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European research project focusing on quality and patient safety in hospitals

A research project focusing on quality and patient safety in hospitals has been offered €3 million from the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme - Health. The Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare is one of six collaborating project partners.

5 Jul 2009

Australian national health system just an election pipe dream

Election threats by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of a Federal takeover of public hospitals if the states failed to improve hospital services by the middle of 2009, appears to have been put on hold, prompting the opposition to claim that Labor has reneged on a 2007 election promise to deal with embattled state hospitals systems.

30 Jun 2009

Health care ads leave Washington, follow lawmakers home during break

Roll Call reports that "several major industry stakeholders" will be "noticeably absent from the advertising airwaves over the July Fourth recess.

30 Jun 2009

Long-term care program would provide revenue - at first

A long-term care program could produce some needed dollars, at least in the short range, CQ Politics reports: "A new insurance program for long-term care that Democrats have included in a Senate health overhaul bill would produce about $58 billion in revenue for the government over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, helping to offset the cost of the legislation.

30 Jun 2009

Democrats are increasingly confident about health reform

Despite costs and public skepticism, Democrats are increasingly confident that they'll enact a vast health care overhaul. McClatchy reports: "The White House is ramping up its behind-the-scenes lobbying of Congress.

30 Jun 2009

In South Florida, risk of unemployment would accompany health reform benefits

The Miami Herald reports that healthcare reform could acutely affect South Florida and provide both benefits and risks.

30 Jun 2009

A painless way to hold down health costs?

NPR reports on a way to reduce national health care costs: "Getting doctors and hospitals in the parts of the country that spend the most on medical care now to bring that spending more in line with that of lower-spending regions."

30 Jun 2009

Stimulus money working for homeless teenagers' health in Colorado

Some homeless teenagers in Colorado are getting dental work done for free as part of the economic stimulus that has expanded service to more poor and uninsured, The Associated Press reports.

30 Jun 2009

Small businesses wary of health care legislation

"Rising costs and a weak economy" are leaving small business employees "with higher out-of-pocket health costs," USA Today reports. Those small companies are "exactly what the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had in mind this month when it estimated as many as 15 million people could lose the benefits they currently receive through their jobs under a Democratic proposal to overhaul health care.

30 Jun 2009

Sometimes insurance no match for health costs

Americans with serious illnesses who must often choose between paying a mortgage or their health premiums and deductibles are often going broke, The Seattle Times reports.

30 Jun 2009

White House remains open to taxing health benefits, Obama plans town hall meeting

The White House remains open to taxing some health benefits to help pay for health care reform despite campaigning against the move last year, The Washington Post reports.

30 Jun 2009

Health reform questions continue to loom

Reuters reports that "President Barack Obama's drive to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system may be back on track thanks to Senate efforts to cut the price tag to $1 trillion, but a bipartisan deal on the sweeping proposal still is far from certain ... Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was upbeat last week after announcing that panel members had found ways to bring the price tag to about $1 trillion over 10 years, down from an earlier estimate of a staggering $1.6 trillion ... Instead, the core group of negotiators -- three Democrats and four Republicans -- issued a tepid statement on Thursday merely affirming their commitment to continue negotiations."

30 Jun 2009

Think tank releases new health care framework

The Center for American Progress proposed a "fail-safe" mechanism designed to ensure that a health care overhaul wouldn't add to the federal deficit today. The plan, part of a financing proposal for health care legislation that was released at a breakfast with reporters, is aimed at addressing concerns that a revamping might not produce expected cost savings over the long run, leading to a big increase in the budget gap.

30 Jun 2009

U.S.-backed program trains Iraqi women to be nursing aids

Fox News examines a U.S.-supported program in Iraq that is equipping women with the skills they need to become nursing aids.

30 Jun 2009

New York Times examines one American's efforts to help Pakistanis with health care

The New York Times profiles the Comprehensive Disaster Relief Services (CDRS) hospital in Chikar, Pakistan, which was started by American Todd Shea after the 2005 earthquake in that country. The aspiring musician's life was turned over to rescue efforts after September 11, when he used his van to "ferry meals to firefighters at Ground Zero," according to the New York Times.

30 Jun 2009

News reports examine patients unable to pay health bills in Kenya's "cash starved" hospitals; "bad shape" of Uganda's facilities

The Los Angeles Times examines several stories of patients too poor to pay their hospital bills in Kenya that were held in a "makeshift patients' prison," until they escape or settle their debt. "Tragically, healthcare horror stories are common in Africa, where developing countries rarely have medical safety nets for the poor. But an increase in cases of cash-starved public hospitals and mortuaries detaining patients and even corpses over unpaid bills is spurring outrage in Kenya," writes the newspaper.

30 Jun 2009

Obama leaves door open to tax on health benefits

"President Barack Obama on Wednesday rejected the idea of fully taxing Americans' employer-provided health insurance benefits, but suggested he might be persuaded to tax so-called Cadillac coverage ... in the interest of a compromise with Congress," McClatchy/The Star-Telegram reports.

29 Jun 2009

Obama reaches out to Governors on health care

"A bipartisan group of governors told President Obama yesterday that they share his urgent desire to restructure the nation's health-care system but warned that any changes should not place more burdens on strained state budgets or eliminate innovative programs they already have in place," The Washington Post reports.

29 Jun 2009

Baucus signals finance committee progress on health overhaul bill

"A group of key Senate negotiators found a way to further reduce the price tag on the health care reform bill, bringing it in line with a $1 trillion target and moving the Senate Finance Committee closer to a deal, Chairman Max Baucus said Thursday," according to Politico.

29 Jun 2009

California Rulings: State can cut Medi-Cal benefits but not home care wages

"A federal judge on Thursday blocked a $2 hourly wage cut for California in-home care workers that was slated to begin July 1, potentially increasing California's budget deficit by another $98 million," The Sacramento Bee reports.

29 Jun 2009