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Lawmakers prepare for budget resolution conference committee, reconciliation likely will be sticking point

House Budget Committee Chair John Spratt (D-S.C.) on Thursday said he hopes the conference for the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution happens "as soon as possible" so that the appropriations process can begin quickly, CongressDaily reports.

6 Apr 2009

GAO official names first 13 members of HIT Policy Advisory Committee

Government Accountability Office acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro last week named 13 members to a policy committee on health care information technology established under the federal economic stimulus package, CongressDaily reports.

6 Apr 2009

CMS announces $35.8 million for state health insurance assistance programs

CMS on Friday announced that State Health Insurance Assistance Programs will receive $35.8 million to provide health insurance information to Medicare beneficiaries, CQ HealthBeat reports.

6 Apr 2009

Improving U.S. hospitals' efficiency could save at least $4 billion, Thomson Reuters says

U.S. hospitals can improve patient care and save at least $4 billion by being more efficient, according to Thomson Reuters, Reuters reports.

6 Apr 2009

Mississippi Medicaid fraud-prevention rule criticized for eliminating beneficiaries from program

Mississippi state lawmakers last week rejected efforts to repeal a state rule requiring Medicaid beneficiaries to show up in person to renew their enrollment each year, the AP/Miami Herald reports.

6 Apr 2009

Georgia insurance commissioner launches inquiry into out-of-network payments

Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine (R) has ordered 18 insurers that operate in Georgia to report how they establish reimbursement rates for out-of-network services, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

6 Apr 2009

Minorities more likely than others in California to be uninsured, families USA Survey finds

Minorities in California are more likely than others to be uninsured in the last two years, according to a Families USA survey released last week, the Los Angeles Times reports.

6 Apr 2009

Senate unlikely to vote on Gov. Sebelius' nomination as HHS Secretary until later this month

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's choice for HHS secretary, "sailed through" a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on Thursday, but the Senate likely will not take up the nomination until later this month because of objections for an immediate vote by several Republican members, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 4/3).

5 Apr 2009

Congress approves budget resolutions

The House and Senate on Thursday approved their respective versions of the fiscal year 2010 budget resolution (HConRes85, SConRes13), both of which include deficit-neutral reserve funds for health care, CongressDaily reports (Sanchez/Friedman, CongressDaily, 4/3).

5 Apr 2009

Congressional progressive caucus issues letter stating majority of members will only support health reform that includes public plan option

A majority of members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus will not support any health reform legislation that does not include a public plan option, according to a letter sent on Thursday by CPC co-chairs Reps. Lynn Woosley (D-Calif.) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) to Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, Roll Call reports (Bendery, Roll Call, 4/2).

5 Apr 2009

More large employers offer chronic disease management programs to reduce health care costs

Eighty percent of large U.S. companies this year are offering chronic disease management programs for workers in an effort to reduce health care costs, up from 51% last year, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates, the Houston Chronicle reports.

5 Apr 2009

Massachusetts spent $793.7 million in FY 2008 on health coverage for employees of large businesses, report finds

The cost of providing subsidized health coverage to Massachusetts residents and their families who work for large companies increased by 24.6% to $793.7 million in the last fiscal year, according to a state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy report released on Wednesday, the Boston Globe reports.

5 Apr 2009

About 500,000 Californians have lost health insurance during recession

About 500,000 working-age Californians have lost their health insurance since the economic recession began in November 2007, according to a report the University of California-Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education released Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

5 Apr 2009

Critics say Louisiana proposal to penalize doctors not meeting standards provides wrong type of incentive

A Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals proposal to implement performance standards for physicians who care for low-income residents has come under criticism from child care advocates who say the program will lead doctors to stop participating in the state's CommunityCARE program, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

5 Apr 2009

Seattle not-for-profits awaiting stimulus funds to continue providing health care, other services to ethnic communities

Many Seattle not-for-profits that provide health care and other services to ethnic communities "are eagerly awaiting" the distribution of funds from the economic stimulus package, the Northwest Asian Weekly reports (Nguyen, Northwest Asian Weekly, 4/2).

5 Apr 2009

Getting the word out when the need for speed is critical to public health

When the need for speed is critical, how can a public health department communicate with doctors and hospitals, sending alerts to help prevent or stop a public health crisis? How can thousands of health-care providers be notified about disease outbreaks, illness from food borne contaminants or even a possible pandemic?

4 Apr 2009

One out of five Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within a month

When a patient is discharged from the hospital, just about the last thing he or she wants is to be back in again within the next month.

1 Apr 2009

Compassion fatigue: Impact on healthcare providers of caring for the terminally ill

Compassion fatigue in nurses, doctors and other front line cancer-care providers significantly impacts how they interact with patients, with patient families, with other healthcare workers, and with their own family, according to analysis by Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute researchers published in the March issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.

1 Apr 2009

One of five hospitalized Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within 30 days

One of five Medicare beneficiaries discharged from the hospital is readmitted within 30 days, and half of non-surgical patients are readmitted to the hospital without having seen an outpatient doctor in follow-up, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Apr 2009

Brightly coloured uniforms improve perceptions of hospital nurses among children and parents

Putting hospital nurses in brightly coloured, unconventional uniforms makes children more comfortable and parents more confident, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

1 Apr 2009

Healthcare News

Lawmakers prepare for budget resolution conference committee, reconciliation likely will be sticking point

GAO official names first 13 members of HIT Policy Advisory Committee

CMS announces $35.8 million for state health insurance assistance programs

Improving U.S. hospitals' efficiency could save at least $4 billion, Thomson Reuters says

Mississippi Medicaid fraud-prevention rule criticized for eliminating beneficiaries from program

Georgia insurance commissioner launches inquiry into out-of-network payments

Minorities more likely than others in California to be uninsured, families USA Survey finds

Senate unlikely to vote on Gov. Sebelius' nomination as HHS Secretary until later this month

Congress approves budget resolutions

Congressional progressive caucus issues letter stating majority of members will only support health reform that includes public plan option

More large employers offer chronic disease management programs to reduce health care costs

Massachusetts spent $793.7 million in FY 2008 on health coverage for employees of large businesses, report finds

About 500,000 Californians have lost health insurance during recession

Critics say Louisiana proposal to penalize doctors not meeting standards provides wrong type of incentive

Seattle not-for-profits awaiting stimulus funds to continue providing health care, other services to ethnic communities

Getting the word out when the need for speed is critical to public health

One out of five Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within a month

Compassion fatigue: Impact on healthcare providers of caring for the terminally ill

One of five hospitalized Medicare patients readmitted to hospital within 30 days

Brightly coloured uniforms improve perceptions of hospital nurses among children and parents

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

From street to lab: Advancing controlled substance testing with handheld Raman and FTIR

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