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Aetna signs new expanded agreement with Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Aetna announced today that it has expanded its relationship with Sarasota Memorial Hospital by reaching agreement on a long-term contract that will provide access for Aetna’s Medicare Advantage members. This agreement marks the first time Sarasota Memorial has agreed to participate in a Medicare Advantage network plan.

31 Oct 2009

Individualized MicroNutrient Testing for patients

In response to the current trend toward personalized medicine, the Beaumont Weight Control Center, affiliated with Beaumont Hospitals, a major Detroit-area health system, now offers individualized MicroNutrient Testing for patients.

31 Oct 2009

Public concern can undermine flu vaccination campaigns

The effectiveness of pandemic flu vaccination campaigns - like that now underway for H1N1 - could be undermined by the public incorrectly associating coincidental and unrelated health events with the vaccines.

31 Oct 2009

As House bill continues to stir reaction, focus turns to costs, potential amendments

Lawmakers and various groups continue to react to the House health bill, which was released Thursday and may significantly increase federal spending on health care.

31 Oct 2009

Advocates call for increased U.S. investment in global health

A report released Thursday (.pdf) by a group of global health advocates outlines ways the U.S. can work toward increasing access to health care throughout the world, Inter Press Service reports. They call "for doubling U.S. aid to global health projects from the current level of nearly eight billion dollars a year to 16 billion by 2011," followed by "annual increase[s] leading to a six-year total investment of 95 billion dollars."

30 Oct 2009

Study: Lack of insurance may have caused 17,000 child deaths over 20 years

"An estimated 17,000 children in the United States might have died unnecessarily over nearly two decades because they didn't have health insurance, according to a report from researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore," reports U.S. News and World Report.

30 Oct 2009

Senators jostle for position on health reform provisions

CongressDaily reports that the "only public insurance option proposal Senate Majority Leader (Harry) Reid included in his healthcare overhaul bill this week appears simply to be a starting point that will be sliced and diced before reform is said and done."

30 Oct 2009

Senate confirms Benjamin as surgeon general

The Senate confirmed Alabama doctor Regina Benjamin as surgeon general Thursday night. Her confirmation, which was approved with a voice vote, comes at a critical time as the nation deals with a swine flu emergency.

30 Oct 2009

Wellness programs can be costly, but have proven successful at one corporation

Wellness and prevention programs, part of the health care legislation moving through Congress, are not easy to implement but at least one corporation says they are cost-effective.

30 Oct 2009

Health industry stakeholders focus on pain, not gain

Businesses, including medical device makers, insurers and pharmaceutical companies are bracing for tax and fee provisions in the House health care reform bill.

30 Oct 2009

Obama woos small business to support health reform

Obama told small business owners Thursday that Democrats' health reform plans would mean million of their peers would get new tax credits to help pay for insurance and that the smallest firms could save around 25 percent on insurance costs through new exchanges, BusinessWeek reports. In addition to the president's speech to business people in Washington, the White House published a report pitching those and other benefits. It places the number of businesses in line for tax credits at 3.6 million (Tozzi, 10/29).

30 Oct 2009

House Democrats hail, grumble about health reform bill

News outlets detailed the House health care reform bill and reaction from members. The Congressional Budget Office estimated its net cost to be $894 billion over 10 years.

30 Oct 2009

60 Plus Association calls upon Sen. Lieberman not to support any bill which cuts Medicare

Today, the 60 Plus Association released a new TV ad targeting Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.). The ad features members of our Greatest Generation begging Sen. Lieberman not to cut Medicare to pay for health care reform. The :30 second TV ad will run in conjunction with a :60 second ad that began airing on Wednesday.

30 Oct 2009

State watch: Virginia's pharmacy for mentally ill, Michigan dental care lawsuit, Rhode Island insurers

In today's state watch, Virginia plans to close a pharmacy for the mentally ill, Medicaid patients in Michigan are suing over dental care and Rhode Island reports that insurers remain relatively healthy.

30 Oct 2009

House GOP's "Better ideas" remain under wraps

"House Republicans said the newly released Democratic health care reform bill would create an expensive government-run heath care system paid for by those who could least afford it, but they declined to say whether they would introduce a conference alternative," Roll Call reports.

30 Oct 2009

New York and Louisiana crack down on Medicaid fraud

The New York Times reports on unlikely Medicaid fraud suspects including a Manhattan painter and mime with properties in the Hamptons, a freelance artist whose two Manhattan apartments are valued at more than $1 million each and a dentist in the Bronx, all "were among 11 people indicted recently on charges that they fraudulently obtained Medicaid benefits.

30 Oct 2009