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Hospitals to find acceptable alternatives to STERIS System 1 sterile processing system

In response to an FDA notice issued on December 3, 2009, in which the Agency recommended that healthcare facilities discontinue use of the STERIS System 1® (SS1) sterile processing system, hospitals throughout the U.S. are faced with the task of finding acceptable alternatives to that product.

15 Dec 2009

Anthem Blue Cross to receive Tri-County Commercial contract renewal award

Anthem Blue Cross announced today that the California Department of Health Care Services intends to award Anthem the Tri-County Commercial contract renewal to provide Medi-Cal benefits to residents in the Fresno, Kings and Madera Counties.

15 Dec 2009

The United States Senate passes funding for teen pregnancy prevention program

The United States Senate yesterday passed a package of spending bills for FY 2010, which included a historic new investment in efforts to prevent teen pregnancy.

15 Dec 2009

Utah may be forced to raise Medicaid payments for dentists; mandatory student insurance would benefit Florida

News outlets report on Medicaid dental payments in Utah, student insurance in Florida, Illinois budget woes and emergency rooms in Massachusetts.

15 Dec 2009

Spending on health care eventually leads to economic growth increase

As the national discussion of health care focuses on costs, a new study from North Carolina State University shows that it might be more accurate to think of health care spending as an investment that can spur economic growth.

15 Dec 2009

White House asks Reid to cut deal with Lieberman, Politico reports

"The White House is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and eliminate the proposed Medicare expansion in the health reform bill, according to an official close to the negotiations," Politico reports.

15 Dec 2009

States in money pinch turn low-income women away from free cancer screenings

The Associated Press reports that women with low incomes are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings in at least 20 states.

15 Dec 2009

Senate holdouts threatening '09 health care reform bill passage

The Washington Post: "The next 48 hours will be critical to the fate of health-care reform in the Senate, as Democratic leaders struggle to settle disputes that stand in the way of holding a final vote this year on the massive package reports on the distance among senators that has to be bridged before a bill can pass."

15 Dec 2009

HealthEast Mental Health and Addiction Services receives $800,000 charitable gift by V.K. Arrigoni Foundation

HealthEast Mental Health and Addiction Services premier program is the beneficiary of an $800,000 charitable gift by V.K. Arrigoni Foundation. This generous gift gives chemically dependent patients, without insurance or who are underinsured, access to the HealthEast inpatient services at St. Joseph's Hospital in downtown St. Paul and outpatient services at both St. Joseph's Hospital and St. John's Hospital in Maplewood.

15 Dec 2009

Majority of dialysis patients face readmission to acute care facilities, says study

A new study by University of Cincinnati (UC) nephrologists shows that most dialysis patients admitted to long-term care hospitals face readmission to acute care facilities, and those with acute kidney failure don't often recover full kidney function.

15 Dec 2009

The San Francisco Foundation awards $30,000 grant to Conard House

Conard House, a pioneering nonprofit organization developing resources to help people self-manage mental illness since 1960, today announced the award of a $30,000, one-year grant from The San Francisco Foundation to continue implementation of a five-year strategic mental health education initiative -- Community-Supported Self-Management (CSSM), a treatment methodology based on developing clients' confidence and motivation to use their own skills, information and professional services to take effective control over their life.

15 Dec 2009

Medicare actuary: Health costs would rise after overhaul

The Senate's health overhaul plan would cover 33 million more people but fail to curb rising health costs, could threaten some Medicare patients' access to care, and may sink profits for one-fifth of hospitals and nursing homes, according to news accounts of an HHS report released Friday afternoon.

15 Dec 2009

Long-term care proposal raises cost, sustainability concerns

"Embedded in sweeping health legislation passed by the House and being debated on the Senate floor is a major new federal insurance program," called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, or Class Act, The New York Times reports.

15 Dec 2009

New reports highlight health care costs

Several new studies on health care costs reveal interesting findings.

15 Dec 2009

Women's health becomes political issue in health care debate

"The heated Capitol Hill debate over health care coverage for mammograms has exploded onto the political scene, shaping the 2010 electoral landscape and recalibrating the battle for a crucial constituency: the women's vote," Politico reports.

15 Dec 2009

Primary care shortage affecting communities as hospitals struggle to keep up

CNN reports that five years ago "roughly half the doctors leaving medical school entered the work force as primary-care physicians; just 20 percent of current medical students are planning to work in primary care."

15 Dec 2009

UT Southwestern Medical Center performs minimally invasive procedures for sinuses and chronic rhinosinusitis

Only about one in 2,000 people in the United States get a sinus tumor, but Johnnie Wilcox was one of the unfortunate few.

15 Dec 2009

Congress must include health workforce planning body in health reform, urges AAHC

Congressional leaders must ensure that health reform includes a health workforce planning body with sufficient authority to ensure implementation of an integrated, coordinated national health workforce policy, according to Dr. Steven A Wartman, president and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC).

15 Dec 2009

KHN column: Why $75-a-day matters to caregivers

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Howard Gleckman writes: "In the ongoing congressional debate over the CLASS Act—the proposed national long-term care insurance program—critics and supporters have been arguing over whether a benefit of $50- or even $75-a-day is worthwhile.

15 Dec 2009

Study shows elderly blacks more likely to skip medication compared to white counterparts

Older adults experience a number of medication-related problems, including under treatment, suboptimal drugs, suboptimal dosing, and non-adherence, which can have negative effects on their quality of life. Now new research, from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that blacks have more medication-related problems than whites, and non-adherence to medical regimens is a particular issue for this group.

15 Dec 2009

Healthcare News

Hospitals to find acceptable alternatives to STERIS System 1 sterile processing system

Anthem Blue Cross to receive Tri-County Commercial contract renewal award

The United States Senate passes funding for teen pregnancy prevention program

Utah may be forced to raise Medicaid payments for dentists; mandatory student insurance would benefit Florida

Spending on health care eventually leads to economic growth increase

White House asks Reid to cut deal with Lieberman, Politico reports

States in money pinch turn low-income women away from free cancer screenings

Senate holdouts threatening '09 health care reform bill passage

HealthEast Mental Health and Addiction Services receives $800,000 charitable gift by V.K. Arrigoni Foundation

Majority of dialysis patients face readmission to acute care facilities, says study

The San Francisco Foundation awards $30,000 grant to Conard House

Medicare actuary: Health costs would rise after overhaul

Long-term care proposal raises cost, sustainability concerns

New reports highlight health care costs

Women's health becomes political issue in health care debate

Primary care shortage affecting communities as hospitals struggle to keep up

UT Southwestern Medical Center performs minimally invasive procedures for sinuses and chronic rhinosinusitis

Congress must include health workforce planning body in health reform, urges AAHC

KHN column: Why $75-a-day matters to caregivers

Study shows elderly blacks more likely to skip medication compared to white counterparts

Leveraging the Radian ASAP in standard casework

A journey through science, software, and innovation: Insights from the Bruker software team

CellVoyant's AI-Powered Vision for the Future of Cell Therapy

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