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Obama signs veterans' medical bill into law

President Barack Obama "signed a bill [on Thursday] designed to keep funding for veterans' medical care steady during future budget negotiations," the Associated Press reports. Obama said the bill will guarantee predictable funding for the Department of Veteran Affairs.

23 Oct 2009

Health care lobbyists spend big to win big, consumer groups fight industry deals

Health care lobbyists are on track to set new spending records this year, with some individual companies nearly doubling their investment compared to previous periods, USA Today reports. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America spent almost as much by September as it did in the entire year in 2008. America's Health Insurance Plans has spent $1 million more so far this year than over the same period last year (Schouten, 10/21).

23 Oct 2009

News outlets examine challenges with expanding global child immunization campaigns

Wednesday's release of the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank joint report on childhood vaccines highlighted gains in recent global vaccination campaigns and also found that nearly 24 million infants worldwide don't get the recommended first-year vaccination.

23 Oct 2009

House Committee votes to remove antitrust protection from insurance companies, Senate may follow

Bloomberg: "The U.S. House Judiciary Committee voted to repeal the insurance industry's federal antitrust exemption in a move aimed at spurring competition and controlling the cost of premiums. The panel, in a 20-9 vote, approved legislation to ban companies from engaging in price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation.

23 Oct 2009

House Republicans find many angles for opposition to health bills

"A coalition of pro-life groups, accompanied by several House Republicans outside the U.S. Capitol, delivered a petition signed by 137,000 Americans Wednesday voicing disapproval with current health care reform legislation," FOX News reports.

23 Oct 2009

Crossover vote or lost cause? Maine Sen. Collins reform vote examined

Sen. Susan Collins, Maine's junior senator, has a lot of people asking her which way she's leaning on supporting health care reform. And she's remaining mum.

23 Oct 2009

Health reform changes could increase costs to states

Today's state news round-up includes the cost of health reform to New York, immigrants in California, a possible new mental health overhaul in Arizona and a delay in expanding the children's health program in Iowa.

22 Oct 2009

Medline Industries signs prime vendor agreement with Bloomington Hospital

Medline Industries, Inc., the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies, announced today the signing of a cost management prime vendor agreement with Bloomington Hospital in Bloomington, Ind. The five-year agreement is anticipated to save the hospital an estimated $2 million over the term of the contract.

22 Oct 2009

Americans split on Obama's health care proposals, new poll finds

Americans are split evenly on President Barack Obama's proposals for health care reform, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Still, a "CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey indicates that a majority say (sic) it would be better to pass some sort of reform legislation than to leave the current health care system unchanged," CNN reports.

22 Oct 2009

Person-centered planning practices to promote organizational change and innovative service delivery

Today the JBFCS Alan B. Siskind Symposium, "Person in the Center: Innovation and Change," with Keynote Speaker Beth Mount, Ph.D., will explore person-centered planning and organizational innovation followed by a panel discussion that features innovative practice at JBFCS.

22 Oct 2009

Doctations' Surveillance Program makes it easy for doctors to comply with HITECH ACT requirements

Doctations, Inc., an innovative leader in applying Internet technology to improve healthcare, today added its new Surveillance Program functionality to its groundbreaking online healthcare and medical practice management solution.

22 Oct 2009

Caregiving is a major public health issue in the U.S, says expert

The demand for at-home caregiving will increase dramatically in the United States in the years ahead, said Richard Schulz, Ph.D., an internationally known expert on caregiving from the University of Pittsburgh.

22 Oct 2009

The E3 Advantage educational healthcare webcast series to be sponsored by MEBS

MEBS, a leading provider of employee benefit services announced its sponsorship of the healthcare webcast series, “The E3 Advantage.” The next webcast will be on November 4th at 2 p.m. ET with the topic, “Looking into the Future of Healthcare” including “The Future of Pharmacy” presented by CVS Caremark. To attend, register at www.mebs.com.

22 Oct 2009

Illegal residents' view on healthcare status

The dissertation focuses on how individual non-citizens residing illegally in the country perceive their health status, what wishes they have regarding healthcare, and whether these wishes are fulfilled. The individual perspective is used instead of the more common concepts of health and healthcare needs, which are based more on the care-giver perspective.

22 Oct 2009

PRINCE study chosen for AHA Scientific Sessions

The first randomized intra-arrest cooling study has been selected for presentation as a Late Breaking trial during the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions next month.

22 Oct 2009

Orlando Health implements MedeAnalytics' Clinical Resource Analytics to streamline operational costs

MedeAnalytics, a leading provider of healthcare performance management solutions, announced it has expanded its solution suite at Orlando Health to now include Clinical Resource Analytics.

22 Oct 2009

Healthcare bill raises taxes on families making less than $250,000 per year

Over and over again, President Obama has promised not to raise "any form" of taxes on families making less than $250,000 per year. Yet, the U.S. Senate is getting ready to consider a government healthcare bill which does just that.

22 Oct 2009

H.R. 3790 to reduce Medicare spending; preserve access to quality care

The Ohio Association of Medical Equipment Services and the American Association for Homecare praised a bipartisan bill in Congress, H.R. 3790, to eliminate the misguided, flawed "competitive" bidding program for durable medical equipment and services in Medicare.

22 Oct 2009

Conference to discuss cost savings and payback of personal companion robots

GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. announced today that during their first annual "Mobile Robots in Motion" conference November 4-5, 2009 attendees will be able to learn and discuss the expected cost savings and payback of personal companion robots, such as their CareBot, in an eldercare setting. GeckoSystems is a dynamic leader in the emerging Mobile Service Robot (MSR) industry revolutionizing their development and usage with "Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and Service™."

22 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 22, 2009

Some clear themes emerge from today's headlines. Among them: A new government report indicates that health costs grow even faster under Democratic legislation pending in the House; and, yesterday's Senate vote to block the Medicare pay fix bill represents an important loss for Majority Leader Harry Reid.

22 Oct 2009