Healthcare News

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First Edition: September 25, 2009

Today's headlines reflect the continuing action in the Senate Finance Committee and around Congress, focusing on legislative strife related to the White House deal with drug companies and the debate over the public plan.

25 Sep 2009

Baylor Health Care receives $20 million donation from Sammons Enterprises

Today the Baylor Health Care System Foundation announced gifts exceeding $20 million for what will be North Texas' largest outpatient cancer center and first dedicated hospital focusing on cancer patients.

25 Sep 2009

Vermont Information Technology Leaders to collaborate with Allscripts

Vermont Information Technology Leaders, Inc., the non-profit organization facilitating the expanded use of health information technology in Vermont, and Allscripts, the leading U.S. health information technology provider with a major facility located in South Burlington, Vermont, today announced their intention to enter into a strategic alliance.

25 Sep 2009

House passes bill to eliminate Medicare premium hike

"The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to eliminate monthly premium increases for millions of Medicare patients next year," The Associated Press reports. "It voted 406 to 18 to send the bill to the Senate, which is expected to act soon. Lawmakers said older Americans shouldn't have to pay higher Medicare Part B premiums because they are not expected to get a cost of living increase from Social Security."

25 Sep 2009

Democrats face high stakes, GOP seeks advantage

As Democrats struggle with the health reform proposal from Sen. Max Baucus, the GOP is hoping to seize the advantage.

25 Sep 2009

Survey reveals that cardiologists are seeing more patients than ever before

The healthcare crisis that has affected millions of Americans has hit the nation's cardiologists as well, according to a new survey: they are seeing more patients than ever and performing more tests on those patients. But they are being reimbursed less for those services by Medicare and insurance firms, in what one cardiologist called "a revenue roller coaster of uncertainty," even as their costs continue to increase steadily.

25 Sep 2009

NIH to award $348 million for investigators to speed the translation of research into improved health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that it is awarding $348 million to encourage investigators to explore bold ideas that have the potential to catapult fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health.

25 Sep 2009

Profile of Grady Memorial Hospital highlights the difficulties faced by safety net facilities

The New York Times: Illegal immigrants say an effort to close the dialysis center at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta could synch their only source of care. The closure may foreshadow broader problems "safety-net" hospitals could face under the health care overhaul.

25 Sep 2009

Registered Nurses of CNA/NNOC requests meeting with HCA regarding its policy on use of surgical masks

In response to a new policy imposed by the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) mandating flu shots for all employees and requiring masks, the Registered Nurses of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) have requested a meeting with hospital executives on behalf of the chain's 50,000 RNs over this life-and-death issue.

25 Sep 2009

Senators fight over Medicare spending cuts, what it would mean for beneficiaries

Senators on the Senate Finance Committee spent much of Wednesday duking it out over proposed Medicare cuts that would fund part of a Democratic push at health care reform. The intensity of the debate highlights the political importance of the senior citizen demographic.

25 Sep 2009

Non-accredited education programs for people with chronic disabilities

iMedicor (VMCI.OB) formerly Vemics, Inc. and EP Global Communications (EPGL.OB) have announced the renewal of their strategic alliance agreement to produce Continuing Medical Education (CME) and non-accredited education programs for people with special needs and life long chronic disabilities. iMedicor/Vemics and EP Global Communications have worked together for a number of years and this relationship has generated substantial revenue for both companies and has provided a valuable service to the community they serve.

25 Sep 2009

Mayo Clinic's views on how to get high-value health care

Mayo Clinic's perspective about how to get high-value health care is the focus of a Perspectives article in the New England Journal of Medicine, published online on Sept. 23, 2009, and in the print issue on Oct. 1, 2009.

25 Sep 2009

Senate Finance Panel rejects amendment to squeeze drug makers

"Senators rebuffed an attempt to squeeze more money from the drug industry Thursday after two Democrats warned it would undermine the fragile political coalition pushing a sweeping health care overhaul," The Associated Press reports.

25 Sep 2009

Divide deepens between Senate Finance Democrats and Republicans

"Senate Democrats swatted down Republican attempts to make fundamental changes in their health care legislation on Wednesday as the Finance Committee voted on a wide range of amendments that highlighted the deep partisan divide over the bill."

25 Sep 2009

New poll shows only 20 percent say health care is their biggest concern

A new poll shows only one in five respondents say health care is the biggest concern for their family. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: "Want to know why President Obama continues to have trouble gaining traction in the national debate about health-care reform? A Franklin & Marshall College poll to be released today offers a few key clues."

25 Sep 2009

Prevention and cure of Alzheimer's disease important to Americans

A new voter survey sponsored by the ACT-AD Coalition (Accelerate Cure/Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease) finds that three-quarters of Americans nationwide and across party lines say it is personally important to them to find a cure or to prevent Alzheimer's disease, while a similar proportion of the national electorate say they look to Congress to make it "a national priority" to speed up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) review process in specific ways for therapies that slow, halt or reverse the disease.

25 Sep 2009

States worry over Medicaid expansion; Montana expands kids coverage

State officials continue to worry about additional costs that would stem from a Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, Montana unveils a plan to expand health insurance for children and Iowa Republicans are touting their own alternative to a federal health care overhaul.

25 Sep 2009

Members of HealthSpring to receive costs of administering the H1N1 flu vaccination

HealthSpring will cover the costs of administering the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccination to its members as the vaccine becomes available.

25 Sep 2009

Heads of Indian Health Service, Hispanic doctors speak out on reform

NPR interviews Dr. Elana Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), on the one-third of Hispanics in the U.S. who are uninsured. She says the reasons are cultural as well as economic: "Hispanics have health beliefs that are unique, lots of traditional ways of taking care of disease with teas and herbs and other things.

25 Sep 2009

Senators urge the CMS to spare funding cuts for radiation oncology services

Cancer physicians and cancer care advocates applauded a bipartisan letter led by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius yesterday urging that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) spare life-saving radiation oncology services from a major Medicare funding cut proposed for diagnostic imaging services. The 32 Senators signing the letter stated their unanimous concern that these funding cuts could force freestanding and community-based cancer centers to shut down, thereby limiting access to care for seniors - particularly in rural areas.

25 Sep 2009