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Speech unifies Democrats, for now, could set stage to bypass opponents

The day after President Obama's speech Wednesday, Democrats rallied behind his plan, including several key conservative members of the party, the Los Angeles Times reports. "'If the details live up to the quality of the speech, then it's a good plan,' said Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper, a conservative Democrat who has been critical of the healthcare bill developed by House leaders." Other Democrats praised the speech for its endorsement of the proposed public insurance plan (Levey, 9/11).

11 Sep 2009

Post-speech debates: Illegal immigrant coverage, tort reform, abortion funding

President Obama's speech opened the door for experts and lawmakers to examine his proposed health reforms, with questions ranging from how reforms affect illegal immigrants' coverage to abortion funding.

11 Sep 2009

Health industry leaders optimistic on reform, though qualms remain

Industry analysts say insurers may not "have much to fear" from reform proposals, though the industry has been portrayed as "the system's main villains," the New York Times reports. Though Obama deployed several horror stories about insurers in his speech, he also said, "I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business," and minimized the importance of the Democrat-supported, insurer-feared public health insurance plan.

11 Sep 2009

Experts, lawmakers wonder if Obama can pay for his health reform push

President Obama and Democrats are scrambling to find a way to pay for the specifics that he laid out in his speech Wednesday night, and they are pushing for a trigger that would rein in spending if cost containment for health care reform isn't met.

11 Sep 2009

Bioneutral's broad spectrum antimicrobial eradicates the H1N1 swine flu virus

BioNeutral Group, Inc. (“BioNeutral”) (OTCBB:BONU), a specialty chemical technology based Life Science Company, announced today that independent lab test results conducted at Microbiotest Inc. of Sterling, Virginia, demonstrated that Ygiene® antimicrobial diluted 1 to 10 with water can totally eradicated the H1N1 Swine Flu virus in 59 seconds on an unclean, soiled surface.

11 Sep 2009

Young 'invincible' adults quiet on health reform, seniors remain confused

Invincibles, the "strong and healthy young adults who have no experience with wallet-crippling illness and feel they have no need for coverage," may be "the most likely to be affected by the reform effort" outlined by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, The Baltimore Sun reports. "Adults ages 18 to 34 comprise more than half of the nation's uninsured.

11 Sep 2009

Centro Mater partners with Navarro Discount Pharmacies to raise funds for scholarships

At a press conference held in Coral Gables September 1st, 2009, Centro Mater Foundation's president, Ana Ortega, announced details of the organization's alliance with Navarro Discount Pharmacies.

11 Sep 2009

Today's editorials and opinions

The Dime Standard The New York Times Barack Obama delivered the finest speech of his presidency. … Which is not to say that this is effective health reform (David Brooks, 9/10).

11 Sep 2009

Ohio health care lobbyist pays $30,000 a year for health insurance

KHN reports on a Columbus, Ohio, health care lobbyist who writes a monthly check of $2,556 for his family's health insurance. "His insurance rates soared over the past decade after his daughter, Lauren, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and his wife, Trish, developed breast cancer.

11 Sep 2009

Democrats, bolstered by Obama speech, promise to move reform legislation by fall

Democrats are promising to pass a health care reform bill by this fall after President Obama this week called for action. But in order to do that, the White House is holding meetings with moderates while liberal Democrats are asking for a meeting of their own. Other members are staking out clear positions on key policy issues.

11 Sep 2009

OCC partners with Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin to raise public awareness about ovarian cancer

The Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Greater California (OCC) has partnered with singer/songwriter/actress/philanthropist Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, by launching a public women's health campaign for the fight against ovarian cancer.

11 Sep 2009

End stage renal disease can be delayed by early identification of CKD

Early identification of individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) can delay the onset of end stage renal disease (ESRD) and the need for chronic dialysis treatments. The incidence of CKD continues to grow, and early identification and intervention are critical to manage this costly disease.

11 Sep 2009

State Round-up: California adult day care, Massachusetts and D.C. insurance news

In today's state news, a California judge rules that state cuts to adult day care violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, pending legislation in Massachusetts could help ease the insurance burden for small businesses and insurers in Washington, D.C., may have to share a portion of their $687 million surplus with the city.

11 Sep 2009

Joint Commission to help hospitals fix patient safety problems

"The Joint Commission announced today that its newly-formed Center for Transforming Healthcare will work on new collaborative programs with leading hospitals and health care systems to find a cause of the most deadly breakdowns in patient care, and put a stop to them,"

11 Sep 2009

Children with larger waists are more at risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life

Children with more fat around their midsections could be at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, researchers say.

11 Sep 2009

Weight training may help the elderly retain muscle

Have you ever noticed that people have thinner arms and legs as they get older? As we age it becomes harder to keep our muscles healthy. They get smaller, which decreases strength and increases the likelihood of falls and fractures. New research is showing how this happens — and what to do about it.

11 Sep 2009

Oregon lawmaker continues to push for end-of-life care benefit

Despite an opposition campaign full of misinformation, an Oregon lawmaker continues to push to keep his controversial end-of-life provision in the House's health care proposal.

11 Sep 2009

Federal court's approval clears the way for pricing rollback of pharmaceutical drugs

Purchasers of pharmaceutical drugs including consumers and health plans will soon enjoy a rollback of benchmark prices of some of the most common prescription medications after a Federal Appeals Court last week affirmed the approval of a settlement with two leading drug-pricing publishers, First DataBank, Inc. and Medi-Span, a division of Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

11 Sep 2009

More options seen for patients to bargain hunt for health care

CNN reports on the "growing number of hospitals, Web sites, even states, helping patients comparison shop on the Internet before undergoing a medical procedure or test. Hospitals say they're responding to a growing demand from patients who are paying for more of their health care out of pocket, thanks to rising deductibles and the advent of high deductible, consumer-driven plans."

11 Sep 2009

Dell enters health IT fray, catering to small providers

The computer company Dell unveiled a new offering to doctors and hospitals shopping for an electronic medical records system Thursday, Dow Jones Newswires reports. Dell's system will be cheaper, easier and more compatible with other products, the company said, helping to overcome longstanding health information technology obstacles (Solsman, 9/10).

11 Sep 2009