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FDA considers tightening restrictions on tanning beds

The Food and Drug Administration may tighten restrictions on tanning beds "amid evidence they raise the risk of skin cancer beyond exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun," The Wall Street Journal reports.

27 Mar 2010

IHCIA made permanent as part of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the cornerstone legal authority for the provision of health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives, was made permanent when President Obama signed the bill on March 23, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

27 Mar 2010

Hospitals face cuts, restructuring to cope with flagging economy

"The nation's largest public hospital system plans to slash its work force—including doctors and nurses—by about 10% over two years as government aid drops and the number of uninsured patients jumps," The Wall Street Journal reports.

27 Mar 2010

CHF applauds Congress and the President for introducing universal health care coverage

Children's Health Fund strongly supports the reconciliation bill signed by President Barack Obama implementing positive changes and fixes to the health reform bill he signed earlier this week. This second piece of health reform legislation marks an unprecedented effort to make real and positive change for the health and well-being of children in this country.

27 Mar 2010

The first test of new health law: Covering hard-to-insure people

Kaiser Health News writer Mary Agnes Carey writes about the challenge of getting coverage for some of the people who are the hardest to insure.

27 Mar 2010

Health reform brings significant changes to Medicare, Medicare Advantage

As part of a series, "The Five Keys To Health Reform's Success Or Failure," Time writes: "Fiddling with Medicare is not for the faint of heart. ... But if there are to be far-reaching changes in the way medicine is practiced in this country, Medicare will have to drive them. ... 'Medicare has to go first,' says Len Nichols, director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University.

27 Mar 2010

Pelosi signs final health bill, sends to President Obama

On her 70th birthday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the health care reform reconciliation bill and sent it to President Obama for his signature.

27 Mar 2010

COBRA benefits in danger of expiring as lawmakers fight over cost

Some unemployment benefits will likely soon expire as lawmakers fight over the cost of legislation that would extend benefits such as health insurance coverage under COBRA.

27 Mar 2010

Businesses – small and large – prepare for health reform impact

USA Today columnist Rhonda Abrams outlines how the new health law affects small businesses. "The good news: For the first time, there's real help for entrepreneurs. If you can't afford or can't qualify for insurance, you'll have new options starting in 2014. If you're struggling financially - as many self-employed do - you may qualify for a government subsidy or Medicaid.

27 Mar 2010

Young doctors shifting away from private practice, primary care shortage persists

News outlets report on changes in the practice of medicine and what health reform means for primary care doctors.

27 Mar 2010

Administration officials' key health reform roles

The Hill: "Passing major healthcare reform legislation into law was worth taking a political beating, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Thursday… 'As [President Obama] said repeatedly, which is a sign, he was willing to spend, quote, unquote, 'the political capital' to get something done that was materially and politically, policy wise, important for the American people,' Emanuel told CNN in an interview, his first since the law passed, to air Thursday evening. 'And if you asked them, today, even -- or a week ago, pre- the bill, was it worth the political capital spent, he would say, yes'" (Fabian, 3/25).

27 Mar 2010

Today's opinions and editorials

Making the most out of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will also depend on something a little less exciting: putting the existing plan into action (Jonathan Cohn, 3/25).

27 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"Sub-Saharan Africa is affected by a disproportionately high prevalence of both HIV infection and food scarcity," write the authors of an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article on the relationship between malnutrition and the progression of HIV/AIDS. "Underweight individuals will continue to represent a significant proportion of patients who present for HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa.

27 Mar 2010

CA-MRSA becoming common among children admitted to PICU's

Once considered a hospital anomaly, community-acquired infections with drug-resistant strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus now turn up regularly among children hospitalized in the intensive-care unit, according to research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

26 Mar 2010

GOP responds to threats, vandalism over health care legislation

Politico: "Lawmakers are accusing one another of using threats of violence for political gain, turning a serious law enforcement issue into a political battleground. As the threats against members of Congress and incidents of vandalism mounted, charges of bigotry, lying, hypocrisy and incitement coursed Thursday through the Capitol and around the political universe."

26 Mar 2010

NFS to implement Allscripts EHR and Practice Management solution

Allscripts announced today that North Florida Surgeons (NFS) has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management solution to automate and connect clinical and business functions for their 31 physicians and three mid-level providers.

26 Mar 2010

Research Roundup: Middle class health cost burden, disparities and cancer, summary of new health law

The Growing Financial Burden Of Health Care: National And State Trends, 2001-2006 - This paper examines the ratio of total out-of-pocket spending for health care and insurance to total family income, using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys for 2001-2006.

26 Mar 2010

Californian healthcare advocates applaud healthcare victory and call for passage of SB 726

Leading Californian healthcare advocates and civil justice groups applaud passage of national health reform legislation and urge immediate passage of SB 726 -- a bill that would give California's rural hospitals and urban hospitals and clinics in medically underserved areas the ability to recruit and hire doctors to treat the uninsured and patients enrolled in government health insurance programs.

26 Mar 2010

Marijuana must not be legalized in California, says opposition to the legalization initiative

The Opposition to the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2010) has learned that the ballot measure for The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 has officially been certified by the State of California to qualify for the November ballot.

26 Mar 2010

Passage of health care reform signals the beginning of new era for nurse-led health care

When health care reform was signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday, it signaled the beginning of a new era for nurse-led health care. H.R. 3590 will capitalize on the ability of nurse practitioners to provide high-quality primary and preventive care by defining "nurse-managed health clinic" in the Public Health Service Act and creating a new $50 million grant program to support innovative safety net providers.

26 Mar 2010