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New study shows healthcare spending is an investment rather than an expenditure

As the national discussion of health care focuses on costs, a new study from North Carolina State University shows that it might be more accurate to think of health care spending as an investment that can spur economic growth.

15 Dec 2009

Senator Arlen Specter's amendment to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act applauded

More than twenty of our nation's premiere physician organizations applaud Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) for introducing an amendment to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590).

15 Dec 2009

Medicare power mobility remains a viable option for beneficiaries

Across America, seniors, together with their families and caregivers, are making difficult decisions about the future. Did that last emergency room visit after a fall mean it's time to consider nursing homes? How much longer can their loved one remain safely in their own home or apartment?

15 Dec 2009

Decline in reducing youth smoking and increase in smokeless tobacco use

The 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey released today by the National Institute of Drug Abuse shows that the nation continues to make gradual progress in reducing youth smoking, but declines have slowed significantly compared to the dramatic gains early in the decade. In especially troubling news, the survey also finds that smokeless tobacco use has increased among 10th and 12th graders in recent years, a period during which tobacco companies have introduced a slew of new smokeless tobacco products and significantly increased marketing for smokeless tobacco.

15 Dec 2009

GBC: Most federal executives lack confidence in government on taking new roles in health care

According to a new study by Government Business Council (GBC), the research division of Government Executive Media Group, most federal executives lack confidence that the government can successfully take on new roles related to health care.

15 Dec 2009

Private insurance companies are subject to federal jurisdiction, affirms Tenth Circuit

On December 9, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, affirmed the federal government's position that private insurance companies are "plans" and therefore subject to federal jurisdiction.

15 Dec 2009

Department of Health regulates home care agencies and registries in Pennsylvania

For the first time, home care agencies and registries must be licensed to operate in Pennsylvania and the home care industry will be regulated by the Department of Health.

15 Dec 2009

Lee Enterprises cancels health coverage for retirees

In an act of corporate greed, Lee Enterprises, owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, is canceling company-paid health insurance for scores of retirees, the Newspaper Guild of St. Louis announced today. Retirees will protest outside the Post-Dispatch building, 900 North Tucker Boulevard, in downtown St. Louis, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

15 Dec 2009

SNFs in Ohio make major changes in operations and services to deal with Medicaid bed tax

Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in Ohio are making major changes in operations and services in order to deal with a 92 percent increase in the state-imposed Medicaid bed tax (franchise permit fee) from $6.25 to $12.01 per bed per day, scheduled for December 15.

15 Dec 2009

Beneficiaries may need to pay coinsurance for orally delivered oncology drugs, says new report

HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary find that over the next five years, a greater percentage of health plans will transition orally delivered oncology drugs from a copayment structure to a reimbursement model that incorporates a coinsurance payment, thereby shifting more costs onto patients. Copayments represent a set dollar amount associated with a pharmacy benefit while coinsurance represents a percentage of cost that must be paid by the beneficiary.

15 Dec 2009

Opinions: Future of PEPFAR; family planning

A Washington Post editorial examines the future of PEPFAR under the Obama administration, as outlined in a five-year strategy released earlier this month. Though "[m]any organizations, including Doctors Without Borders, continue to worry that Mr. Obama is 'flat-lining' funding for the vital program," this "ignores Mr. Obama's move to make PEPFAR the center of a larger $63 billion global health initiative to develop more comprehensive and integrated approaches to care," the editorial writes.

15 Dec 2009

Study compares status of health care systems in U.S. and UK

The well-worn notion that patients in the United States have unfettered access to the most expensive cancer drugs while the United Kingdom's nationalized health care system regularly denies access to some high-cost treatments needs rethinking, a team of bioethicists and health policy experts says in a report out today.

15 Dec 2009

Hospitals to find acceptable alternatives to STERIS System 1 sterile processing system

In response to an FDA notice issued on December 3, 2009, in which the Agency recommended that healthcare facilities discontinue use of the STERIS System 1® (SS1) sterile processing system, hospitals throughout the U.S. are faced with the task of finding acceptable alternatives to that product.

15 Dec 2009

Anthem Blue Cross to receive Tri-County Commercial contract renewal award

Anthem Blue Cross announced today that the California Department of Health Care Services intends to award Anthem the Tri-County Commercial contract renewal to provide Medi-Cal benefits to residents in the Fresno, Kings and Madera Counties.

15 Dec 2009

The United States Senate passes funding for teen pregnancy prevention program

The United States Senate yesterday passed a package of spending bills for FY 2010, which included a historic new investment in efforts to prevent teen pregnancy.

15 Dec 2009

Utah may be forced to raise Medicaid payments for dentists; mandatory student insurance would benefit Florida

News outlets report on Medicaid dental payments in Utah, student insurance in Florida, Illinois budget woes and emergency rooms in Massachusetts.

15 Dec 2009

Spending on health care eventually leads to economic growth increase

15 Dec 2009

White House asks Reid to cut deal with Lieberman, Politico reports

"The White House is encouraging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut a deal with Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and eliminate the proposed Medicare expansion in the health reform bill, according to an official close to the negotiations," Politico reports.

15 Dec 2009

States in money pinch turn low-income women away from free cancer screenings

The Associated Press reports that women with low incomes are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings in at least 20 states.

15 Dec 2009

Senate holdouts threatening '09 health care reform bill passage

The Washington Post: "The next 48 hours will be critical to the fate of health-care reform in the Senate, as Democratic leaders struggle to settle disputes that stand in the way of holding a final vote this year on the massive package reports on the distance among senators that has to be bridged before a bill can pass."

15 Dec 2009

Healthcare News

New study shows healthcare spending is an investment rather than an expenditure

Senator Arlen Specter's amendment to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act applauded

Medicare power mobility remains a viable option for beneficiaries

Decline in reducing youth smoking and increase in smokeless tobacco use

GBC: Most federal executives lack confidence in government on taking new roles in health care

Private insurance companies are subject to federal jurisdiction, affirms Tenth Circuit

Department of Health regulates home care agencies and registries in Pennsylvania

Lee Enterprises cancels health coverage for retirees

SNFs in Ohio make major changes in operations and services to deal with Medicaid bed tax

Beneficiaries may need to pay coinsurance for orally delivered oncology drugs, says new report

Opinions: Future of PEPFAR; family planning

Study compares status of health care systems in U.S. and UK

Hospitals to find acceptable alternatives to STERIS System 1 sterile processing system

Anthem Blue Cross to receive Tri-County Commercial contract renewal award

The United States Senate passes funding for teen pregnancy prevention program

Utah may be forced to raise Medicaid payments for dentists; mandatory student insurance would benefit Florida

Spending on health care eventually leads to economic growth increase

White House asks Reid to cut deal with Lieberman, Politico reports

States in money pinch turn low-income women away from free cancer screenings

Senate holdouts threatening '09 health care reform bill passage

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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