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CQ's Carey addresses health IT legislation, House approval of HSA expansion, Medicare payment cuts, Ryan White CARE Act reauthorization

Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, discusses House and Senate negotiations on legislation that would expand health care information technology, House approval of a measure to expand health savings accounts, Congress' inaction on scheduled Medicare physician payment cuts and Senate Democrats' attempt to block reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

3 Oct 2006

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems receives Australian approval for rechargeable chronic pain system

Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS), the neuromodulation business of St. Jude Medical, Inc, today announced Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulatory approval for its Eon Rechargeable Neurostimulation System.

3 Oct 2006

Massachusetts announces universal health care coverage premium rates that are expected to cost the state 10% less than previous estimates

Massachusetts health insurance premium rates for low-income residents are in line with officials' predictions, and the state should have adequate funding to implement its new health insurance law next year, the Boston Globe reports.

3 Oct 2006

Adequate resources, trained staff lacking for pediatric emergency care

Recommendations to improve emergency care for children from a three-part report by Institute of Medicine "should be considered and implemented immediately," Joseph Wright, a member of the IOM's Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the U.S. Health System, writes in a Washington Post, opinion piece.

3 Oct 2006

Democrats focus on income gap, health care costs in election campaigns

Many Democratic candidates "see this as the year when the widening gap between the rich and the rest of America will help win them votes" and some have focused on the issue of health care costs for middle-income voters, the Wall Street Journal reports.

3 Oct 2006

New York State to receive $1.5B to improve Medicaid

HHS has agreed to pay New York $1.5 billion over five years to help stabilize the state's hospital industry in exchange for renewed efforts to shrink the industry, curb Medicaid costs and reduce Medicaid fraud, the New York Times reports.

3 Oct 2006

More medical students enter dermatology, leave other specialties

The Detroit News on Tuesday examined how "droves" of medical students nationwide are opting to pursue careers in dermatology "as doctors flee some of the most critical medical fields -- family practice, internal medicine and obstetrics."

3 Oct 2006

HHS says New Orleans-area health care reform proposal needs revising

A draft proposal from the Louisiana Health Care Design Collaborative on reforms for the New Orleans-area health care system requires some revisions to receive federal approval, a representative for HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said on Thursday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports (Moller, New Orleans Times-Picayune, 9/29).

3 Oct 2006

Massachusetts health insurance mandate does not include children

The new Massachusetts health insurance law "contains a little-known loophole: The mandate that all residents have coverage by next summer does not include children," the Boston Globe reports.

3 Oct 2006

Illinois wild bird samples undergo additional testing for bird flu

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of the Interior (DOI) have announced a detection of the H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from wild, migratory Green-winged Teals in Illinois.

3 Oct 2006

Indonesia confirms 69th human case of bird flu

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed the country's 69th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

3 Oct 2006

Progesterone improves outcomes for victims of traumatic brain injury

A new study suggests that giving progesterone to victims with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) shortly following brain injury may reduce the risk of death and the degree of disability, and appears to be safe.

3 Oct 2006

One-third of U.S. kids unfit

Researchers in the U.S. report that as many as one-third of American children are physically unfit but boys are in better shape than girls.

3 Oct 2006

Newly discovered molecule could lead to new treatments for obesity

Japanese scientists have found a molecule which is responsible for making mammals feel full, and they believe the discovery could lead to new ways to treat obesity in humans.

3 Oct 2006

Food like an addictive drug for some people

Researchers in the U.S. have found that the same brain circuits are involved when obese people fill their stomachs as when drug addicts think about drugs and the discovery they say suggests an association between overeating and addiction.

3 Oct 2006

Delhi on the verge of a dengue fever epidemic

Diseases such as dengue and malaria are common in the monsoon season and the Indian capital, Delhi appears to be in the grip of a likely epidemic of dengue fever.

3 Oct 2006

Research implicates brain circuits involved in drug craving and emotional response to food

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have found new clues to how the brain and the stomach interact with emotions to cause overeating and obesity.

2 Oct 2006

When it comes to the flu, antivirals far more effective than antibiotics

It seems that even though influenza has been shown to be better treated with anti-viral medication doctors and hospitals continue to use antibiotics, often with deadly consequences.

2 Oct 2006