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Senate Finance Committee investigates companies' use of discounts to funnel medical tests their way

The Senate Finance Committee is probing medical testing companies to determine if they offer insurers heavy discounts in exchange for the insurers funneling all of their Medicare tests their way, Senate investigators and a former company employee have told USA Today.

11 Nov 2011

Updates on dietary benefits and dangers in kidney disease patients

Two studies presented during the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Kidney Week provide new information on dietary benefits and dangers in kidney disease patients.

11 Nov 2011

Mutations make Staph more resistant to antibiotics

Infectious diseases specialists from Austin Health are working closely with Microbiologists from the University of Melbourne to understand how Staph is becoming resistant to all antibiotic therapies.

11 Nov 2011

Greek health system suffers amid growing economic crisis

Reuters examines how a worsening economic crisis in Greece is affecting the country's health system, highlighting a 36 percent decrease in health spending by Greeks this year, according to the National School of Public Health, and an increase of more than 50 percent in new cases of HIV from the first five months of 2010 to the same period this year.

11 Nov 2011

State highlights: Mass. facing cost decisions; Ore. boosting coordinated care; Lawyers tackling Calif. disparities

After passing universal coverage, Massachusetts is now in the throes of a debate about how to bring down its skyrocketing health care costs. And the state's new proposal to regulate how much providers charge for health care could mark a very important and controversial chapter in that fight.

11 Nov 2011

Third annual World Pneumonia Day to be observed on Saturday

The third annual World Pneumonia Day will be observed on Saturday.

11 Nov 2011

Research roundup: Cutting speciality care by raising co-payments; Asthma diagnosis and insurance coverage; GAO on early retirees

Mayo Clinic Employees Responded To New Requirements For Cost Sharing By Reducing Possibly Unneeded Health Services Use -- Researchers at the Mayo Clinic examined the effects of changes in the clinic's self-funded health plan "to decrease the use of potentially inappropriate health care services and foster a deliver system centered on primary care."

11 Nov 2011

Cultivating cells in sealed, sterile plastic bags

Using plasmas, sealed plastic bags can be modified at atmospheric pressure so that human cells can adhere to and reproduce on their walls. Cell culture bags of this kind are an important aid for research and clinical purposes and may eventually replace the Petri dishes used today.

11 Nov 2011

Kenya launches 5-year strategic plan to fight NTDs

"The Kenyan government launched a five-year national master-plan on Thursday to address neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that have become a public health challenge in remote parts of the country," making Kenya "the first country in Africa to launch a broad-based strategic plan on combating neglected tropical ailments that include bilharzia, trachoma, kalaazar, intestinal worms, elephantiasis and Hydatid disease," Africa Science News reports.

11 Nov 2011

Senate Republicans question role of $10 billion innovation center

Three GOP Senators have asked the Government Accountability Office to examine the effectiveness of this center, which was created by the health law, and to determine whether it is duplicating work that was already the responsibility of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

11 Nov 2011

Former U.N. SG Annan criticizes G20 for not taking more action on climate change that affects food security

Speaking at the launch of Stanford University's Center for Food Security and the Environment at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies on Thursday, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan "criticized world leaders ... for failing to take bold action on climate change, which he said threatens to worsen the food crisis that has already left a billion people hungry," ABC News reports.

11 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Conservatives still reeling from DC Circuit ruling on health law; Minn. lawmaker upsets plans for federal grants

"President Ronald Reagan must be spinning in his grave," exclaimed Maureen Martin of the Heartland Institute. A "Lazy Endorsement of Obamacare," read the headline on an article on National Review Online.

11 Nov 2011

NeoStem third quarter revenues increase to $17.8 million

NeoStem, Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company with a focus on cell based therapeutics development, today reported third quarter results and recent progress in its business.

11 Nov 2011

Supreme Court quiet about health law appeals, announcement could come as soon as Monday

Although the justices met Thursday behind closed doors, no word emerged about whether the high court will hear appeals over the health law. But a decision about these cases could come Monday.

11 Nov 2011

Advocacy groups run full-page ad on end of AIDS

Several advocacy groups, including amfAR, AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, the Center for Global Health Policy, and the Treatment Action Group (TAG), took out a full-page advertisement in Politico on Thursday, stating, "We can begin to end the AIDS pandemic. Will we?"

11 Nov 2011

More high deductible plans, new individual policies helping to reshape insurance market

Local news accounts detail changes in the market. In Iowa, Wells Fargo employees are choosing between high deductible options, while in Minnesota one insurer is rolling out a new individual policy that may help buoy its position when the state health exchanges begin operation.

11 Nov 2011

Health law alphabet soup: ACOs, MLR and other implementation news

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released the application for its shared savings program, and Health News Florida reports which of that state's providers will likely throw their hats into the ring.

11 Nov 2011

Hooper Holmes third quarter consolidated revenues decrease 5% to $38.2 million

Hooper Holmes today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2011.

11 Nov 2011

Medicaid directors ask Feds for more flexibility

State Medicaid directors are asking the federal government to fast-track state Medicaid improvements by emphasizing health over bureaucratic process and rapidly disseminating best practices so that states can benefit from the success of others.

11 Nov 2011

Ga., Texas expand mental health services but advocates say more is needed

Georgia has opened new facilities for the mentally ill under an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department. Meanwhile, Texas increased mental health spending by 4.3 percent in the past 3 years, but critics say that spending is not keeping pace with the growing uninsured population.

11 Nov 2011