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Insuring your health: Health law expands Medicare coverage of preventive care

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "Preventive health care is important at any age, but never more so than as we get older.

11 Aug 2010

House returns from recess to vote on extra Medicaid help for states

The House will vote today on a package that includes $16.1 billion in extra federal Medicaid money for states who say they need to close budget gaps.

11 Aug 2010

Dems continue push to sell health reform's benefits, GOP pushes back

The administration has struggled to sell senior citizens on the new health law, Politico reports. Here's why: "They know little about the early benefits the law has offered but remember last year's heated town halls, replete with death panels and rationing. And anti-health-reform rhetoric is generally proving to have considerable staying power."

11 Aug 2010

Medicare cuts could take greater toll on not-for-profit hospitals

Upcoming Medicare cuts to hospitals will have a bigger negative impact on nonprofit facilities than their for-profit counterparts, The Dallas Morning News reports. "In a note to investors, Moody's said the 0.4 percent Medicare reduction in inpatient hospital rates for fiscal year 2011 will amount to an estimated $440 million in lower payments.

11 Aug 2010

One in five Americans visited ER in 2007

The New York Times: One in five Americans visited the emergency room in 2007 whether they were insured or not, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. "Among the uninsured, 7.4 percent made two or more visits to an E.R., but so did 5.1 percent of people with private insurance. Medicaid recipients were the heaviest users of E.R.'s, with 15.3 percent of them making two or more visits during the year.

11 Aug 2010

WHO declares end of H1N1 pandemic

"World Health Organisation Director-General Margaret Chan announced Tuesday the end of the [H1N1] swine flu pandemic, more than a year after it was declared," Agence France-Presse reports. "The world is no longer in phase 6 of influenza pandemic alert. We are now moving into the post-pandemic period," Chan said during a virtual press conference from Hong Kong, according to a WHO press release (8/10).

11 Aug 2010

Smile Pink campaign encourages women, men to support early breast cancer testing

Over five hundred dentists from around the United States have joined forces in an exciting new initiative aimed at promoting early detection in breast cancer. Dubbed "Smile Pink", the campaign encourages women and men to show their support of early breast cancer testing by adding a stylish Pink Swarovski Crystal to their smile.

11 Aug 2010

Agencies probe Merck for foreign anti-bribery law violations

Merck, the second biggest international drug maker, is being investigated by two U.S. federal agencies for potentially breaking anti-bribery laws in foreign countries, The Associated Press reports.

11 Aug 2010

Mindfit brain fitness program helps frail seniors walk faster

Computerized brain fitness programs are known to help seniors improve their memory and focus. Now, a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found preliminary evidence that such programs may help frail seniors walk faster, potentially preventing disability and improving quality of life. Results appear in the July 19 online edition of the Journal of Gerontology.

11 Aug 2010

State News: Ex-Anthem Blue Cross president speaks out; Clinics to fill in N.M. primary care gap

The Los Angeles Times: "The abrupt resignation last month of Anthem Blue Cross' president is offering a glimpse of an internal struggle that has roiled California's largest for-profit health insurer for months. Leslie Margolin was the public face of Anthem this year when it sought to raise individual insurance rates as much as 39%.

11 Aug 2010

Opinions: HIV prevention research; Foreign aid; Sanitation; Aid, self-reliance

"Microbicides, vaccines and other new approaches will one day join proven HIV-prevention strategies, including condoms, male circumcision and clean needles. How soon that day comes will depend on whether funders and the scientific community can develop the more collaborative approaches to HIV prevention research needed to address this fast-moving epidemic," Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise leaders Alan Bernstein, executive director, and Peter Piot, chair, write in a Globe and Mail opinion piece.

11 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Bringing down health care costs; More on the Medicare trustees report

Short of transforming the medical payment system, can we bring down health care costs by feasible fixes? Yes, by reducing the number of services that must be covered by every insurance policy and requiring higher copayments for patients using the highest cost providers (Robert Pozen, 8/10).

11 Aug 2010

CADTH Review Panel releases recommendations for Biologic Response Modifier Agents for Adults with RA

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health's (CADTH) Therapeutic Review Panel released last week their recommendations for Biologic Response Modifier Agents for Adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).

10 Aug 2010

Water Pik sets up online community to support portfolio of oral health, shower head and sinus health products

In an effort to educate and inform consumers, Water Pik, Inc., a global leader in personal healthcare products, today announced the launch of its new online community on Waterpik.com. Powered by Lithium Technologies, the online destination supports Water Pik's entire portfolio of oral health, shower head and sinus health products and brings the company's experts, consumers and industry experts together in one digital space.

10 Aug 2010

Language Line University offers new scalable online training tool for medical interpreters

Language Line(R) University, the interpreter assessment and training division of Language Line Services, an over-the-phone and video interpretation services provider, is offering a new scalable online training tool for medical interpreters. LLU Web Advanced Medical Training for Interpreters, the first of its kind in the industry, combines 15 hours of self-paced Web activities with 10 hours of live over-the-phone instructor-led sessions. Completion of the course qualifies participants to receive 10 continuing education points from the American Translators Association.

10 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 10, 2010

In today's news, the House is back in town... though just for a day. Lawmakers will consider a state aid package that includes $16 billion in federal Medicaid assistance.

10 Aug 2010

Nautilus announces conviction of exercise equipment counterfeiters

In its continuing actions against counterfeiters of Bowflex® products, fitness company Nautilus, Inc. cooperated with and aided U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in obtaining the conviction of Chunchai "Katherine" Yu for bribery and trafficking in counterfeit exercise equipment. Yu was convicted by a federal jury in southern California on July 15, 2010 and faces a maximum sentence of 90 years in prison and fines totalling $12.5 million.

10 Aug 2010

UHC awards 3-year single-source agreement for support services to Sodexo

The University HealthSystem Consortium today announced that it has awarded a 3-year single-source agreement for support services to Sodexo, Inc., based in Gaithersburg, Md. The contract became effective on August 1, 2010, and includes two 1-year renewal periods.

10 Aug 2010

Census Bureau releases schedule for 2009 income, poverty and health insurance estimates

The Census Bureau announced today the public release schedule for the official income, poverty and health insurance estimates for 2009 from the Current Population Survey (CPS), as well as estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS).

10 Aug 2010

Vanguard adds Arizona Heart Hospital to Abrazo Health Care system

Vanguard Health Systems announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Arizona Heart Hospital from a venture that includes MedCath and local physicians.

10 Aug 2010

Healthcare News

Insuring your health: Health law expands Medicare coverage of preventive care

House returns from recess to vote on extra Medicaid help for states

Dems continue push to sell health reform's benefits, GOP pushes back

Medicare cuts could take greater toll on not-for-profit hospitals

One in five Americans visited ER in 2007

WHO declares end of H1N1 pandemic

Smile Pink campaign encourages women, men to support early breast cancer testing

Agencies probe Merck for foreign anti-bribery law violations

Mindfit brain fitness program helps frail seniors walk faster

State News: Ex-Anthem Blue Cross president speaks out; Clinics to fill in N.M. primary care gap

Opinions: HIV prevention research; Foreign aid; Sanitation; Aid, self-reliance

Today's Opinions and Editorials: Bringing down health care costs; More on the Medicare trustees report

CADTH Review Panel releases recommendations for Biologic Response Modifier Agents for Adults with RA

Water Pik sets up online community to support portfolio of oral health, shower head and sinus health products

Language Line University offers new scalable online training tool for medical interpreters

First Edition: August 10, 2010

Nautilus announces conviction of exercise equipment counterfeiters

UHC awards 3-year single-source agreement for support services to Sodexo

Census Bureau releases schedule for 2009 income, poverty and health insurance estimates

Vanguard adds Arizona Heart Hospital to Abrazo Health Care system

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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