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Nation's best cardiac programs team up to offer improved heart care

Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach is among Florida's most renowned heart hospitals. New York's Columbia University Medical Center is ranked among the nation's top cardiovascular programs. Together, they take the best heart care and make it better for South Florida

8 Jan 2010

Obama said to back 'Cadillac tax' in final health bill

President Barack Obama "told House Democratic leaders at a meeting on Wednesday that they should include a tax on high-priced insurance policies favored by the Senate in the final version of far-reaching health care legislation, aides said," The New York Times reports.

8 Jan 2010

Exercise, nutrition and hormone optimization are key to improve men's health issues

Grant Mansell was 46 and frustrated with his 300 pound physique, ensuing back pain, rising cholesterol, dependency on blood pressure medicine but most of all not enjoying life with his wife and children.

8 Jan 2010

Congress approves $1.5 million for first-ever psoriasis patient registry at CDC

Millions of Americans suffering from psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis got a year-end boost from the federal government when it approved $1.5 million for the first-ever psoriasis patient registry at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

8 Jan 2010

Few people sue British national health system

An examination of the British health care system shows that while there is some dissatisfaction, there are few malpractice suits against the system. Marketplace reports: "Opponents of health care reform have raised concerns about the likelihood of malpractice suits under a new system.

8 Jan 2010

University of Washington and Aegis Living to promote wellness programs

Healthy aging is more than just a saying at Aegis Living, a national leader in assisted living and Memory Care communities. Now it's working with faculty at University of Washington School of Medicine to make strides in the advancement of healthy aging through collaborative efforts started in Aegis Living's new Living 4 Life® program.

8 Jan 2010

Nelson wants to open Nebraska's Medicaid deal to all states

Sen. Ben Nelson said today that he's fighting hard to extend to all states the same Medicaid deal that Nebraska gets under the Senate health care bill. ... While other states have to start footing the bill for expanding of Medicaid in 2017, the bill would have the federal government covering Nebraska's share forever.

8 Jan 2010

Final health care reform legislation requires comprehensive coverage of smoking cessation treatment

As Congress negotiates a final health care reform bill, lawmakers should seize this unprecedented opportunity to invest in proven measures that prevent costly diseases from occurring in the first place, which will improve health and reduce health care costs. These include measures to prevent and reduce tobacco use, which remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 people and costing the nation $96 billion in health care expenditures annually.

8 Jan 2010

ICSI creates Professional Partnerships group to help medical groups transform their health care

The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI, www.icsi.org), a nonprofit health care improvement organization, has created a Professional Partnerships group to help medical groups, hospitals, health plans, policy makers and others transform their health care so it is more patient-centered, of higher quality and more affordable.

8 Jan 2010

Health care reform bill could penalize married couples

Various news organizations are detailing how specific provisions of the pending health overhaul bills could impact the budgets of states as well as some married individuals while also may be tweaked to make health coverage more affordable for the lowest earners.

8 Jan 2010

Iowa eyes improving program for uninsured adults; Minn. and Okla. confront health spending cuts

Poor, uninsured adults from throughout Iowa could receive health care at nearby hospitals and clinics, instead of having to travel to Iowa City, under proposed changes to a state health-care program. For most Iowa residents, the IowaCare program pays for medical care only at University of Iowa Hospitals.

8 Jan 2010

Nelson's Medicaid deal comes under attack

A special deal reached by Senate Democratic leaders and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., regarding funding for his state in the context of health reform's proposed Medicaid expansion, is drawing increasing criticism.

8 Jan 2010

Behavioral Innovations partners with insurance companies to mitigate financial burden on parents

Behavioral Innovations, the premier Dallas/Fort Worth provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for families of children with autism and other developmental disorders, announces its partnership with key insurance carriers to offer in-network insurance coverage for several ABA therapy programs. Behavioral Innovations is the first behavioral therapy center in the Metroplex to offer in-network insurance for select treatments - mitigating the financial burden on parents.

8 Jan 2010

Difficult to decipher: Tracking the funding sources for some health care interest groups

"Many of the Washington interest groups that are seeking to shape final health-care legislation in the coming weeks operate with opaque financing, often receiving hidden support from insurers, drugmakers or unions," The Washington Post reports.

8 Jan 2010

HHS releases nation’s first comprehensive strategy to address existing and emerging health threats

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released The National Health Security Strategy, the nation’s first comprehensive strategy focused on protecting people’s health during a large-scale emergency. The strategy sets priorities for government and non-government activities over the next four years.

8 Jan 2010

Senate retirements focus Democrats on election prospects and health bill impact

USA Today reports on the ripple effect of this week's retirement announcements by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.: The "[t]wo Senate retirements have focused Democrats like a laser on their growing November election challenges, but a more pressing contest is less than two weeks away in an unlikely place: Massachusetts." Democrats are favored to retain the seat of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, but Republicans "have increasingly touted the Jan. 19 special election as an opportunity for an upset."

8 Jan 2010

Opinions: Uganda anti-gay bill; Clinton's foreign policy speech; PEPFAR

A Washington Post editorial calles anti-gay legislation currently under consideration in Uganda "an atrocity." The authors of the editorial write that under the legislation, "anyone convicted of 'aggravated homosexuality,' which could mean someone who is HIV-positive and is intimate with another person of the same sex, could 'suffer death.'"

7 Jan 2010

Uninsured patients struggle to access health care as hospitals end programs

Several news outlets report on uninsured patients and access to health care.

7 Jan 2010

Democrats 'very close' to health bill agreement

Reuters: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "said on Wednesday congressional Democrats were close to agreement on merging their healthcare bills but still faced challenges in blending the two approaches.

7 Jan 2010

Analysis: Medicare Part D has lessons for health reform

The Wall Street Journal: "Four years ago, the U.S. government offered subsidized prescription-drug insurance to 43 million elderly and disabled, the biggest expansion of government-backed health care in decades. Today, the program is working better than many expected."

7 Jan 2010