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Software seeks to help customers decipher their health benefits

Intuit (INTU), the company that simplified personal finance, hopes to help consumers untangle the complexity of health benefits and medical bills," CNNMoney reports. Earlier this year, Intuit introduced its Quicken Health Expense Tracker. This online software "translates medical jargon, shows the math behind the costs, and explains what to do next if there's a question or problem.

29 Aug 2009

Health experts appeal for vaccines to be added to national immunization programs

During a recent three-day Asian Vaccine Conference, health experts appealed to countries to add "under-utilised vaccines such as those of pneumococcal, haemophilus influenzae type-b (Hib), and rotavirus" into national immunization programs, the Nation reports.

29 Aug 2009

Study reveals that the pending health reforms bill will affect senior citizens in Wyoming

A new American Health Care Association analysis of the pending House health reform bill, combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in Wyoming requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts of nearly $60 million over that same time period. Nationally, the study finds, seniors’ Medicare cuts will total $44 billion over ten years, prompting Wyoming’s long term care community to warn that seniors’ care needs are endangered by the House bill, as are the jobs of caregivers and nursing home staff in Wyoming.

29 Aug 2009

Two new studies from a federal agency point to risks, costs in health care

Two new reports from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality made news Thursday. One addresses the consequences of leaving the hospital against the doctor's orders, while the other notes that health spending on seniors rose by over $100 billion between 1996 and 2006.

29 Aug 2009

Adverse publicity about energy drinks has no effect, sales continues to increase

Amid the constant publicity about the potential danger of energy drink ingredients, Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD) reveals that the latest energy drink launches aren’t getting any healthier.

29 Aug 2009

Insurance workers: We're not 'villains'

Politicians have targeted the insurance industry in their pitch to overhaul health care. House speaker Nancy Pelosi went as far as calling insurers "villains" and "immoral." "I'm certainly not villainous or immoral in any way, shape or form," Max Shireman, a project manager for the insurer Humana, told The New York Times. Various insurance company employees had different interpretations and explanations for their demonization.

29 Aug 2009

Medtronic defends payments to physicians

Medtronic, which has been the focus of recent reports detailing its payments to doctors, is defending that practice. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: "At the annual shareholder meeting of Medtronic Inc.

28 Aug 2009

Bishops turn against reform, conservative Christians ramp up opposition

Catholic Bishops have been speaking out against health care reform proposals in recent weeks, after largely embracing the overhaul's goals last month as a continuation of their efforts to secure health care for the poor, The New York Times reports.

28 Aug 2009

Lawmakers, though still elbowing, agree on some health care reforms

Lost in the debate over key issues is the fact that lawmakers working on health care reform agree on major parts of reform, The Los Angeles Times reports.

28 Aug 2009

Small business groups worry about reform

Small businesses are already strapped by health care costs and are concerned about the efforts on reform, according to the Baltimore Sun. "As Congress works to fix the health care system, controlling the growing tab for medical insurance is an especially important concern for the nation's 6 million small businesses, whose support is crucial to any reform. While trying to extend coverage to 47 million uninsured Americans, lawmakers are also trying to reduce expenses," the Sun reports.

28 Aug 2009

Research round-up: Highlights from recent releases

American Health Care Association (AHCA): State-by-State Medicare Cuts to Nursing Homes -- "A new [AHCA] analysis of the pending House health reform bill [HR 3200], combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over ten years, finds seniors in fifteen states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face total funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over that same time period," according to an AHCA description of the study. "The assessment was based on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of both HR 3200 and the recent CMS funding rule, along with Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) utilization data." A breakdown of each of the 15 states facing ten-year billion dollar cuts to Medicare-funded nursing homes is available online (8/20).

28 Aug 2009

Physician payment plan stirs concern over reform efforts

Issues surrounding physician payments and addressing the primary care doctor shortage are central to health care reform efforts.

28 Aug 2009

Iowa hospital uses innovative design to reduce error

The Des Moines Register reports on the design of Mercy Medical Center-West Lakes, a $100 million hospital with 83 beds set to open Sept. 8, that uses innovative approaches to try to reduce medical errors.

28 Aug 2009

Sinovac to supply its Anflu seasonal flu vaccine to the Beijing Public Health Bureau

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NYSE: SVA), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that the Beijing Public Health Bureau has selected Sinovac as one of the four manufacturers to supply Anflu(R), Sinovac's seasonal influenza vaccine, for the benefit of the citizens of Beijing. The Beijing Public Health Bureau completed the bidding process for the purchase of flu vaccines and corresponding services for 2009 on August 26, 2009. The agreement will be executed after the public notice period.

28 Aug 2009

Former President Bill Clinton to be the keynote speaker at the Annual Speaker Series Luncheon

Chicago House & Social Service Agency, the first organization in the Midwest to provide housing and support for people living with HIV and AIDS, will host their first ever Speaker Series Luncheon on November 11, 2009, welcoming President Bill Clinton as the keynote speaker.

28 Aug 2009

Bus tour campaign to raise the awareness of patient assistance programs

The 'Help is Here Express' bus tour will be stopping in Virginia throughout the week of August 31 - September 3 at various cities in order to help uninsured and financially-struggling Virginians access information on programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free.

28 Aug 2009

First Edition: August 28, 2009

Even as politics seems to pause to remember Sen. Edward Kennedy, the health care debate still gains media attention.

28 Aug 2009

The California Endowment to fund a statewide campaign that promotes the participation of all residents in the 2010 U.S. Census

To ensure that every Californian is counted in the 2010 U.S. Census, the state’s largest, private health foundation today announced that it will make $4 million in grants towards a statewide campaign that will promote the importance of participating in the Census, particularly in the large number of "hard to count" communities throughout the state.

28 Aug 2009

AHCA applaudes thirty-one state Attorneys General for sending a letter to HHS Secretary

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today applauded thirty-one state Attorneys General for sending a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, calling for the suspension and revision of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS') Nursing Home Five Star Rating System.

28 Aug 2009

St. Jude Medical opens first Advanced Learning Center in Brussels

St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) today announced the official opening of the St. Jude Medical Advanced Learning Center, in Brussels, Belgium, offering education and training in advanced, evidence-based therapies for physicians who treat heart disease.

28 Aug 2009