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Experts to develop national response to growing crisis of premature birth

Experts from throughout the United States will gather to develop a comprehensive national action plan to address the growing crisis of preterm birth.

9 Jun 2008

Women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy more likely to have overweight children

Children of mothers who gain more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy are more likely to be overweight at age seven, say researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in a study published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Children of mothers who are obese prior to pregnancy and gain excessive weight are at the greatest risk for overweight.

9 Jun 2008

New pathogen from pigs' stomach ulcers

Scientists have isolated a new bacterium in pigs' stomachs thanks to a pioneering technique, offering hope of new treatments to people who suffer with stomach ulcers, according to research published in the June issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

8 Jun 2008

Nearly 75% of Medicare drug plan beneficiaries will pay 16% more for coverage this year

Monthly premiums for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the 10 largest prescription drug plans this year increased by an average of 16% to $26.39, according to an analysis released on Wednesday by Avalere Health, the Los Angeles Times reports.

8 Jun 2008

Louisiana's Charity Hospitals need $35 million to continue services at current levels

Louisiana's Charity Hospitals will have to begin cutting services this summer unless the state Legislature provides them with an additional $35 million, Louisiana State University officials told the state Senate Finance Committee on Monday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

8 Jun 2008

Massachusetts employers, insurers lobby against higher employer fees for uninsured workers, support cost control efforts

Massachusetts businesses and most of the state's health insurers on Wednesday announced the formation of the Coalition for Affordable Health Coverage, a lobbying group that will work to control rising health care costs in the state and prevent cost-shifting to employers, the Boston Globe reports.

8 Jun 2008

House panel hearing focuses on health IT privacy, cost concerns

Lawmakers, patient-privacy and health care advocates, and information technology experts on Tuesday "debated ... how Congress can strike a balance between accelerating the adoption of a nationwide system of electronic medical records while protecting patient privacy," CongressDaily reports (Noyes, CongressDaily, 6/4).

8 Jun 2008

Senate Finance Committee hears testimony on health IT, quality of care, medical liability laws in preparation for major health system overhaul efforts next year

Lawmakers should not overstate the ability of health care information technology, quality improvement efforts and medical liability reform to reduce health care costs, Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, testified on Tuesday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing, CQ HealthBeat reports.

8 Jun 2008

Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Obama criticizes health care proposal of opponent McCain

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) on Thursday during a rally at a Bristol, Va., high school said that the health care proposal of presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) would not expand health insurance to all U.S. residents, the Washington Times reports.

8 Jun 2008

Kansas Health Institute News Service examines prospects for expanding health coverage in state

The Kansas Health Institute News Service on Monday in a series of articles examined prospects for expanding health coverage in Kansas this year.

8 Jun 2008

Connecticut lawmaker asks Gov. Rell to delay implementation of Charter Oak health plan

Connecticut House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan (D) on Tuesday asked Gov. Jodie Rell (R) to delay implementing a new health plan for uninsured adults because of concerns that it could disrupt care for children in low-income families, the Hartford Courant reports.

8 Jun 2008

Health care legislation might not top next administration's agenda, former house leader says

Legislation that would overhaul the U.S. health care system might take a back seat to other issues for the next administration, former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) said Thursday at a health care policy forum, CQ HealthBeat reports. The forum was sponsored by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Diseases and Emory University's Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions.

8 Jun 2008

Walgreen agrees to pay $35 million to settle allegations of improper medication switches for Medicaid beneficiaries

Walgreen has agreed to pay $35 million to settle allegations that the company improperly switched the form of generic medications prescribed to Medicaid beneficiaries to receive higher reimbursements from the program, the Hartford Courant reports (Levick, Hartford Courant, 6/5).

8 Jun 2008

Colorado Gov. Ritter signs 11 health care bills to increase access, expand coverage

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) on Tuesday signed into law 11 health care bills, including measures to expand coverage requirements and increase children's access to care, the AP/Denver Post reports.

8 Jun 2008

South Los Angeles residents face difficulties receiving medical care for variety of reasons

A shortage of primary care physicians and low Medi-Cal reimbursement rates have made South Los Angeles "one of the most difficult places in the nation to both receive and give medical care," the New York Times reports.

8 Jun 2008

Senate approves $3.1 trillion FY 2009 budget resolution without proposed reductions in Medicare, Medicaid spending

The Senate on Wednesday voted 48-45 to approve a $3.1 trillion fiscal year 2009 budget resolution (S Con Res 70), which includes large increases in funds for domestic programs and excludes reductions in funds for Medicare and Medicaid proposed by President Bush, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

8 Jun 2008

Wall Street Journal letter to the editor responds to column in support of medical liability reform

A Wall Street Journal column published in May "hit the nail on the head: Medical liability reforms, including a cap on noneconomic damages, work," which raises the question of "why ... every state (and Congress)" has not "passed meaningful tort reform," American Medical Association Board Member J. James Rohack writes in a Journal letter to the editor.

8 Jun 2008

California Legislature takes up multiple health care bills

"More than a dozen health bills are advancing through the [California] Legislature," some of which contain elements of a health care overhaul plan backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) that passed the state Assembly but was rejected in the Senate earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times reports.

8 Jun 2008

HHS releases comprehensive plan to encourage nationwide adoption of health IT

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS on Tuesday released a cross-agency directive to speed up the adoption of a nationwide health information technology system that would improve health care quality, increase efficiency, reduce medical errors and address concerns of patient privacy and data security, CQ HealthBeat reports.

8 Jun 2008

U.S. immigration policy irrational when U.S.-born physicians in short supply

"Thanks to the nation's dysfunctional immigration system and the dysfunctional Congress that keeps it that way, tens of thousands of promising, intelligent, ambitious and highly skilled foreign professionals ... will be denied a chance to contribute their expertise and energy to the American economy," a Washington Post editorial states.

8 Jun 2008

Medical News

Experts to develop national response to growing crisis of premature birth

Women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy more likely to have overweight children

New pathogen from pigs' stomach ulcers

Nearly 75% of Medicare drug plan beneficiaries will pay 16% more for coverage this year

Louisiana's Charity Hospitals need $35 million to continue services at current levels

Massachusetts employers, insurers lobby against higher employer fees for uninsured workers, support cost control efforts

House panel hearing focuses on health IT privacy, cost concerns

Senate Finance Committee hears testimony on health IT, quality of care, medical liability laws in preparation for major health system overhaul efforts next year

Presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Obama criticizes health care proposal of opponent McCain

Kansas Health Institute News Service examines prospects for expanding health coverage in state

Connecticut lawmaker asks Gov. Rell to delay implementation of Charter Oak health plan

Health care legislation might not top next administration's agenda, former house leader says

Walgreen agrees to pay $35 million to settle allegations of improper medication switches for Medicaid beneficiaries

Colorado Gov. Ritter signs 11 health care bills to increase access, expand coverage

South Los Angeles residents face difficulties receiving medical care for variety of reasons

Senate approves $3.1 trillion FY 2009 budget resolution without proposed reductions in Medicare, Medicaid spending

Wall Street Journal letter to the editor responds to column in support of medical liability reform

California Legislature takes up multiple health care bills

HHS releases comprehensive plan to encourage nationwide adoption of health IT

U.S. immigration policy irrational when U.S.-born physicians in short supply

Transforming Cardiovascular Care: Insights from Mina Makar at AstraZeneca

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

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

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