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CIGNA unveils new program to predict short-term disability

The average disability absence costs $35,000 in lost productivity per employee, according to the Integrated Benefits Institute. CIGNA today unveils a glimpse into the future– a new program that uses data analysis to predict the likelihood of a short-term disability.

11 Dec 2009

Nutritional supplements to strengthen immunity and improve periodontal health

The PA periodontists in Dr. David DiGiallorenzo's Collegeville and Williamsport practice recently began offering two lines of nutritional supplements to patients as a means of promoting the connection between good nutrition and improved periodontal health.

11 Dec 2009

Cedars-Sinai Center for Weight Loss re-accredited as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence

The Cedars-Sinai Center for Weight Loss has received re-accreditation as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence from the American College of Surgeons. This is a nationally-recognized acknowledgement of the high quality of care provided at Cedars-Sinai to patients who have bariatric surgery - such as lap-band, gastric sleeve or gastric bypass.

11 Dec 2009

HST Global and HMD team up to develop curriculum for FIT protocol

HST Global, Inc. (OTCBB: HSTC) today announced a Partnership with Dr. James W. Forsythe to facilitate the development of a curriculum for the licensing and/or certification to administer Dr. Forsythe’s immune therapy in clinics to be built or acquired by HST Global, Inc.

11 Dec 2009

Italy's economically disadvantaged people have higher rates of hospitalization for ACSC disorders

Despite free public healthcare, Italy's poor are more likely to end up in hospital with avoidable conditions, new research shows. This pattern, reported today in the online open access journal BMC Public Health, mirrors findings from a number of different healthcare systems around the world, although to date fewer studies have been completed in Europe.

11 Dec 2009

Ethics guidelines for hand surgeons

The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Corporate Advisory Council recently gathered in Chicago to create the first ever, ethics guidelines, to be followed by hand surgeons.

11 Dec 2009

American Sentinel University offers new online healthcare degree programs for professionals

American Sentinel University (www.americansentinel.edu), an accredited online university that provides degree programs for professionals, announces two new online healthcare degree programs: Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) – Infection Prevention and Control specialization.

11 Dec 2009

FY2010 State and Foreign Ops bill expected to move on the Hill this month

The fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which includes funding for global health-related measures, "is moving on the Hill as part of a mammoth catch-all spending bill that's expected to move through both chambers this month," Foreign Policy's blog, "The Cable," reports. "

10 Dec 2009

$6.5 million awarded to Esperanza Health Center for construction and renovation projects

President Obama announced yesterday nearly $600 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant awards to fund major construction and renovation projects at a total of 85 community health centers nationwide, including a $6.5 million award to Esperanza Health Center in North Philadelphia.

10 Dec 2009

Financial Times analyzes global approaches to debate over family planning

The Financial Times' Andrew Jack analyzes the debate over different approaches to family planning worldwide. According to Jack, there is a "growing worry that some developing countries have failed to follow the broader 'demographic transition' to lower fertility levels that has occurred in past decades in the western world and more recently across Latin America and much of Asia.

10 Dec 2009

Pelosi: Depending on Senate, House could work part of Christmas week

CQ Politics: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she wouldn't rule out keeping the House in session for part of Christmas week, if that could lead to final action this year on a health care overhaul. Right now, however, such a scenario appears unlikely." In the Senate, Democratic leaders are waiting for an updated Congressional Budget Office analysis -- a report not expected before next week -- that includes the most recent round of proposals to the bill they are considering.

10 Dec 2009

Psychologists can help people deal with anxiety and depression symptoms more effectively

From Thanksgiving to New Year's, there are many wishes for everyone to have a blissful and celebratory holiday season. But for many people, the holidays bring more misery than mirth, particularly at a time when the ailing economy can't seem to recover quickly enough and money worries remain on people's minds.

10 Dec 2009

MedPAC suggests recouping overpayments to hospitals

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission suggested Thursday that Congress should adjust what it pays hospitals for inpatient care in 2011 to recoup overpayments that have come from changes in documentation and coding used by Medicare, according to a report on Modern Healthcare.

10 Dec 2009

Michigan goes smoke-free

The Michigan Legislature today delivered a historic victory for health and the public's right to breathe clean air by passing legislation to make almost all workplaces, including all restaurants and bars, smoke-free. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she will sign the bill, which will make Michigan the 27th state to pass a strong smoke-free law that includes all restaurants and bars.

10 Dec 2009

Fewer Massachusetts taxpayers penalized for lacking health insurance

The Boston Globe: "Fewer Massachusetts taxpayers were penalized for lacking required health insurance last year than were fined in 2007, the state said yesterday in a report reflecting the second year that residents had to report on their tax returns whether they were covered under the state's near-universal-coverage mandate.

10 Dec 2009

Key Democratic Senators aren't yet committing to health bill

Some of the key players in the health care debate are featured in news articles today.

10 Dec 2009

Many questions remain on Medicare expansion proposal

The proposal to expand Medicare to include people aged 55 and older as part of an alternative to creating the public option may have expanded support for the Senate version of the overhaul bill, the Los Angeles Times reports.

10 Dec 2009

Medicare Advantage plans waste billions, report finds

Health insurance companies that offer private alternative Medicare plans, called Medicare Advantage, put billions of dollars toward profits and marketing rather than patient care, according to a report released Wednesday by House Democrats.

10 Dec 2009

Ford may use stocks to pay for retiree health fund

"The Labor Department said Wednesday that it would let the Ford Motor Company use stock instead of cash to pay some of the $13.1 billion that it owed to a new retiree health care fund, pending a period of public comment," The New York Times reports.

10 Dec 2009

Hospitals, insurers oppose health bill compromise on Medicare buy-in

Groups representing doctors and hospitals are coming out against the inclusion of a Medicare "buy-in" in the Senate health bill, The Washington Post reports. The groups joined Republicans in arguing "that a plan by liberal Democrats to allow uninsured individuals as young as 55 to buy into Medicare would be financially untenable and would jeopardize access to health-care services for millions of Americans."

10 Dec 2009