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New reports highlight health care costs

Several new studies on health care costs reveal interesting findings.

15 Dec 2009

Women's health becomes political issue in health care debate

"The heated Capitol Hill debate over health care coverage for mammograms has exploded onto the political scene, shaping the 2010 electoral landscape and recalibrating the battle for a crucial constituency: the women's vote," Politico reports.

15 Dec 2009

Primary care shortage affecting communities as hospitals struggle to keep up

CNN reports that five years ago "roughly half the doctors leaving medical school entered the work force as primary-care physicians; just 20 percent of current medical students are planning to work in primary care."

15 Dec 2009

UT Southwestern Medical Center performs minimally invasive procedures for sinuses and chronic rhinosinusitis

Only about one in 2,000 people in the United States get a sinus tumor, but Johnnie Wilcox was one of the unfortunate few.

15 Dec 2009

Congress must include health workforce planning body in health reform, urges AAHC

Congressional leaders must ensure that health reform includes a health workforce planning body with sufficient authority to ensure implementation of an integrated, coordinated national health workforce policy, according to Dr. Steven A Wartman, president and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC).

15 Dec 2009

KHN column: Why $75-a-day matters to caregivers

In his latest Kaiser Health News column, Howard Gleckman writes: "In the ongoing congressional debate over the CLASS Act—the proposed national long-term care insurance program—critics and supporters have been arguing over whether a benefit of $50- or even $75-a-day is worthwhile.

15 Dec 2009

Study shows elderly blacks more likely to skip medication compared to white counterparts

Older adults experience a number of medication-related problems, including under treatment, suboptimal drugs, suboptimal dosing, and non-adherence, which can have negative effects on their quality of life. Now new research, from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that blacks have more medication-related problems than whites, and non-adherence to medical regimens is a particular issue for this group.

15 Dec 2009

HFA urges American Red Cross to end current labor issues over blood supply

The Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA) expresses its concern regarding the ongoing labor issues involving the Teamsters Local 929 and the American Red Cross of Pennsylvania /New Jersey.

15 Dec 2009

Medicare buy-in plan's cost may deter centrist lawmakers, potential customers

Some Democrats' idea to open Medicare to certain people aged 55 and older raises the question of whether premiums would be affordable enough.

15 Dec 2009

Experts consider public option compromise, role of OPM in health bill

Kaiser Health News talks to nine experts who weigh in on the proposed public option compromise as a possible spinoff of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to be run by the Office of Personnel Management.

14 Dec 2009

White House: Health reform would curb cost growth

The White House's Council of Economic Advisers has released a report that finds health reform would slow the growth of health costs in the United States and buttress the economy.

14 Dec 2009

Fine print raises alarms over health bill

News reports forecast that some provisions in the Senate health-overhaul legislation could create distractions for Democrats seeking to pass a bill by the year's end.

14 Dec 2009

DeParle gets GOP cold shoulder on health reform

Politico: "Senate Republicans say they want to 'smoke out' Democratic senators who could help them bring down the health care bill, and so far, they think they've found one in Sen. Jim Webb. With all the attention focused on four other fence-sitting moderates, Webb has voted with Republicans six times on the first series of amendments on the Senate floor — giving GOP leaders some hope that the unpredictable Virginian could buck his party in the end and block the bill" (Raju, 12/14).

14 Dec 2009

Data mining by drug companies raises concern

The Los Angeles Times examines a practice called data mining in which drug companies track how doctors prescribe medications by obtaining data from pharmacies and health insurers.

14 Dec 2009

McClatchy series examines Africa's population

"Although it's frequently portrayed as a continent decimated by epidemics, starvation and war, Africa is gripped by one of the greatest population explosions ever recorded.

14 Dec 2009

Companies shed more light on health bill lobbying

USA Today: "Sweeping ethics rules passed by Congress in 2007 require corporate interests that lobby Washington to reveal more information than ever, such as how much they donate to politicians' favorite charities.

14 Dec 2009

Language Line Services honored with ‘Raquel Cashman Language Access Award’

The International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA) recently awarded Language Line Services, a leading interpretation and translation provider, with the Raquel Cashman Language Access Award at the organization's 2009 conference.

14 Dec 2009

Pulse EHR receives 2011 CCHIT Comprehensive certification

To receive the 2011 CCHIT Comprehensive certification, the Pulse EHR had to undergo a rigorous inspection of integrated functionality, interoperability and security, in addition to achieving full compliance with proposed federal standards tied to ARRA “meaningful use” financial incentives.

14 Dec 2009

Grantham University adds new Health Sciences degree programs to its existing portfolio

Grantham University, an online university dedicated to providing educational opportunities to working adults for nearly 60 years, announced today that it is adding four new Health Sciences degree programs to its existing degree offerings: an Associate of Applied Science in Medical Coding and Billing, a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Health Systems Management and a Master of Healthcare Administration.

14 Dec 2009

US journal identifies fundamental factors behind failed EPR projects

Large-scale electronic patient record (EPR) programmes promise much but sometimes deliver little, according to a new study by UCL researchers that reviewed findings from hundreds of previous studies from all over the world.

14 Dec 2009