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New York hospitals recommended for closure seek ways to continue operating

Several small private hospitals are seeking ways to reinvent themselves or be removed from a list of closures created by the New York Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, while other hospitals have filed lawsuits challenging the commission's recommendations, AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

23 Jan 2007

Medicare, social security obligations could harm future U.S. economy

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke on Thursday at a Senate Budget Committee hearing said that if "early and meaningful action is not taken" by Congress to address the rising costs of retirement and medical services for baby boomers, "the U.S. economy could be seriously weakened, with future generations bearing much of the cost," the AP/Bergen Record reports.

23 Jan 2007

Overcrowding has not decreased in the last year at seven out of eight U.S. hospitals

According to the survey, 60% of respondents said that overcrowding forces their hospitals to divert ambulances to other facilities.

23 Jan 2007

Concerns about State proposals to cover the uninsured

Many U.S. companies have raised concerns that a number of recently announced state health insurance proposals "will drive up their expenses without solving the problem" of the uninsured, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

23 Jan 2007

Seniors turn to credit cards to pay medical bills

An increased number of seniors have "turned to credit cards and home equity to pay medical bills" at a time when "more employers are cutting back on retiree medical and pension benefits," USA Today reports.

23 Jan 2007

Health inequalities in Britain

Tackling health inequalities in Britain needs closer co-ordination between all major policy areas including health, education, housing, employment and taxation, according to the authors of a new Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) publication.

23 Jan 2007

Referral management schemes pose a serious threat to patients' interests

Referral management schemes are springing up across the NHS as a means of reducing primary care trusts' spending on secondary care services.

18 Jan 2007

Gambling addiction and its treatment within the NHS

In its hard-hitting report, Gambling addiction and its treatment within the NHS, the BMA is calling for gambling to be a recognised addiction that requires treatment on the NHS.

16 Jan 2007

NHS in need of proper workforce planning

As the NHS prepares for its last year of significant injections of extra money, the Chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) Mr James Johnson, has called on the government to get its act together and reinstate proper workforce planning or risk wasting public money.

14 Jan 2007

Hospital death rate study reveals wide variations and stresses importance of Registered Nurses

Hospital death rates can be reduced by employing more Registered Nurses and the routine use of care maps or protocols, according to a study in the latest UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

14 Jan 2007

Brain injury cognitive rehab not covered by many insurers

The Wall Street Journal on Monday examined how many brain injury patients who experience subsequent problems with memory, mental processing or behavior often do not receive cognitive rehabilitation because their health insurers do not cover the treatment.

9 Jan 2007

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan proposes individual policyholder cancellation guidelines

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan on Tuesday announced that it is working with California insurance regulators to develop new guidelines for canceling individual policyholders' coverage, the Los Angeles Times reports.

7 Jan 2007

Young people often serve as caregivers for parents with disabilities and chronic illnesses

According to the Journal, the number of young people caring for parents with debilitating conditions -- such as Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, cancer and heart disease -- is "large and expected to grow" as advances in medicine and technology allow people with such conditions to live longer.

7 Jan 2007

Medicare begins to cover ultrasounds to detect aortic aneurysms

Medicare on Jan. 1 began to cover ultrasounds to detect abdominal aortic aneurysms in beneficiaries at high risk for the condition, the Charlotte Observer reports.

7 Jan 2007

UK medical education is being hit hard by a lack of funding and resources, says the BMA

In a response to the Education and Skills Committee inquiry the BMA highlights concerns about the current situation in medical education and voices opposition to the cap on student fees being lifted.

3 Jan 2007

Medicare prescription drug benefit cost almost $13B less in 2006 than expected

The Medicare prescription drug benefit will cost $30 billion in 2006, a 30% decrease from a previous estimate of $43 billion, according to CMS, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Freking, AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/29).

2 Dec 2006

West Virginia pilot project would create incentive program for Medicaid beneficiaries to live healthier

The New York Times on Friday examined new revisions to the West Virginia Medicaid program that will "reward 'responsible' patients with significant extra benefits or -- as critics describe it -- punish those who do not join weight-loss or anti-smoking programs, or who miss too many appointments, by denying important services" to help reduce costs.

2 Dec 2006

Pataki and Spitzer endorse commission's recommendations to overhaul New York State health care system

New York Gov. George Pataki (R) and Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer (D) on Wednesday endorsed a report recommending nine hospital closures and the reconfiguration of 48 additional hospitals in the state, Long Island Newsday reports (Clancy, Long Island Newsday, 11/30).

2 Dec 2006

Half of consumer-directed health plan enrollees say they would be likely to switch plans if given the opportunity

Half of individuals enrolled in consumer-directed plans said they would switch out of the plans if given the opportunity, while about one-third of enrollees in more traditional employer-sponsored health plans said they would change their coverage if they had the chance, according to a survey released on Thursday.

2 Dec 2006

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

Incoming House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) on Thursday said that the federal government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Dec 2006

Healthcare News

New York hospitals recommended for closure seek ways to continue operating

Medicare, social security obligations could harm future U.S. economy

Overcrowding has not decreased in the last year at seven out of eight U.S. hospitals

Concerns about State proposals to cover the uninsured

Seniors turn to credit cards to pay medical bills

Health inequalities in Britain

Referral management schemes pose a serious threat to patients' interests

Gambling addiction and its treatment within the NHS

NHS in need of proper workforce planning

Hospital death rate study reveals wide variations and stresses importance of Registered Nurses

Brain injury cognitive rehab not covered by many insurers

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan proposes individual policyholder cancellation guidelines

Young people often serve as caregivers for parents with disabilities and chronic illnesses

Medicare begins to cover ultrasounds to detect aortic aneurysms

UK medical education is being hit hard by a lack of funding and resources, says the BMA

Medicare prescription drug benefit cost almost $13B less in 2006 than expected

West Virginia pilot project would create incentive program for Medicaid beneficiaries to live healthier

Pataki and Spitzer endorse commission's recommendations to overhaul New York State health care system

Half of consumer-directed health plan enrollees say they would be likely to switch plans if given the opportunity

Government has overpaid private Medicare Advantage plans by billions of dollars

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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