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Republicans plan to chip away at health law; Senators call for insurance rate hearings

The New York Times: Republicans are hopeful they can pick up enough seats in November's midterm elections to chip away at the new health law. "This goal, though not fleshed out in a detailed legislative proposal, is much more than a campaign slogan. That conclusion emerged from interviews with a wide range of Republican lawmakers, who said they were determined to chip away at the law if they could not dismantle it." Republicans are expected to release specifics of the plan Thursday.

22 Sep 2010

Jayant Patel appeal delayed on account of funds shortage

The former surgeon Jayant Patel, at the centre of a 2005 scandal in which he was accused of gross incompetence while working at Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland, Australia faces a delay in his appeal against his criminal convictions.

21 Sep 2010

Study says PTSD veterans suffer from more medical conditions

Is the US health system comprehensively meeting the needs of returning veterans? With the recent attention to mental illness in returning soldiers, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in particular, little research has focused on the medical care needs of those returning from Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Dr. Susan Frayne, from the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University, and colleagues.

21 Sep 2010

Voice disorders are not benign nuisances that go away

Two-thirds of Americans with voice problems don't seek medical care either because they don't know treatment is available or because they think the problem will just go away, according to a new study conducted at the Duke Voice Care Center.

21 Sep 2010

Over 10% of children falsely identified as having noise induced hearing loss

New research from University of Minnesota hearing scientists shows that fewer than 20 percent of teenagers in the United States have a hearing loss as a result of exposure to loud sounds, thus offering a different analysis of data reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in August.

21 Sep 2010

Lawmakers debate action on stem cell research, public health bills

Sen. Arlen Specter said at a Senate hearing Thursday that Congress should move on allowing the government to fund human embryonic stem cell research "to avoid giving a final say on the issue to a conservative Supreme Court," The Associated Press reports.

18 Sep 2010

Judge releases schedule for health overhaul lawsuit proceedings; Poll finds voters indifferent to candidates' reform positions

The federal judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by 20 states against health reform released a schedule this week that lays out how the case will proceed, The Hill's Healthwatch Blog reports.

18 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 17, 2010

"In a reflection of the battered economy, the number of people without health insurance rose sharply last year to 50.7 million — an all time high — according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau" (Kaiser Health News). KHN also provides related resources, including a Census Bureau summary of key findings, the chapter on health insurance coverage and access the full report, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009."

17 Sep 2010

76% of Americans oppose cloning human embryos for research

As the U.S. Senate prepares to hold a hearing on human embryonic stem cell research (hESCR), a new public opinion poll shows that a plurality of Americans (47 percent) oppose federal funding of stem cell research that involves destroying human embryos, while only thirty-eight percent (38 percent) support such funding. The poll, conducted by ICR / International Communications Research, surveyed 1,006 adults September 8-14. It was commissioned by the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

17 Sep 2010

HearPO and American Diabetes Association enter National Strategic Partnership

HearPO is proud to announce a National Strategic Partnership with the American Diabetes Association. This National Strategic Partnership will provide additional resources and avenues to educate people with diabetes, medical practitioners and the general public about the connection between diabetes and hearing loss.

17 Sep 2010

Democratic candidates spend more on ads against than for health reform

Politico: Democratic candidates are spending three times more — nearly $1 million — in advertising against health reform than for it. "Since the beginning of Congress's August recess, Democratic candidates have poured $930,000 into ads deriding the health overhaul but just $300,000 in pro-reform spots, according to Evan Tracey at Kantar Media."

17 Sep 2010

Waxman says controversial Medicare bidding program for medical equipment should proceed

CQ HealthBeat: "House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman said Wednesday that a controversial Medicare bidding program that would cut the costs of medical equipment such as wheelchairs and oxygen supplies should go forward under tight scrutiny. Waxman said ... he takes seriously the concerns of suppliers and some patients' groups that service and access to supplies could be undermined by the money-saving program, but said there is no evidence so far of that happening based on limited early tests of the approach."

17 Sep 2010

Researchers discover chronic stress accelerates breast cancer progression

Chronic stress acts as a sort of fertilizer that feeds breast cancer progression, significantly accelerating the spread of disease in animal models, researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have found.

17 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 16, 2010

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, done in collaboration with The New Republic, Jonathan Cohn writes: "It will force a lot of people to pay higher premiums. It will lavish subsidies on the private insurance industry. It will put life-and-death decisions in the hands of bureaucrats. And it will add hundreds of billions of dollars to the federal debt" (Kaiser Health News).

17 Sep 2010

Bruner to encourage FDA advisory committee to consider effectiveness of obesity drug Lorcaserin

On September 16, Denise Bruner, MD, FASBP will speak in favor of FDA approval for the new obesity drug Lorcaserin, during the open public hearing hour at the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drug Advisory Committee meeting.

15 Sep 2010

Californians lead national trend to reassess seniors' economic needs

Data and research on what it really takes for seniors to make ends meet in each of California's 58 counties will be released today at the state Capitol in Sacramento.

15 Sep 2010

Florida Judge signals he will likely allow some parts of states' health law challenge to proceed

Bloomberg: "U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in Pensacola said today he will make a decision by Oct. 14 on whether the states have jurisdiction to sue. He told lawyers he would probably dismiss part of the suit, while allowing other claims to proceed." The states involved in the lawsuit maintain that the federal government's "requirement that people buy health insurance" goes beyond Congress' constitutional powers.

15 Sep 2010

GenVec completes initial milestone in collaboration with Novartis

GenVec, Inc. today announced that it has achieved the first milestone in its collaboration with Novartis, related to the development of treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders. The milestone was triggered by the successful completion of certain preclinical development activities.

14 Sep 2010

NICE clinical guideline for bacterial meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia in children

Every parent knows the story and every parent dreads it. You take a feverish child to the doctors, you know something isn't right; but you are just sent back home with advice about paracetamol. Hours later the child is admitted to hospital with meningitis.

14 Sep 2010

LA community clinics facing budget squeeze; Milwaukee may target benefits of public employees; Seattle Times documents 236 deaths in adult homes

Los Angeles Times: "Stung by a budget stalemate that is costing Los Angeles County community clinics more than $330,000 a day in reimbursements, many clinic managers have been forced to take out loans and contemplate cuts to staff and services. Without the funds from Medi-Cal, the state insurance program for low-income patients, 41 clinics statewide have applied for loans from a fund created in response to the budget impasse.

13 Sep 2010