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Over $6B pledged as CGI annual meeting wraps up

Donors made 291 commitments worth more than $6 billion at this year's Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, which wrapped up on Thursday in New York, Reuters reports.

27 Sep 2010

HHS awards grant to promote better primary care services for mentally-ill patients

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today awarded more than $26.2 million in grants to support and promote better primary care and behavioral health services for individuals with mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

27 Sep 2010

College health plans sidestep new health law regulation

The Wall Street Journal explores college health plans and notes that as the health overhaul has progressed they "have managed to sidestep, at least for now, the regulatory clampdown that has sent hospitals, insurers and corporations scrambling.

27 Sep 2010

News outlets report on food price concerns as special FAO meeting begins

Ahead of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization's (FAO) special meeting on global food prices Friday, U.N. officials said they expect Russian grain company executives to attend, the Associated Press/Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

27 Sep 2010

Politics and health care: Poll finds 'many' want more government as money pours into some campaigns

A new AP poll finds that Americans who think the law should have done more outnumber those who think the government should stay out of health care by 2-to-1. The poll found that about four in 10 adults think the new law did not go far enough to change the health care system, regardless of whether they support the law, oppose it or remain neutral.

27 Sep 2010

Health law affecting insurers, employers and comparative effectiveness research

Kaiser Health News has a list of eight provisions in the new health law that took effect this week as insurers, businesses and employers sort out what the new changes mean for them.

27 Sep 2010

BayCare Behavioral receives grant to launch VIP Program

This week, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded BayCare Behavioral Health with a $1.75 million grant to launch the Veteran and Inebriate Program (VIP).

27 Sep 2010

OCHCP launches VBB program to improve employees’ health

This week the non-profit Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers (OCHCP) launched a new program to assist employers in coordinating and aligning their health benefits to improve health.

27 Sep 2010

Study finds inconsistent surveillance method for CA-BSI infections

A new study looking at how hospitals account for the number of pediatric patients who develop catheter-associated bloodstream infections (CA-BSIs) found substantial inconsistencies in the methods used to report the number of patients who develop these infections.

27 Sep 2010

Dual eligible patients more likely to be hospitalized than Medicare beneficiaries: AHRQ

Americans who were eligible for coverage under both Medicare and Medicaid in 2008 were hospitalized for bed sores, asthma and diabetes at more than twice the rate of other Medicare beneficiaries, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

27 Sep 2010

Americans eating fewer vegetables and getting fatter

Despite two decades of public health initiatives, stricter government dietary guidelines, record growth of farmers' markets and the ease of products like salad in a bag, Americans still aren't eating enough vegetables. This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a comprehensive nationwide behavioral study of fruit and vegetable consumption.

27 Sep 2010

AHF issues call for action against cuts in AIDS funding

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today issued a call for action after AIDS activists heckled President Barack Obama during a New York City fundraiser last night.

27 Sep 2010

The House approves six health-related measures, including legislation related to the disposal of unused prescription drugs

The Hill's Healthwatch Blog: "The House passed six health-related bills Wednesday evening, including efforts to combat Medicare fraud and dispose of unused prescription drugs." The measures were approved under suspension of the rules, "an expedited procedure that only allows for 40 minutes of debate followed by a voice vote."

24 Sep 2010

GOP 'pledge' to create jobs, control spending, repeal health law draws mixed reaction

The New York Times: "In the legislative blueprint that Republicans hope will serve as a roadmap to winning control of the House, they declared their two highest priorities to be creating jobs and stopping 'out-of-control spending' by the federal government." It includes a call to repeal the health law, while retaining "popular provisions."

24 Sep 2010

Insurers irked by latest draft of spending requirements

"One of the most critical aspects of the federal health overhaul for insurers is shaping up as a mixed bag for the industry, as regulators issued draft rules Thursday on how the companies must account for how much they spend directly on patients' medical care," The Wall Street Journal reports. At issue is which expenses count as medical, versus administrative.

24 Sep 2010

Congress considers setting standards to reduce football concussions

NPR: "A college player who recently committed suicide had a degenerative brain disease normally linked to much older players. It's prompting a new round of questions about safety in the dangerous game that Americans love. ... [Chronic traumatic encephalopathy] is the football concussion 'disease of the moment.' In the past couple of years, Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy has revealed that many deceased NFL players had CTE. The symptoms include depression, erratic behavior and, ultimately, dementia" (Goldman, 9/23).

24 Sep 2010

Maine receives federal grants to upgrade electronic public health systems, scores of criminals provide home health care in Cal.

The Boston Globe: "Caritas Christi Health Care executives have told union negotiators they will shutter St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton and Carney Hospital in Dorchester if they can't close a deal for the six-hospital chain to be bought by a New York private equity firm. The warning was made during contract talks last week with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, according to two people who attended the meeting.

24 Sep 2010

Premium rates may skyrocket for many Medicare drug plans

The Associated Press: "A new analysis of government data finds that premiums will go up an average of 10 percent among the top plans that have signed up some 70 percent of seniors. That's according to Avalere Health, a private research firm that crunched the numbers. Marketing for next year's drug plans gets under way Oct. 1, and seniors will see some of the biggest changes since the Medicare prescription benefit became available in 2006. More than 17 million are enrolled in private drug plans offered through Medicare."

24 Sep 2010

Competition on access: A role for government in health care markets

In this Kaiser Health News column, Austin Frakt and Rexford Santerre write: "In late August, The Wall Street Journal reported that government-owned hospitals are 'drowning in debt' due to high health care costs, high rates of uninsured patients and cuts in public payments. Some government facilities are closing while others are being sold to private-sector firms.

24 Sep 2010

Critics say school lunch bill could damage food stamp program

The New York Times: "In her campaign to reduce childhood obesity and improve school nutrition, Michelle Obama has become entangled in a fight with White House allies, including liberal Democrats and advocates for the poor." The bill, which the House is expected to consider in the next few days, "would come up with some of the money by cutting future food stamp benefits. When the Senate passed the bill in early August, Mrs. Obama said she was thrilled. But anti-hunger groups were not.

24 Sep 2010