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Studies find frail seniors often get poor, futile care

Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine find that some medical care, especially at the end of life, may be a poor choice for feeble seniors. They also show the importance of palliative care over aggressive treatment for certain patients.

19 Oct 2009

Inaccurate body temperature readings can harm the entire health care system

As we head into a flu season where the 2009 H1N1 swine flu is expected to cause increased sickness, hospitalization and deaths across the U.S., something as simple as inaccurate body temperature measurements may lead to social and economic turmoil – and may cause many more deaths.

19 Oct 2009

Lawmakers seek to quickly fix Medicare payments for physicians

Both the House and the Senate are considering moving quickly to bar cuts in Medicare payments to physicians.

19 Oct 2009

Latest ad audit asks if the insurers' claims add up

In his latest ad audit, Kaiser Health News staff writer Jordan Rau explores whether insurers' claims, made in a recent advertisement, add up.

19 Oct 2009

Legislation only modestly addresses medical errors

Health care legislation largely fails to address the issue of medical errors that were detailed in a 10-year old landmark federal study, "To Err Is Human," which proposed several key solutions.

19 Oct 2009

Wellness provisions advance in reform legislation

Employers could incentivize wellness if provisions passed by the Senate finance and health committees become law. The Washington Post reports: "By more than doubling the maximum penalties that companies can apply to employees who flunk medical evaluations, the legislation could put workers under intense financial pressure to lose weight, stop smoking or even lower their cholesterol."

19 Oct 2009

Leading Blue Dog suggests extending Medicare to uninsured

Leading Blue Dogs wrestle over options to increase coverage for the uninsured and extend Medicare. The Hill reports that Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., "who had emerged as a leader among centrist Blue Dog Democrats opposing the public health insurance option, has suggested something his colleagues consider even more drastic - opening Medicare to those under 65 without insurance. He made the suggestion in meetings with House Democratic leaders and brought the idea to the closed-door House Democratic Caucus meeting Thursday."

19 Oct 2009

Medicare advantage premiums could climb 25% next year

"Premiums that seniors pay for Medicare Advantage plans will increase an average of 25% next year, largely because insurers, in response to new federal requirements, are canceling many plans that carry no premiums, a top Medicare official said Wednesday," The Wall Street Journal reports.

19 Oct 2009

Leahy's funds help physicians and independent pharmacies to adopt health information technology

More Vermont physicians will be using electronic prescribing and other health information technology to improve patient care, under a $1 million federal grant secured by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy.

19 Oct 2009

Lobbying efforts heat up on health care

All sorts of special interest groups are stepping up lobbying efforts and spending millions to shape health legislation.

19 Oct 2009

Gloomy health care statistics in Texas top state news

New outlets report on a variety of health issues at the state level including gloomy health statistics and the rising cost of premiums for sick workers in Texas, a Medicaid program that could provide a model for national health care reform in North Carolina and Medicaid cuts in Michigan.

19 Oct 2009

Health debate in Congress could last well into December

Roll Call reports that after the Senate canceled the Columbus Day recess in October, it "will not be in session Nov. 11-13 and will take off the entire week of Thanksgiving, even though the chamber could be in session until Christmas to deal with health care reform.

19 Oct 2009

Insurer's "triple-barreled assault" triggers counter attacks

A "triple-barreled" insurance industry attack on the Senate Finance Committee's health legislation - including separate reports sponsored by America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, as well as television advertisements in six states - is "a reminder that the insurance industry has enormous financial stakes in a health care overhaul and will not sit by while its interests are threatened," the New York Times reports (Seelye, 10/14).

19 Oct 2009

Concierge medicine for the masses could succeed where insurance-based health care fails

Concierge medicine for the masses -- in which patients pay an annual fee or retainer directly to their physicians -- could succeed where insurance-based health care fails, former "New York Times" business reporter Lawrence Fisher argues in the latest "Milken Institute Review."

19 Oct 2009

Power coalesces among a few Senate players, not all elected

Some key personalities in the Senate and White House are gaining influence over the health care debate. One obvious group of negotiators are those who shaped the committee bills and the leader of the Democratic majority, who will negotiate a final version of the Senate bill, Roll Call reports.

19 Oct 2009

Controversy, lobbying surround Reid's Medicare payment 'fix' plan

Some news outlets are looking ahead to a vote expected next week "fixing" a planned cut in Medicare payments to physicians.

19 Oct 2009

Panel discusses future of USAID, QDDR

While the "long wait for an appointment of" a USAID administrator continues, the agency's future "was the main topic of interest" at a U.S. Global Leadership Coalition conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Foreign Policy's blog, "The Cable," reports. Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew, Director of Policy Planning Anne-Marie Slaughter and acting USAID Administrator Alonzo Fulgham participated in a panel at the conference (Rogin, 10/14).

19 Oct 2009

Cultural frameworks and institutional practices for quality health care

As health care moves to the forefront of the national discourse, new research in the social sciences argues that the health of the population and the success or failure of many public health initiatives hinges as much on cultural and social factors as it does on doctors, facilities, or drugs.

19 Oct 2009

WHO, UNICEF publish plan to reduce childhood diarrhea deaths

The WHO and UNICEF have released a seven-point treatment and prevention plan to reduce the number of children around the world who die from diarrhea, the BBC reports (10/14). BMJ News writes, "Every year 1.5 million children aged under 5 years die from diarrhoea, more than 80% of them in Africa and south Asia" (Zarocostas, 10/14).

19 Oct 2009

CBO estimate: House bill closing in on Obama's $900 billion limit

An initial Congressional Budget Office estimate of a version of health reform legislation favored by House liberals puts the price-tag within reach of President Obama's stated $900 billion limit for the overhaul, The Washington Post reports.

19 Oct 2009