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Senate Democrats continue pursuit of health care deal

The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones: "Senate Democrats worked to forge agreement Tuesday on health-care overhaul legislation, as they finalized major new provisions to the bill that would expand the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

8 Dec 2009

Reid: 'Broad agreement' reached by Senate Democrats on health bill

The Associated Press: "After days of secret talks, Senate Democrats tentatively agreed Tuesday night to drop a government-run insurance option from sweeping health care legislation, several officials said, a concession to party moderates whose votes are critical to passage of President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

8 Dec 2009

House Democrats criticize recent increases in brand-name drug prices

The Wall Street Journal: "Reports of prescription drug-price increases have congressional Democrats complaining about price gouging and questioning whether drug companies are reneging on a pledge to provide billions of savings as part of a U.S. health-care overhaul sought by President Barack Obama.

8 Dec 2009

Swine flu news round-up

The German government is looking to sell over 2 million leftover doses of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, the country's health minister said Monday, Agence France-Presse reports. "A health ministry senior official in the state of Thuringia, Hartmut Schubert, said that the vaccines could even be donated and that there had been requests from Afghanistan and Eastern European countries including Ukraine," the news service adds (12/7).

8 Dec 2009

Aid agencies launch $378M 2010 aid request to improve health in Zimbabwe

More than 70 agencies, led by the U.N., launched a request on Monday for $378 million in aid, which will be used to improve health and food security, as well as water and sanitation, Reuters reports. Though Zimbabwe's power-sharing government has improved some "social conditions in the country," the agencies "say more needs to be done" (Banya, 12/7).

8 Dec 2009

Acesis Performance Improvement Platform provides digital performance assessment capabilities for hospitals

Acesis, the enterprise software firm, headquartered in Silicon Valley and focused on healthcare, today announced its expanded technology solution, the Acesis Performance Improvement Platform that provides hospitals digital performance assessment capabilities that can be easily set up for each hospital’s unique vision of quality care.

8 Dec 2009

Lieberman draws increasing ire from Democrats, Reid criticized for GOP/slavery comments

News organizations are honing in on key players in the health reform debate.

8 Dec 2009

Personal stories highlight how reform will affect some individuals

News outlets are focusing on the stories of individual consumers to explain how health care reform legislation may affect the lives and health of people around the nation.

8 Dec 2009

Public option 'compromise' may rest on private insurers

The Associated Press/The Washington Post reports that "private insurers - not the government - would offer coverage under a compromise Democrats are considering ... the latest idea bears little resemblance to the original vision outlined by liberals, and embraced by Obama, during the 2008 presidential campaign. That called for the government to sell insurance to workers and their families in competition with industry giants like UnitedHealthcare" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/8).

8 Dec 2009

Utah project seeks to reduce 'overuse of health care'

News outlets report on a pilot project in Utah to reduce overuse of services and Medicaid cuts in Kansas.

8 Dec 2009

Senate vote on abortion amendment - a major hurdle to health bill - could occur today

The Washington Post reports that lawmakers in the Senate began consideration Monday "of an amendment to restrict abortion coverage" and a vote is expected today. The provision, "co-sponsored by Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), would bar individuals who receive federal insurance subsidies from purchasing private policies that cover elective abortions. It also would ban abortion coverage under a government plan" (Murray, 12/8).

8 Dec 2009

Liberals may trade public option for expansion of Medicare, Medicaid

In exchange for accepting a proposed compromise on a public option in the health bill, liberal Democratic Senators are hoping to win expansions of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, The New York Times reports. "One of the changes being pushed by the liberals would lower the age of eligibility for Medicare to 55, from 65. Another would expand Medicaid to cover people with incomes up to 150 percent of the poverty level."

8 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

As a society, we have to make choices. Do we want our doctors to be well-qualified practitioners using their experience and judgment to help as many patients as they can? Or do we want detached, disenfranchised doctors looking to their next career while practicing medicine with the mentality of postal workers? (Soumi Eachempati 12/7).

8 Dec 2009

Drug reimportation emerges again in health debate

The Hill reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "has agreed to allow Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to bring an amendment to a vote this week that would allow the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from abroad despite the fact that it could blow up a truce between the White House, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) on healthcare reform." Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) is among the amendment's co-sponsors.

8 Dec 2009

Consumer reports details the screening tests that may be unneccesary

Consumer Reports/The Washington Post: "Many Americans -- and their doctors -- seem to think that better health means more health care, including as many screening tests as possible. But many researchers are questioning that notion, saying that some common screening tests are unproven and can not only waste your time and money but also cause more harm than good."

8 Dec 2009

Summa Health System to implement Agilysys' software solution suite

Agilysys, Inc., a leading provider of innovative information technology and hospitality software solutions, announced today that Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio has implemented a comprehensive suite of software solutions to streamline efficiency and control costs in its food outlets and gift shops.

8 Dec 2009

Senate staff raise idea of taxing indoor tanning salons

Roll Call: "The concept of an excise tax on tanning services, which could include salon walk-ins or tanning beds and sunlamps sold for residential use, was floated in a weekend Senate staff meeting on the health bill. Officials described the idea as preliminary and not being seriously considered at this time.

8 Dec 2009

New report: CBO underestimates savings from health bills but economists worry savings aren't enough

"Previous analyses have underestimated the potential cost-saving effects of the House and Senate health reform bill, according to a new report co-authored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Commonwealth Fund," Modern Healthcare reports.

8 Dec 2009

ADVocacy for IMmunization program receives a three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP) has received a three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to implement a program to support immunization advocacy in West Africa.

8 Dec 2009

QuantRx Biomedical launches its new flagship POC diagnostic reader device at MEDICA 2009

QuantRx® Biomedical Corporation, a broad-based diagnostic company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative diagnostic products, announced today the successful debut of its new flagship point-of-care (POC) diagnostic reader device, Q-Reader™, at MEDICA 2009 on November 18-21, 2009, in Düsseldorf, Germany.

8 Dec 2009