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Nurse practitioners as entrepreneurs: constrained or liberated?

Nurse entrepreneurs today are a wonderful population of liberated professionals. Factors like subordination of nurses to the medical profession, frequent schedule changes, overloads, burnout, shift work, lack of appreciation by superiors and colleagues, lower wages, short staffing and poor working conditions have contributed towards a reduction of nursing professionals in USA and an increase in opportunities for nurse entrepreneurs.

6 May 2008

House hearing to address concerns over Medicare durable medical equipment competitive bidding program

The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee on Tuesday plans to hold a hearing on a Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, CQ HealthBeat reports (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 5/5).

6 May 2008

Lawsuit filed to stop 10% Medicaid provider payment rate reduction in California

A number of groups that represent hospitals, physicians, dentists and other health care providers in California on Monday filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court to prevent a scheduled 10% reduction in reimbursements under Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program, the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 May 2008

Healthy San Francisco program prompts some companies to shift costs to consumers but appears effective

The Healthy San Francisco program has prompted some employers to increase prices and hire fewer new employees but also is "showing early signs of doing what it was intended to do: push employers to defray medical costs for more workers," the Wall Street Journal reports (Dvorak, Wall Street Journal, 5/5).

6 May 2008

Newspapers examine issues related to health care proposals of Presidential candidates

Several newspapers recently published articles that examined the health care proposals of presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).

6 May 2008

Senate action on Medicare MD Pay Bill might be delayed due to Medicaid, war funding efforts, AARP lobbyist says

Senate action on legislation to delay a 10.6% Medicare physician fee cut might take a back seat to a supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war and a measure to delay new Medicaid regulations, AARP's lead lobbyist said on Friday, CQ HealthBeat reports. Kirsten Sloan, head of AARP's health legislative team, said efforts on the other two bills might delay the Medicare package until late May or early June.

6 May 2008

Michigan Senate passes bill that would expand, reduce cost of private health insurance

The Michigan Senate on Thursday voted 23-13 to approve compromise legislation that would expand access to individual health insurance policies and make them more affordable, the Detroit News reports.

6 May 2008

CQ's Carey looks at genetic anti-discrimination approval, debate over Medicaid regulations, lLegislation to treat substance abuse among veterans

Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, examines the House's approval of genetic nondiscrimination legislation, debate over a measure to place a moratorium on proposed Medicaid regulations by the Bush administration and House-passed legislation concerning veterans' substance abuse treatment in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

6 May 2008

CMS announces decision on Medicare coverage of artificial hearts, long-term acute care hospital reimbursements

CMS recently announced a decision on Medicare coverage of artificial hearts and a final rule on reimbursements for long-term acute care hospitals.

6 May 2008

Some states to ask Congress to regulate marketing of private Medicare plans

State officials soon will ask Congress to grant them more regulatory authority over the marketing of private Medicare drug benefit and Medicare Advantage plans to respond to continuing complaints of aggressive marketing practices, the New York Times reports. In a draft report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, state officials propose creating a set of marketing standards for private Medicare plans that states, if they adopt them, would enforce.

6 May 2008

New SCHIP enrollees have unmet health care needs

Even with prior private health insurance, patients enrolling in the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP) had unmet health care needs. Instituting a waiting period would further prolong these children's need to address asthma and other chronic health conditions.

5 May 2008

Who pays for health care when workers are uninsured?

Health insurance coverage and unpaid health care for full-time workers and their family members without employer coverage costs the U.S. public $45 billion a year, according to a report from The Commonwealth Fund released today.

2 May 2008

Does it matter that medical graduates don't get jobs as doctors?

In 2007, 1300 UK medical graduates were unable to secure training places, and this shortfall looks set to be repeated this year. But is this a betrayal of students' expectations or is this inevitable if patients are to get the best care?

1 May 2008

Intensive training for medical staff in Latin American hospitals reduces serious complication of pregnancy

An intensive educational program for physicians and midwives involving 19 hospitals in Argentina and Uruguay dramatically reduced the rate of postpartum hemorrhage, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

1 May 2008

Patient safety project complete as entire U-M Health System offers online ordering

Nearly three years and thousands of hours later, patient safety received another boost at the University of Michigan Health System as the institution completed implementation of its online order entry system in the University Hospital and the Cardiovascular Center this week.

1 May 2008

Health Minister says rural health in Australia is in a dire state

An audit of regional and rural Australia's health workforce has revealed that the 'bush' has become increasingly reliant on overseas-trained doctors to ensure health services are maintained.

30 Apr 2008

New Jersey official discusses concerns about proposed Medicaid copayments

New Jersey Human Services Commissioner Jenner Velez on Monday said that proposed Medicaid copayments for prescription drugs and some hospital visits raise a "valid concern" that low-income, uninsured residents would forgo medical care, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

30 Apr 2008

HHS Secretary Leavitt urges lawmakers, public to 'start now' to make changes to Medicare

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said Tuesday that it is "simply unreasonable" to think Medicare can maintain its solvency without changes to the program and that if "we start now, the change can be made over time and with genuine fairness," CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Apr 2008

Presumptive GOP Presidential nominee McCain provides further detail on his health care proposal

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Tuesday in a speech at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., detailed his health care proposal and for the first time proposed a plan to help individuals who cannot obtain private health insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions, the Miami Herald reports (Dorschner, Miami Herald, 4/30).

30 Apr 2008

PBS' 'NewsHour' examines effects of Massachusetts health insurance law two years after enactment

PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on Monday reported on how the Massachusetts health insurance law has affected the state's fiscal situation and uninsurance rates.

30 Apr 2008

Healthcare News

Nurse practitioners as entrepreneurs: constrained or liberated?

House hearing to address concerns over Medicare durable medical equipment competitive bidding program

Lawsuit filed to stop 10% Medicaid provider payment rate reduction in California

Healthy San Francisco program prompts some companies to shift costs to consumers but appears effective

Newspapers examine issues related to health care proposals of Presidential candidates

Senate action on Medicare MD Pay Bill might be delayed due to Medicaid, war funding efforts, AARP lobbyist says

Michigan Senate passes bill that would expand, reduce cost of private health insurance

CQ's Carey looks at genetic anti-discrimination approval, debate over Medicaid regulations, lLegislation to treat substance abuse among veterans

CMS announces decision on Medicare coverage of artificial hearts, long-term acute care hospital reimbursements

Some states to ask Congress to regulate marketing of private Medicare plans

New SCHIP enrollees have unmet health care needs

Who pays for health care when workers are uninsured?

Does it matter that medical graduates don't get jobs as doctors?

Intensive training for medical staff in Latin American hospitals reduces serious complication of pregnancy

Patient safety project complete as entire U-M Health System offers online ordering

Health Minister says rural health in Australia is in a dire state

New Jersey official discusses concerns about proposed Medicaid copayments

HHS Secretary Leavitt urges lawmakers, public to 'start now' to make changes to Medicare

Presumptive GOP Presidential nominee McCain provides further detail on his health care proposal

PBS' 'NewsHour' examines effects of Massachusetts health insurance law two years after enactment

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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