Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

First Edition: March 24, 2010

Today's headlines note the celebrations surrounding President Obama's signature of the Senate's health reform bill -- making it the law of the land -- and the strategies being developed by health overhaul opponents to block progress with an accompanying "fix it" bill.

24 Mar 2010

Healthcare reform bill likely to impact physician owned hospitals

According to Molly Sandvig, Executive Director of Physician Hospitals of America (PHA), the legislation virtually destroys over 60 hospitals that are currently under development, and leaves little room for the future growth of the industry.

24 Mar 2010

Med-Vision provides strategies to lower healthcare costs, improve quality

Med-Vision, a Tampa-based medical consulting company providing strategies to lower healthcare costs and improve quality of care, is providing free healthcare planning advice and solutions via the Web. A newly launched Insights on Healthcare Blog (http://medvision.wordpress.com/) created by Dan Ross, president of Med-Vision, offers timely healthcare commentary, insights to help healthcare consumers, and information to help self-funded employers understand complicated issues of employee benefits.

24 Mar 2010

AHF to protest against Merck's pricing of Isentress

AIDS Healthcare Foundation will host a protest Wednesday morning, March 24th at 10:30am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, one of the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the Barclays Capital Global Healthcare Conference.

24 Mar 2010

Shortly after sweeping health reforms become law, states file legal challenges

Officials from 14 states filed lawsuits Tuesday to block the newly enacted historic overhaul of the U.S. health care system. "'Thirteen of those officials filed suit in a federal court in Pensacola, Florida, minutes after Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

24 Mar 2010

Geisinger Health System urges Congress to provide universal healthcare coverage for all Americans

The health reform legislation passed by Congress on Sunday—largely health insurance reform—is a big first step in addressing the need for universal healthcare coverage.

24 Mar 2010

Republicans rally around repeal effort

The Christian Science Monitor: "Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina is already set to introduce legislation repealing the legislation that President Obama will sign on Tuesday. Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, caught in a tough GOP primary battle for reelection, is arguing in a fundraising appeal that he should stay in the Senate to lead the fight for repeal."

24 Mar 2010

14 Attorney Generals challenge healthcare reform law

In a new development against the healthcare reform law that was signed by the President Barack Obama, 14 state Attorney Generals have filed lawsuits challenging it.

24 Mar 2010

FDA recommends clinicians temporarily suspend use of Rotarix vaccine

The agency recently became aware that an independent U.S. academic research team, using a novel technique, has found DNA from porcine circovirus 1 (PCV1) in Rotarix, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. PCV1 is not known to cause illness in humans or other animals. In addition, Rotarix has been studied extensively, before and after approval, and found to have an excellent safety record.

24 Mar 2010

Obama prepares to sell health care plan; Dems, GOP strategize on next steps

President Barack Obama is moving quickly to explain and sell his health reform package to the American public, hoping he can move public opinion.

24 Mar 2010

Deficit forecast -questioned by some - buttressed support for health overhaul

The Congressional Budget Office report that found the health legislation would cut the deficit by $140 billion over 10 years boosted Democratic momentum and pulled fiscally conservative moderates behind the bill, the Financial Times reports.

24 Mar 2010

Mayor Reed joins group to launch Medicare Diabetes Screening Project in Atlanta

Mayor Kasim Reed today urged the citizens of Atlanta, especially those ages 65 and older, to learn more about diabetes and its risk factors and get screened for this very serious disease. The Mayor joined with other city and community leaders and more than 100 seniors at Big Bethel Village to help launch the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project on American Diabetes Association Alert Day.

24 Mar 2010

State roundup: Arizona repeals CHIP program, Conn. insurance pool, Minnesota boosted by health bill

The Associated Press: "A controversial decision by Arizona lawmakers to eliminate a health insurance program for poor children puts it at risk of losing billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding under the historic health care bill approved by Congress. Arizona last week became the first state to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program, removing an estimated 38,000 kids from the rolls starting in June in a budget-cutting move by Gov. Jan Brewer and the Republican-led Legislature. ... Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, told Brewer and House Speaker Kirk Adams in separate letters that eliminating the state's KidsCare program on June 15 would violate a 'maintenance of effort' requirement of the Senate health care overhaul bill approved by Congress" (Davenport, 3/22).

24 Mar 2010

Drugmakers, insurers and hospitals expected to see gains from health bill

Kaiser Health News: "Most health industry sectors are winners - some bigger than others -- under sweeping health care legislation that will expand coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans over the next decade, analysts say." Hospitals and drug makers are both winners; insurers could go either way, depending on long-term cost trends; and, doctors "got a pass," according to one expert (Galewitz, 3/22).

24 Mar 2010

Raising alcohol price shows many benefits

Raise the price of alcohol and reduce the ill effects it causes. May seem like plain common sense and yes now it has research data to support it. British researchers in the University of Sheffield have used a epidemiological, mathematical model to prove that as general price increases the alcohol consumption decreases. So the alcohol related deaths and health care costs will also decrease.

24 Mar 2010

Majority of Pennsylvania women do not seek treatments for chronic pain

Results of a statewide pain survey revealed that chronic pain is widespread among Pennsylvania women but often left untreated.

24 Mar 2010

Obama and Congress deliver meaningful healthcare reform

Alliance President and CEO joins President Obama, Members of Congress, and leading health advocates at President's speech marking signing of health insurance reform into law

24 Mar 2010

Renowned leaders to discuss latest findings in early-stage drug development for cancer

When people think of cancer treatment, chemotherapy infusions, injections and pills often come to mind. These treatments result from extensive research and testing in drug development. But how does the process begin?

24 Mar 2010

Tax hikes violate Obama's pledge, says Baucus

Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has admitted that some Americans making less than $200,000 per year will face tax hikes under ObamaCare. Such tax hikes are a violation of President Obama's "firm pledge" not to raise "any form" of taxes on those making less than $250,000 per year.

24 Mar 2010

Health care bill victory for Pelosi

Roll Call reports that "no vote came easy" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the health bill. "The stories of the late-breaking votes illustrate just how tight the margin was.

24 Mar 2010