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Obama: Vitriol on health proposal is 'proxy' for other issues

To advocate for his health care proposal, President Barack Obama taped interviews with five Sunday talk shows (CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, Univision) and each was allowed to use one excerpt before the programs are broadcast.

21 Sep 2009

Parties plot strategies, next steps on Baucus bill

Sen. Max Baucus' health reform bill has both parties plotting their next move in advance of a markup scheduled to begin next week.

21 Sep 2009

Medicaid: Budget gaps, informants, and a plan to expand coverage by going private

States are dealing with their unique Medicaid problems in different ways: New Mexico plans deep cuts, Florida seeks new Medicaid fraud informants, and a California gubernatorial candidate wants to privatize the program in the interest of covering the uninsured.

21 Sep 2009

PBS shows examine door-to-door medical counseling in Rwanda, malaria in Tanzania

NOW on PBS recently aired a segment examining a project in Rwanda, which is a collaboration of the government and Partners in Health, that uses local doctors, nurses and villagers "to deliver medicine and medical counseling door-to-door." According to the show, "In rural Rwanda, the simple and time-tested idea of medical house calls is not only improving the health of the community, but stimulating its economy as well."

21 Sep 2009

Some senators fear new tax meant to control health costs could spiral

A tax on generous health benefits in the health reform plan unveiled this week by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has raised eyebrows around Congress, the New York Times reports. The tax would apply to any plan with annual premiums in excess of $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for families, and would initially impact only a small number of health plans, according to the Senator's own estimate.

21 Sep 2009

Rural Coloradans have trouble getting health care, attracting physicians

Rural Coloradans often have to travel dozens — if not hundreds — of miles to see a doctor when they're ill. The Denver Post reports that "(i)t's a problem that worsens every year — and something rural health advocates are hoping national reform will fix. The major goal of reform is to add some 47 million uninsured Americans, including about 800,000 Coloradans, to the ranks of the insured."

21 Sep 2009

Lawmakers wonder if the Baucus Plan does enough to control premiums

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers fear a new plan unveiled by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., could impose added costs on middle-class people in the form of higher health insurance premiums, a problem they will seek to mitigate, The Washington Post reports: "Some Senate Democrats, along with a key moderate Republican, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), are now discussing ways to increase assistance for individuals and families who could face premium costs of up to $15,000 per year by 2016.

21 Sep 2009

Opinion piece examines vacant USAID administrator position

The Obama administration "has yet to announce a candidate to head" USAID, despite the talk "about how super-important foreign assistance is these days," columnist Al Kamen writes in a Washington Post opinion piece examining the vacant USAID administrator position.

21 Sep 2009

Governors worry about major Medicaid expansion

The GOP fears the burden of a health care overhaul on states, Roll Call reports: "Senate Republicans joined with GOP governors on Thursday and harshly criticized Finance Chairman Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) health care plan, charging the bill would expand Medicaid while forcing a massive unfunded mandate on cash-strapped states. Republicans have criticized the bill for using the Medicaid system, which is partially funded by states and partially by the federal government, as a way to ensure greater health care coverage for Americans" (Stanton, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

RAM Technologies' health care suite helps health plans to reduce expenses

Today's economic conditions coupled with the anticipated impacts of health insurance reform are forcing health plans to find ways to reduce expenses. RAM Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of software applications for health care payers, enables health plans to reduce expenses with the cost saving features of their health care administrative solution suite HEALTHsuite(R) and eHealthsuite(TM).

21 Sep 2009

Sound off: some lawmakers talking up Baucus Bill, Grassley 'resents' President's remarks

Some lawmakers are touting the Baucus bill's potential and bickering among themselves and the White House about how reform plans are taking shape.

21 Sep 2009

Kenya to launch measles vaccine campaign

The Kenya Ministry of Public Health on Saturday will launch a $1.8 million measles vaccination campaign targeting "1.3 million children who have not been vaccinated against the disease since July 2006," Business Daily Africa reports.

21 Sep 2009

Obama blankets airwaves to push for health reform

President Barack Obama's blitz across the Sunday talk shows to advocate for health overhaul legislation dominates news coverage today.

21 Sep 2009

Home-help staff may break rules for their patients

A new thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, reveals that out of loyalty to the people for whom they provide care, groups of home-help staff sometimes break the rules dictating how their work should be performed.

21 Sep 2009

Health policy experts urge Congress to abandon ideological differences on overhaul

Kaiser Health News reports that a group of "leading economists, analysts and health care administrators" are urging lawmakers to set aside ideological differences and take "action to create broad based changes in the nation's health care system."

21 Sep 2009

Influenza vaccination low among healthcare workers

Less than one third of healthcare workers have themselves vaccinated against classic influenza. This reluctance is astounding, firstly because vaccination against influenza viruses is considered safe and effective and secondly because it has been proved to prevent nosocomial transmission of disease to patients-provided at least 50% of employees have been vaccinated.

21 Sep 2009

IPS examines maternal mortality in Mozambique

Inter Press Service examines efforts to curb maternal mortality in Mozambique. The article profiles the work of English medical doctor Peg Cumberland and her team, who have trained "around 400 local people in remote health care" since she came to the country more than 13 years ago.

21 Sep 2009

White house offers $25 million for medical malpractice projects

The Obama administration announced $25 million in new grants for pilot programs to explore alternatives to the medical malpractice system.

21 Sep 2009

A new study links 45,000 deaths a year to lack of insurance

Researchers find that 45,000 deaths a year can be linked to the lack of health insurance. But, some question the study's merits. CBS News reports that the study was conducted by a team "that tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent" (Axelrod, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009