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Republicans tout alternative health care reform plans, react to Dems

Following President Barack Obama's challenge to "let me know" if they had better ideas for a health overhaul, Rep. John Boehner, the House Republican leader, said that their plan, rejected last November by the Democratic majority in the House, would satisfy Obama's goals to "bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured" and improve Medicare, BusinessWeek reports. "The Republican ideas ... may have a bigger role in defining party differences this election year than in crafting a compromise on the health bill. That's because the gap between the two approaches is so wide."

30 Jan 2010

Obama, Republicans face off on a range of issues including health reform

Politico: "President Barack Obama told House Republicans Friday that Washington can't break through partisan gridlock 'if we can't move past the politics of no' — then engaged with them in an extraordinary back-and-forth straight out of the House of Commons."

30 Jan 2010

White House wants to scale up war on Medicare fraud

The White House plans to ask Congress to increase funding for fighting Medicare fraud by 80 percent, in hopes of curbing billions of dollars in abuses, Dow Jones Newswires/NASDAQ reports. Already, "The administration has stepped up enforcement and prevention efforts targeting Medicare claims. Rather than rely on tips, it has begun combining Medicare claims data into a single, searchable database, making it easier to pinpoint suspicious claims among the more than $1 billion spent on such claims each day" (Burns, 1/28).

30 Jan 2010

Dental hygienists provide free oral care services for Valentine's Day

To honour the spirit of Valentine's Day, on February 13 registered dental hygienists across the province will provide oral care services to the public at no cost.

30 Jan 2010

Pelosi, Reid search for health reform's forward path

Legislative leaders in search of momentum on health reform "conceded that they did not have an immediate strategy for advancing a health care measure and described their time frame as open-ended," The New York Times reports.

30 Jan 2010

Today's opinions and editorials

By not acknowledging America's concerns about health reform Wednesday night, the president appeared inflexible and incapable of real compromise (Dr. Marc Siegel, 1/28).

30 Jan 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

Rajiv Shah's appointment as USAID administrator "comes at a crucial time of challenge and opportunity for the Agency to improve the nutritional well-being of impoverished societies," write the authors of a Lancet Comment that examines the U.S. Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative. Though the initiative "sends a clear message to the world about U.S. intent to partner with poor nations to achieve their national food and nutrition goals … the Initiative's nutrition plan, unlike its detailed agricultural blueprint, currently lacks a comprehensive set of aims, activities, research needs, and programme benchmarks," the authors write.

29 Jan 2010

Health bill - 'on life support' - continues to highlight political divides

President Obama's State of the Union speech has so far failed to unite Democrats on a health reform strategy as they "stared down a political nightmare," The Associated Press reports.

29 Jan 2010

Democrats offer varying views on health overhaul's fate

NPR interviewed House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to get his reactions to the President's Wednesday night speech.

29 Jan 2010

Claims by Obama, leading Republican gain fact-checker attention

"Proponents of reform have lost control over the message because people think it's too complicated to understand. Confused about important details of the proposals, the public is susceptible to misrepresentations by opponents," CBS News reports.

29 Jan 2010

Diaverum acquires new clinic in Spain

Continuing on a path of international growth, Diaverum, the largest independent provider of renal health care service in Europe, has surpassed the 200 clinic mark with the acquisition of a new center near Barcelona, Spain.

29 Jan 2010

First Edition: January 29, 2010

Today's news highlights the Democrats' continuing struggle to find a way forward on health reform.

29 Jan 2010

ASH offers hematologists a new resource for earning CME credits

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) now offers physicians who diagnose and treat blood disorders a new resource for earning continuing medical education (CME) credits while staying abreast of the latest clinical strategies in the rapidly changing field of hematology.

29 Jan 2010

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing: Research news

Bridging a Cultural Healthcare Gap—Like other new immigrant groups, Korean Americans' health risks—diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer—increase after arriving in the U.S. Unfortunately, too many also miss out on needed healthcare services until they are seriously, often chronically ill.

29 Jan 2010

National summit on coordinated effort to fight health care fraud

Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today joined private sector leaders, law enforcement personnel and health care experts for a landmark National Summit on Health Care Fraud. The summit is the first national gathering on health care fraud between law enforcement and the private and public sectors and is part of the Obama Administration's coordinated effort to fight health care fraud.

29 Jan 2010

Contact Solutions' multi-channel solution may help contact centers to improve service and save money

As healthcare companies prepare for a projected increase in contact center traffic, regardless of the outcome of the Obama Administration's healthcare proposals, business leaders are scrambling to ensure they are prepared.

29 Jan 2010

New XtraCredit application provides physicians with CME credit for online clinical research

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of medical information, has launched XtraCredit®, an iPhone® and iPod Touch® application that provides physicians with continuing medical education (CME) credit for clinical research done online.

29 Jan 2010

Lebanon Cardiology Associates and The Good Samaritan Hospital team up to implement hypothermia protocol for improved cardiac care

Lebanon Cardiology Associates teamed with The Good Samaritan Hospital to implement one of the top 15% performing emergency cardiac catheterization teams treating heart attacks in the United States.

29 Jan 2010

URAC's 2010 Best Practices Awards will recognize innovative leadership and successful health programs

URAC, the nation's leading health care accreditation and education organization, has issued a call for entries for its 2010 Best Practices Awards in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection to find which companies are setting the standard in advancing the role of consumers as active participants in health care.

29 Jan 2010

ACP urges Congress to reach agreement on comprehensive health reform legislation

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today urged Congressional leaders to "reach agreement on a legislative pathway to provide affordable care to all Americans and ensure that they have access to primary care physicians and other specialties facing shortages."

29 Jan 2010