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New reports detail hits taken by Medicaid programs in state budget cuts

State Medicaid and other health programs have fallen under the axe or been moved onto the chopping block this week.

29 Oct 2009

Iowa medical home provides lessons for health care reform

The Associated Press looks at what benefits medical homes may bring to health care by looking at one in Iowa: "A thousand miles from the health care debate in Washington, Dr. Don Klitgaard and his colleagues are carrying out their own reform in a small Iowa community."

29 Oct 2009

Senators who support the public option hope resistant moderates will 'come around'

"Democratic Senators in favor of including a public insurance option in health care reform expect resistant moderates … to come around once they see the details of the final legislation," Roll Call reports. Centrists such as Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., have suggested that they may not support reform with a public option. "Senate Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Charles Schumer (N.Y.) said Wednesday that moderates are likely to climb on board once they read the final bill" (Drucker, 10/28).

29 Oct 2009

Insurers brace for increase in COBRA claims

The nation's ailing economy continues to affect insurance companies, which could also face a wave of costly COBRA claims as policyholders rush to get treatment before government subsidies expire.

29 Oct 2009

Shocked by re-emergence of public option, business groups push back

Business leaders who thought they had dodged a bullet when the Senate Finance Committee decided against offering a government-run public option as part of their health bill are pushing back after the plan's re-emergence.

29 Oct 2009

Current, former Mass. Governors agree: Feds should do more than their states' model to address costs

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, and former Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, both say that federal health reform plans should do more to address rising costs than their state's initiative.

29 Oct 2009

Centrist-Liberal Senate rift broader than just public option

Though the question of whether Democratic leaders would include a public option in the Senate's health reform bill has held the spotlight, a variety of other big issues also remain unresolved, The Hill reports.

29 Oct 2009

A look at the public insurance options -- What exists and who would have access under proposed reforms

One news outlet studies the practical meaning of public insurance option by examining some of the approaches that are already in existence. Meanwhile, another examines the number of people who would have access to the public plan. And a former insurance executive takes issue with the industry's current stance.

29 Oct 2009

Lawmakers try to weed out fraud and waste

Lawmakers target Medicare and Medicaid fraud to generate greater savings in health care reform while doctors worry about efforts to cut waste.

29 Oct 2009

China's health care system is also in disarray

The Washington Post reports: "China's health-care system is in disarray, a side effect of the market reforms that have spurred private enterprise and rapid growth since 1980. Before then, state-owned companies offered cradle-to-grave care, part of a system based on danwei, or work units, that provided health, education, pensions and other benefits. But as the economy has grown more diverse, an increasing number of Chinese have had to fend for themselves, with only a porous government insurance program to help."

29 Oct 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

The federal government could treat Indian Country, at least for health programs, as the 51st state. This seems to me a practical application of the nation-to-nation relationship (Mark Trahant, 10/29).

29 Oct 2009

Health bills present formidable challenges to numbers crunchers

The House Democratic leadership is expected to unveil its health-overhaul legislation Thursday, the Associated Press reports. The next step will be for the merged bill - consolidated from three separate committee reports - to go to the Congressional Budget Office for a cost estimate, before lawmakers vote. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is awaiting the CBO's analysis of his bill, before taking it to the floor (10/29).

29 Oct 2009

Pelosi chooses compromise approach to public option in reform bill

A health care reform bill set to be unveiled this morning will include a government-run public option for health insurance that will negotiate rates with insurers, much like private insurers operate.

29 Oct 2009

Black AIDS Institute and CDC leaders finalize grant details for African American HIV University

Leaders from the Black AIDS Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) met recently to finalize the details of a four and one-half year grant to fund the Institute's African American HIV University (AAHU) Community Mobilization College.

29 Oct 2009

Health bills limit out-of-pocket costs, but there's a catch in the fine print

Health care bills pending in Congress could limit the out-of-pocket costs for consumers, but some of the fine print may cause sticker shock. "Consumers would be spared having to pay huge medical bills under Democratic health care legislation that's moving through Congress, as lawmakers agree on the need to put limits on how much people would pay out of their own pockets," McClatchy reports.

29 Oct 2009

Study looks at the impact of health insurance on the number of preventable deaths in the U.S.

Lack of health insurance might have led or contributed to nearly 17,000 deaths among hospitalized children in the United States in the span of less than two decades, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

29 Oct 2009

WaveMark CIMS implemented at St. Joseph’s Hospital

WaveMark, Inc., a leading provider of real-time inventory management (RTIM) solutions for high value medical products, and St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta, GA today announced the use of WaveMark’s hospital inventory management solution, WaveMark CIMS™, by St. Joseph’s Hospital to manage its high value, specialty inventory. St. Joseph’s will use WaveMark’s point of use RTIM technology to track physician preference items in its Cardiac Cath and Electrophysiology (EP) labs.

29 Oct 2009

AARP: Budget cuts for safety net programs spell health care disaster for Idaho residents

While Idaho's part-time employees face massive health care premium increases, state retirees are bracing to lose their state health care in the coming months, all as programs and services providing a critical safety net continue to be cut. AARP says it's a combination that spells health care disaster for many Idaho residents and the Association is calling on lawmakers to address it.

29 Oct 2009

CHU Sainte-Justine and The Montreal Children's Hospital to update the public regarding H1N1 testing at emergency rooms

The emergency rooms at the CHU Sainte-Justine and The Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre are seeing a significant increase in patients seeking care. The increase is due to patients with mild flu-like symptoms and fever and due to parents asking that their child be tested to determine if he has H1N1.

29 Oct 2009

First Edition: October 29, 2009

Today's headlines are all about the unveiling of the House health bill -- expected later this morning.

29 Oct 2009

Healthcare News

New reports detail hits taken by Medicaid programs in state budget cuts

Iowa medical home provides lessons for health care reform

Senators who support the public option hope resistant moderates will 'come around'

Insurers brace for increase in COBRA claims

Shocked by re-emergence of public option, business groups push back

Current, former Mass. Governors agree: Feds should do more than their states' model to address costs

Centrist-Liberal Senate rift broader than just public option

A look at the public insurance options -- What exists and who would have access under proposed reforms

Lawmakers try to weed out fraud and waste

China's health care system is also in disarray

Today's opinions and editorials

Health bills present formidable challenges to numbers crunchers

Pelosi chooses compromise approach to public option in reform bill

Black AIDS Institute and CDC leaders finalize grant details for African American HIV University

Health bills limit out-of-pocket costs, but there's a catch in the fine print

Study looks at the impact of health insurance on the number of preventable deaths in the U.S.

WaveMark CIMS implemented at St. Joseph’s Hospital

AARP: Budget cuts for safety net programs spell health care disaster for Idaho residents

CHU Sainte-Justine and The Montreal Children's Hospital to update the public regarding H1N1 testing at emergency rooms

First Edition: October 29, 2009

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

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