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Obama's calm demeanor, Pelosi's firm stand helped push health care law

President Barack Obama and Democrats missed repeated deadlines, fought back cries of 'death panels' and watched healthcare reform nearly die more than dozen times. Through it all, Obama was the steady captain of the ship, his top aides say, a role the president has played since the early days of the 2008 presidential campaign.

30 Mar 2010

Massachusetts governor's race focuses on national health question: Cost control

The Massachusetts governor's race "is focused on the question that now confronts the nation: how to keep spiraling costs from bankrupting the experiment," The New York Times reports.

30 Mar 2010

How the health legislation will affect consumers

The Los Angeles Times explores some key questions: Will insurers continue to raise premiums; when will the Medicare "doughnut hole" close; and, "how do I sign up for my new insurance?" In answer to the last one, the Times writes, "Although there are some provisions that take effect this year, such as bans on lifetime limits and the denial of coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, the part of the bill that provides new insurance options does not take effect until 2014" (Geiger, 3/28).

30 Mar 2010

Researchers to study health literacy among Indigenous people living with cardiovascular disease

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto are part of an international team of researchers recently awarded a multi-million dollar grant for their work in cardiovascular disease among Indigenous people in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Canadian team will receive $742,000 in funding for its part of the project from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and International Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Partnerships.

30 Mar 2010

Shinseki tries to squelch rumors about health reform and Vets

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Erik Shinseki "addressed fears that some veterans have expressed that their health care and, specifically, their TRICARE medical coverage will be adversely affected by the health-reform legislation," according to the Providence Journal.

30 Mar 2010

Health industry will see more patients with reform; Physicians give mixed reviews

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The health care plan aims to send a wave of paying patients to hospitals, doctors and pharmacists." Expanded coverage will mean less uncompensated care, a boon to traditional safety-net hospitals, but also more Medicaid patients. Hospitals say Medicaid fees don't cover their costs, so that influx could hurt the bottom line.

30 Mar 2010

Democrats reflect on importance of reconciliation in health bill strategy

Reconciliation proved critical to health care reform passage, The New York Times reports: "Just a few months into his first term in 1993, President Bill Clinton went to Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the protector of Senate rules, to ask permission to use a fast-track budget process known as reconciliation to enact a bold health care overhaul.' At that time, Clinton got neither consent nor the passage of a health care law.

30 Mar 2010

Industry groups, lobbying firms gain from health overhaul

The Associated Press: Under the new health care law, "pharmaceutical lobbyists won new federal policies they coveted and set a trajectory for long-term industry growth." Ramsey Baghdadi, a Washington health policy analyst, "projects a $30 billion, 10-year net gain for the industry. 'I don't see how they could have done much better,'" he said.

29 Mar 2010

Cutting off coverage? An examination of a case in California

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund on the case of Heather Galeotti, a woman in a coma after being hit by a car: "[I]n July 2007, five months into Galeotti's treatment, Kaiser [Permanente] stunned the family with a letter. The Galeottis would have to find another way to pay the bills. Based on information received from her father's employer, Kaiser said that the young woman's coverage had not been in effect when she was hit."

29 Mar 2010

Also in Global Health News: H1N1; USAID's Global Pulse; Rotavirus vaccine; Uzbek doctors; Zimbabwe development; Malaria vaccine

WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda on Monday announced that a group of 29 independent scientists and public health experts has been formed to evaluate the response of the organization and national governments to the emergence of H1N1 (swine flu), the Associated Press reports. According to Fukuda, the committee will hold its first meeting April 12-14 (3/29).

29 Mar 2010

Eclipsys, Rothman partner to build Patient Condition Tracker software solution on Helios by Eclipsys platform

Following the momentum of launching an industry-defining open architecture platform, Eclipsys Corporation today announced a partnership with Rothman Healthcare Research to build its Patient Condition Tracker software solution on the Helios by Eclipsys™ platform.

29 Mar 2010

GSK offers free vaccines for low income adults without insurance coverage

GlaxoSmithKline today announced the launch of the GSK Vaccines Access Program, which will provide the company's adult vaccines free of charge to eligible, low income individuals who do not have insurance coverage for vaccines. The program will cover the company's FDA-approved vaccines for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis for eligible persons ages 19 and older.

29 Mar 2010

GHX to cut another $5 billion from healthcare costs

In the debate over healthcare reform, the healthcare supply chain has been largely overlooked as an effective way to reduce the cost of healthcare. Yet GHX and a collaborative community of healthcare providers, manufacturers, distributors and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) have already documented more than $1.3 billion in savings, and are on track to cut another $5 billion from the cost of healthcare over the next 5 years.

29 Mar 2010

Prolucent Workforce Management acquires intellectual property assets from Symbio Solutions

Prolucent™ Workforce Management, the leading partner for healthcare providers seeking to optimize deployment of their workforce, today announced the acquisition of intellectual property assets from Symbio Solutions, Inc. The asset acquisition further strengthens Prolucent's best-of-breed workforce management software platform and will help Prolucent deliver even greater value to the more than 1,000 acute-care hospitals and staffing agencies it currently serves.

29 Mar 2010

Health Robotics launches global Beta installation of 3 i.v.SOFT Workflow Engine automation modules

Health Robotics today announced the successful global launch of the Beta Installation kick-off for its 3 latest i.v.SOFT Workflow Engine software automation modules [Assist, Label+ and Profile] in Nice [France], the 2010 venue for the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists. i.v.SOFT helps Pharmacy Technicians, I.V. Room Supervisors, and Pharmacy Directors to compound and manage the safe and efficient manual production of IV Admixtures according to hospital-defined sterile compounding guidelines, and to help bring the pharmacies into compliance with USP 797 regulations in the United States and GMP guidelines elsewhere.

29 Mar 2010

Today's OpEds: The states' lawsuits, the need to trim health costs and industry winners

No sooner had President Obama signed comprehensive health care reform than the attorneys general of 14 states scurried to the federal courts to challenge the law. ... [they] are doing a disservice to their constituents by opposing Medicaid expansion and a mandate that everyone buy insurance, with subsidies for low- and middle-income people (3/28).

29 Mar 2010

As CMS nominee, Berwick would face changes and challenges

President Barack Obama will soon nominate Dr. Donald M. Berwick to "run Medicare and Medicaid, the programs that serve nearly one-third of all Americans, administration officials said Saturday," The New York Times reports.

29 Mar 2010

Closing Medicare drug gap helps Democrats sell reform

Kaiser Health News writer Christopher Weaver, in a story produced in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times, looks at the government's plan to close the Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole."

29 Mar 2010

HealthCare.com launches new online resource for Medicare Supplemental information and quotes

HealthCare.com, Inc. the leader in online health insurance information and plan quotes, today announced the launch of MedicareSupplemental.com, a new website aimed to be the premier online resource for Medicare Supplemental information and quotes. The website provides extensive information to help consumers understand the complexities of Medicare Supplemental or "Medigap" coverage as well as a search tool to obtain quotes and connect with multiple brokers and agents.

29 Mar 2010

'Ultra-high' Medicare billing program causes waste, abuse

The Washington Post: Federal investigators are examining a Medicare billing program to see if it is being abused by nursing home operators. "More than a decade ago, Congress ... created new 'ultra-high' billing categories intended to be used for only 5 percent of the patients needing highly specialized care and rehabilitation.

29 Mar 2010

Healthcare News

Obama's calm demeanor, Pelosi's firm stand helped push health care law

Massachusetts governor's race focuses on national health question: Cost control

How the health legislation will affect consumers

Researchers to study health literacy among Indigenous people living with cardiovascular disease

Shinseki tries to squelch rumors about health reform and Vets

Health industry will see more patients with reform; Physicians give mixed reviews

Democrats reflect on importance of reconciliation in health bill strategy

Industry groups, lobbying firms gain from health overhaul

Cutting off coverage? An examination of a case in California

Also in Global Health News: H1N1; USAID's Global Pulse; Rotavirus vaccine; Uzbek doctors; Zimbabwe development; Malaria vaccine

Eclipsys, Rothman partner to build Patient Condition Tracker software solution on Helios by Eclipsys platform

GSK offers free vaccines for low income adults without insurance coverage

GHX to cut another $5 billion from healthcare costs

Prolucent Workforce Management acquires intellectual property assets from Symbio Solutions

Health Robotics launches global Beta installation of 3 i.v.SOFT Workflow Engine automation modules

Today's OpEds: The states' lawsuits, the need to trim health costs and industry winners

As CMS nominee, Berwick would face changes and challenges

Closing Medicare drug gap helps Democrats sell reform

HealthCare.com launches new online resource for Medicare Supplemental information and quotes

'Ultra-high' Medicare billing program causes waste, abuse

How industrial hygiene flow calibration supports defensible exposure data

How electrical engineering ensures accurate calibration and patient safety

The importance of ketones from a clinical and medical perspective

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