHP Hospital Group, Inc., have formed a joint venture to acquire Wilson N. Jones Medical Center in Sherman, Texas. Texas Health will own a majority equity interest in the joint venture that owns Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital-WNJ and LHP will manage the operation of the hospital.

15 Apr 2010

HHS: Early retiree claim forms for new temporary program to help businesses will be ready in June

Business Insurance: The Department of Health and Human Services says that reimbursement forms to have the federal government help pay employers for early retiree health care claims will be available in June.

15 Apr 2010

ETC's BioMedical Division to introduce new BARA-MED Select monoplace hyperbaric chamber

Environmental Tectonics Corporation today announced that its BioMedical Division will be exhibiting their new BARA-MED Select monoplace hyperbaric chamber. This new chamber, which is an addition to ETC's monoplace line, includes an undercarriage gurney storage for optimized space usage and features a fourth-generation, automated computerized operating system for control and recordkeeping, a passive pressure relief mattress, SMOOTH-RIDE™, and an adjustable height gurney and computerized treatment protocols.

15 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 15, 2010

In today's headlines: The jobless benefits package, including a COBRA subsidy extension and Medicare-doctor pay fix, advances in the Senate. In the House, a committee chairman cancels a hearing on business health care complaints.

15 Apr 2010

EU Joint Programming initiative to tackle neurodegenerative diseases

Leading researchers from across Europe will gather today in Stockholm to develop a European-wide research strategy to tackle neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.

15 Apr 2010

The Forum 2010 to focus primarily on HIT

In response to the millions of federal dollars available to healthcare providers who install electronic patient records systems in their facilities, the Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) and ClinicNET's "The Forum 2010" will focus primarily on Health Information Technology (HIT). The event, held in Aurora, CO, runs from April 19-21.

15 Apr 2010