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Rockefeller neuroscientist applies basic science to health care reform

A self-described "molecular sociologist" is extending his basic research to the national policy debate on health care reform. Bruce McEwen, head of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, led a panel of scientific experts last month at the Institute of Medicine's Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public. The Institute is the most prominent independent medical advisory board in the country and will release a report from the conference in November, as Congress is likely to be considering major health care legislation.

25 Mar 2009

Recession exacerbates financial problems at California community health clinics

California community health clinics are struggling to meet an increased demand from new patients who have lost their jobs and health insurance, the Los Angeles Times reports.

24 Mar 2009

Texas offering loan repayments to pediatric dental, medical physicians who accept Medicaid

The Texas Department of State Health Services is offering as much as $140,000 in student loan repayments disbursed over four years to pediatric dentists and physicians who treat Medicaid beneficiaries, the Houston Chronicle reports.

24 Mar 2009

Local, state health departments forced to cut services for undocumented immigrants amid economic recession

Reductions to public health and nonemergency services by state and county health departments in response to the economic recession have resulted in limited access to care for undocumented immigrants, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

24 Mar 2009

One in five U.S. workers uninsured

One in five U.S. workers is uninsured, a statistically significant increase from fewer than one in seven during the mid-1990s, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study released on Tuesday, the AP/Detroit News reports.

24 Mar 2009

White House announces plans for Obama to nominate IHS Director

President Obama plans to nominate Yvette Roubideaux, an assistant professor at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine, as director of Indian Health Service, the White House announced on Monday along with several other appointments, the Arizona Daily Star reports. The nomination is expected to be made official by the Senate in coming weeks.

24 Mar 2009

Speakers at White House-sponsored forum discuss possibility of public health coverage option, preventive care

Congressional Democrats intend to pass health care reform legislation by "August or September" that could include an option allowing uninsured U.S. residents to buy into a government-run health care plan, Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said on Monday, Kansas Health Institute News reports.

24 Mar 2009

Administration officials signal White House might accept cuts to proposed budget as long as health care reform, other priorities are preserved

Obama administration officials have indicated they might be willing to accept reductions to President Obama's budget proposal as long as his "signature initiatives," including health care reform, remain untouched, the Washington Post reports.

24 Mar 2009

Ownership of electronic health information must be addressed

The recently passed 'Stimulus' funding will create a huge amount of electronic medical information in the next few years, but legal uncertainty about who owns the information "presents a major obstacle to integrating and using" it to improve public health and health care, according to a national commentary co-authored by a Wake Forest University and a Duke University faculty member.

24 Mar 2009

Belfast gets new cancer centre

Belfast joins a unique chain of Cancer Research UK Centres that are being launched across the UK.

23 Mar 2009

Preliminary health insurer survey results indicate some patients want to know physician's race when selecting provider

According to preliminary results of an automated phone survey by Highmark, some health plan members would like the race of physicians included in the insurer's physician directory, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports.

23 Mar 2009

U.S. health reform should not be modeled on Massachusetts health insurance law, according to report

Efforts to overhaul the U.S. health care system should not be modeled after the 2006 Massachusetts health insurance law because the law does not include cost controls, according to a report released on Tuesday by researchers at the Institute for America's Future, the Boston Herald reports.

23 Mar 2009

HHS names former Harvard Professor Blumenthal as National Health Care Information Technology Coordinator

HHS on Friday announced the appointment of former Harvard Medical School professor David Blumenthal as the national coordinator for health care information technology, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

23 Mar 2009

U.S. Labor Department releases more details about COBRA subsidie

The Department of Labor on Thursday released guidelines to employers on how to implement federal subsidies included in the economic stimulus package to help newly unemployed workers cover the cost of health insurance premiums under COBRA, the Detroit Free Press reports (Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 3/19).

23 Mar 2009

HHS names panel of experts to advise government on spending for comparative effectiveness research

HHS on Thursday named 15 members to a panel that will advise the government on how to spend the $1.1 billion in federal stimulus funding dedicated to comparing the effectiveness of medical treatments, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

23 Mar 2009

House Veterans' Panel approves bill that would cover emergency treatment at non-VA facilities

The House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health on Thursday by voice vote approved a bill (HR 1377) that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide reimbursement for emergency treatment received at hospitals not affiliated with VA, CQ Today reports.

23 Mar 2009

Sen. Grassley says compromise on public-private option health care system will be difficult

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday at the Kaiser Family Foundation told reporters that although congressional Democrats and Republicans likely will not reach an agreement on health care reform legislation with a provision that would establish a public health plan to compete with private plans, he could not dismiss the possibility, the Wall Street Journal reports (Yoest, Wall Street Journal, 3/19).

23 Mar 2009

CQ's Armstrong discusses proposed public health plan option; new bill on FDA tobacco regulation

Drew Armstrong, a Congressional Quarterly staff reporter, discusses the latest developments in efforts to overhaul the U.S. health care system, legislation that would give FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products and a new bill that would allow FDA to approve generic versions of biotechnology drugs in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

23 Mar 2009

Rhode Island Governor plans to cut dental services for 38,000 low-income residents

Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri (R) plans to eliminate dental coverage for an estimated 38,000 low-income parents enrolled in the RIte Care program by July 1, the Providence Journal reports.

23 Mar 2009

New York City public hospital system announces cuts targeting mental health, community clinics

New York City's public hospital system on Thursday said it will cut 400 jobs and close some children's mental health programs, pharmacies and community clinics that serve more than 11,000 residents, the New York Times reports.

23 Mar 2009

Healthcare News

Rockefeller neuroscientist applies basic science to health care reform

Recession exacerbates financial problems at California community health clinics

Texas offering loan repayments to pediatric dental, medical physicians who accept Medicaid

Local, state health departments forced to cut services for undocumented immigrants amid economic recession

One in five U.S. workers uninsured

White House announces plans for Obama to nominate IHS Director

Speakers at White House-sponsored forum discuss possibility of public health coverage option, preventive care

Administration officials signal White House might accept cuts to proposed budget as long as health care reform, other priorities are preserved

Ownership of electronic health information must be addressed

Belfast gets new cancer centre

Preliminary health insurer survey results indicate some patients want to know physician's race when selecting provider

U.S. health reform should not be modeled on Massachusetts health insurance law, according to report

HHS names former Harvard Professor Blumenthal as National Health Care Information Technology Coordinator

U.S. Labor Department releases more details about COBRA subsidie

HHS names panel of experts to advise government on spending for comparative effectiveness research

House Veterans' Panel approves bill that would cover emergency treatment at non-VA facilities

Sen. Grassley says compromise on public-private option health care system will be difficult

CQ's Armstrong discusses proposed public health plan option; new bill on FDA tobacco regulation

Rhode Island Governor plans to cut dental services for 38,000 low-income residents

New York City public hospital system announces cuts targeting mental health, community clinics

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

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