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International Dairy Foods Association issues statement on Childhood Obesity Report

The International Dairy Foods Association issued the following statement by Connie Tipton, president and CEO, regarding today's Report to the President by the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity:

12 May 2010

PharmedOut to host conference to explore influence of pharmaceutical industry on medical education

PharmedOut, an initiative aimed at increasing physician access to unbiased information about drugs, will host a conference to explore the issues of pharmaceutical industry funding on continuing medical education. The conference, "Prescription for Conflict: Should Industry Fund Continuing Medical Education?" will be held June 25, 2010 at Georgetown University.

12 May 2010

Studies: Trauma centers would be strained by patient load in terrorist attack

The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to experts and private studies, "[m]any urban hospitals lack sufficient medical staff, beds, equipment and 'surge' plans to provide optimal care for potentially hundreds or thousands of patients from a large bombing, emergency and trauma doctors say."

12 May 2010

Patients who participate in physical therapist-led exercise achieve higher functional mobility: Report

Patients who are critically ill and participate in mild exercise programs led by physical therapists achieve higher functional mobility and spend fewer days in intensive care units and hospitals than those who receive less exercise, according to a report published in the April issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

12 May 2010

R.I. overhauls Medicaid payments for elderly, disabled; Medicaid delays reported in Kansas

Rhode Island received a waiver from the Bush administration to revamp its Medicaid program for the elderly and disabled, despite concerns from "community health activists [who] feared that it would push some of the neediest onto waiting lists or worse — throw some poor people off the Medicaid rolls altogether.

12 May 2010

Tensions escalate between Obama administration, health insurers

CQ HealthBeat: "WellPoint CEO Angela Braly is protesting comments President Obama made about how a health insurance company treated women diagnosed with breast cancer. [Her] letter marks another battle in the ongoing clash between the administration and the insurance companies — most prominently WellPoint — that hasn't lessened after enactment of the new health care law" (Norman, 5/10).

12 May 2010

NY public hospital system plans to lay off about 500 workers and other state news

The Wall Street Journal: "New York City's Health & Hospitals Corp., the nation's largest public hospital system, plans to stanch a $1.2 billion budget gap in the next year's budget by laying off about 500 workers and ending contracts with 'a significant number' of physicians, its president said.

12 May 2010

Group worries about proposals to allow drug marketing on social media websites

The Center for Digital Democracy is concerned about proposals to allow pharmaceutical companies to market drugs on social media websites. Such a change is under examination by the Food and Drug Administration, the National Journal's Tech Daily Dose reports.

12 May 2010

DOD struggles with health care costs, VA faces challenges in providing care

Defense Secretary Robert Gate spoke about the need to control soaring defense costs, especially health care expenses, while Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki responded to several health care challenges facing veterans' health care.

12 May 2010

Transparency debate: Leftover of health overhaul

Some lawmakers, from both parties, have proposed more aggressive legislation to unveil the prices of health care services, arguing that the recently passed health overhaul doesn't go far enough on this topic, Politico reports. "Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.), a physician, has introduced a bill that would require all health care providers — from hospitals to insurance companies — to disclose publicly all prices on a continual basis."

12 May 2010

Sebelius heralds early successes of health law

"In a letter to leaders of Congress, the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, reported on Monday that the Obama administration is moving quickly to carry out the expansive new health care law, particularly provisions that she referred to as 'early insurance market reforms,'" The New York Times reports.

12 May 2010

Parents of autistic children say health reform should help them

The Dallas Morning News: Parents and families of autistic children and adults are hoping that the federal health law will help them. "The new federal regulations will prohibit spending caps, prevent insurers from excluding pre-existing conditions and behavioral health care, and extend dependent care to age 26.

12 May 2010

Obama administration issues rules for young adults on parents' insurance plans

The Obama administration Monday issued rules to allow children as old as age 26 to remain on their parents' health insurance plans, but such changes will likely increase the cost of insurance for families next year.

12 May 2010

COBRA subsidy slowed growth of uninsured, report says

USA Today reports that a new Treasury Department study says the federal COBRA subsidy to allow people to keep their employer's health insurance after being laid off "may have slowed the growth in the number of uninsured Americans during the recession.

12 May 2010

CMS will keep a close eye on 'innovation' funding

Funds for new Medicare experiments -- appropriated as part of the health law -- may require special scrutiny to ensure they are spent correctly, a Medicare official said, CongressDaily/NextGov reports.

12 May 2010

Health reform questions likely to arise in Supreme Court nominee's confirmation hearings

GOP lawmakers may grill President Barack Obama's latest Supreme Court nominee, Elana Kagan, over her views on the recent health overhaul law, Modern Healthcare reports.

12 May 2010

Nurses lobby for more protections; Med school enrollment misses target

News outlets are covering medical professionals: a rally to combat the nursing shortage, medical school enrollment shortfalls and internationally-trained doctors.

12 May 2010

FDA approves software upgrade to Boston Scientific's LATITUDE Patient Management system

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for LATITUDE 6.0, a software upgrade to the Company's LATITUDE® Patient Management system. The LATITUDE system enables physicians to remotely monitor patients with implantable cardiac devices. The upgrade provides enhanced functionality, including the ability to view an expanded history of a patient's remote follow-up data.

12 May 2010

Health on the hill: Health insurance coverage for young adults moves forward

Kaiser Health News staff writer Mary Agnes Carey talks with the Kaiser Family Foundation's Jackie Judd about newly released proposed regulation "to implement a provision in the health care law that would allow adult children to stay on their parents' health insurance policy until age 26" (5/10).

12 May 2010

Health overhaul provisions raise moral, religious debates

The new health law has renewed concerns about some moral and religious issues, such as the government's role in providing sex education and health care workers' ability to opt out of providing end-of-life care and abortions.

12 May 2010