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First Edition: March 23, 2012

Today's health policy headlines are full of previews of next week's health law action at the Supreme Court.

23 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Health law's threat to individual liberty; Conflicting opinions on the constitutionality of the individual mandate

On Monday, the Supreme Court will begin an extraordinary three-day hearing on the constitutionality of ObamaCare. At stake are the Constitution's structural guarantees of individual liberty, which limit governmental power and ensure political accountability by dividing that power between federal and state authorities. Upholding ObamaCare would destroy this dual-sovereignty system, the most distinctive feature of American constitutionalism.

23 Mar 2012

USAID Administrator Shah addresses agency's FY13 budget proposal at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing

Speaking Tuesday at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said USAID's FY 2013 budget proposal "is slightly lower than last year," but that "future U.S. foreign aid investments will be more 'prioritized, focused and concentrated,'" and he "promised that U.S. aid will still be able to meet global development challenges," VOA's "Breaking News" blog reports.

23 Mar 2012

Allen Institute for Brain Science receives $300M gift to expand scientific programs

The Allen Institute for Brain Science announced today that, given its achievements to date, Paul G. Allen has committed an additional $300 million to the Institute to significantly expand its scientific programs.

22 Mar 2012

State roundup: Oregon's coordinated care program moves ahead

Ten thousand more employees at five city agencies have signed on to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to raise monthly health insurance premiums by $50 for employees who fail to participate in a "wellness program" to manage chronic health problems. Emanuel hopes to save $20 million in 2012 -- and $240 million over four years -- by riding herd over costly, but controllable problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and asthma.

22 Mar 2012

UT Dallas postdoctoral fellow to study effectiveness of bilingual education programs

A postdoctoral fellow in the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders has won a competitive research grant to study the effectiveness of bilingual education programs.

22 Mar 2012

Malpractice reform, IPAB repeal, NIH funding among hot topics on Capitol Hill

News outlets report on various legislative proposals and planned funding cuts, and what kind of reactions they are drawing.

21 Mar 2012

Roundup: States face new revenue downturn; Calif. county has disparities in life expectancy

Revenues in most U.S. states increased in the fourth quarter of 2011, but their recent surge is tapering off, as they grew just 2.7 percent from the final quarter of 2010, according to a report released on Monday. "This is a noticeable slowdown from the 11.1 (percent) and 6.1 percent year-over-year growth reported in the second and third quarters of 2011, respectively," the Rockefeller Institute, a think tank that closely watches states' revenues, said in the report.

21 Mar 2012

GOP coordinates renewed assault on health law as its two-year anniversary, court date near

The fight for public opinion is expected to intensify in the days ahead -- as the date of the health law's Supreme Court oral arguments closes in.

21 Mar 2012

Study tests new method of sound simulation for treating tinnitus

A new clinical trial is to test whether a pocket-sized device that uses sound simulation to reboot faulty 'wiring' in the brain could cure people with the debilitating hearing disorder tinnitus.

21 Mar 2012

North Shore-LIJ inaugurates NYHNI's Center for Cranial Base Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital

As part of its ongoing efforts to develop patient-centric services that focus on disease prevention and management, the North Shore-LIJ Health System today announced the creation of the New York Head and Neck Institute (NYHNI), a part of its head and neck surgery service line, and the opening of the Center for Cranial Base Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital.

20 Mar 2012

Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery publishes new sudden hearing loss guideline

The first national treatment guideline for sudden hearing loss, a frightening condition that sends thousands in the U.S. to the emergency room each year, was published this month in the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

20 Mar 2012

High Court says no to allowing cameras to broadcast the health law arguments

This announcement, made Friday, is consistent with tradition. However, the court will make available same-day audio of the oral arguments because of "extraordinary public interest."

19 Mar 2012

Sides counting down to Supreme Court health reform arguments

Can the government really tell us what to buy? Federal judges have come down on both sides of the question, leaving it to the Supreme Court to sort out. The justices are allotting an unusually long period, six hours over three days, beginning March 26, to hear arguments challenging the law's constitutionality. Their ruling, expected in June, is shaping up as a historic moment in the century-long quest by reformers to provide affordable health care for all.

19 Mar 2012

Administration lawyers shift Supreme Court arguments to draw support from key justices

Part of their challenge is to convince the justices the health care marketplace is "unique." Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius talked to Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill about "alternatives" to the individual mandate if it were struck down. And The Wall Street Journal reports the oral arguments before the Supreme Court may be the hottest show in Washington.

17 Mar 2012

Older women with mild retinopathy more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes

Women 65 or older who have even mild retinopathy, a disease of blood vessels in the retina, are more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes in the brain, according to a multi-institutional study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

16 Mar 2012

GenVec 2011 net loss decreases to $7.4 million

Today GenVec, Inc. announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company reported a net loss of $7.4 million, or $0.58 per share, compared with a net loss of $12.3 million, or $0.97 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2010.

15 Mar 2012

Many women experience memory problems during menopause, confirms study

The difficulties that many women describe as memory problems when menopause approaches are real, according to a study published today in the journal Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society.

15 Mar 2012

State roundup: Caregivers face 'burnout' threat as need grows, Kansas nursing home staff inadequate?

Long term care advocates say they're concerned about caregiver burnout. And they say Wisconsin may be overestimating projected savings from uncompensated care that relatives provide. State health officials need to find nearly $80 million in savings from a popular program that keeps the elderly and disabled out of nursing homes. The administration wants to know what assistance friends and family are giving so that care isn't replaced by Medicaid services.

15 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Sandra fluke on slurs; Shifting the cost of uncompensated care

(D)espite the misinformation being spread, the regulation under discussion has absolutely nothing to do with government funding: It is all about the insurance policies provided by private employers and universities that are financed by individual workers, students and their families -- not taxpayers.

14 Mar 2012

Hearing News and Research

First Edition: March 23, 2012

Viewpoints: Health law's threat to individual liberty; Conflicting opinions on the constitutionality of the individual mandate

USAID Administrator Shah addresses agency's FY13 budget proposal at House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing

Allen Institute for Brain Science receives $300M gift to expand scientific programs

State roundup: Oregon's coordinated care program moves ahead

UT Dallas postdoctoral fellow to study effectiveness of bilingual education programs

Malpractice reform, IPAB repeal, NIH funding among hot topics on Capitol Hill

Roundup: States face new revenue downturn; Calif. county has disparities in life expectancy

GOP coordinates renewed assault on health law as its two-year anniversary, court date near

Study tests new method of sound simulation for treating tinnitus

North Shore-LIJ inaugurates NYHNI's Center for Cranial Base Surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital

Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery publishes new sudden hearing loss guideline

High Court says no to allowing cameras to broadcast the health law arguments

Sides counting down to Supreme Court health reform arguments

Administration lawyers shift Supreme Court arguments to draw support from key justices

Older women with mild retinopathy more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes

GenVec 2011 net loss decreases to $7.4 million

Many women experience memory problems during menopause, confirms study

State roundup: Caregivers face 'burnout' threat as need grows, Kansas nursing home staff inadequate?

Viewpoints: Sandra fluke on slurs; Shifting the cost of uncompensated care

Exploring the G:Box and for high-quality imaging

Shaping the Future of Neuroscience: A Conversation with Atlas Antibodies on the MolBoolean™ and the Impact of SfN 2024

How the Arts Reshape Brain Function: Susan Magsamen on the Future of Neuroaesthetics

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