Health Care
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Man's best friend could soon be veteran's best medicine - USATODAY.com
By Sharon L. Peters Special for USA TODAY The number of veterans who get rehabilitation and re-entry help from dogs will substantially increase if a bill introduced in the House of Representatives this month becomes law. The Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act, introduced by Rep.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said there have been 36 confirmed reports of seizures this flu season in children ages 6 months through 2 years. The seizures occurred within one day after they were vaccinated with Fluzone, the only flu shot recommended in the United States for infants and very young children. Ten of the children were hospitalized, but all recovered. The FDA said it is investigating to see if there is any connection between the vaccine and the seizures, or if something else caused the convulsions. The agency said recommendations for using the vaccine have not changed, nor has there been any change in flu vaccine guidance.
Feds checking post-vaccine seizures in young kids - USATODAY.com
At the same time, the speaker, , said House Republicans would push for much stricter limits on in federal programs, including those created by the new law. By a vote of 253 to 175, the House on Thursday directed four committees to draft legislation that would replace the health care law. The directive sets forth 13 objectives. It says, for example, that the legislation should “lower health care premiums through increased competition and choice,” provide access to affordable coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, increase the number of Americans with insurance and provide states with “greater flexibility” to run their programs. Republicans did not say how they would achieve those goals, but made clear that they did not want to impose detailed federal requirements on individuals, families, employers or states.
Republicans Plan Their Own Health Bills - NYTimes.com
Rep. Paul Tonko: Age 26 Rule and Health Care Repeal
It's no secret that for young adults, health insurance coverage is often not a top priority. It's usually because for young adults, health insurance is hard to get. It can be too expensive to buy on the individual market. Many times it is not offered as a benefit for many entry-level jobs.
amednews: National health spending growth held to record-breaking low :: Jan. 17, 2011 ... American Medical News
Washington -- The most recent economic recession slowed the growth of national health spending to 4% in 2009 -- the slowest rate since at least 1960. Patients delayed elective care and limited out-of-pocket spending, in part because millions of people lost private health coverage. However, the percentage of the nation's gross domestic product devoted to health care increased to 17.6% in 2009, a full percentage point higher than in 2008, because health spending grew at a faster pace than the economy as a whole. Overall health spending reached $2.49 trillion, according to an annual report on national health spending by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary, published online Jan. 5 in the journal Health Affairs . "The slowdown was widespread among all health care goods and services," said Anne Martin, CMS economist and report co-author.
Ask Your Health Care Reform Questions of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius « WebMD Newsroom
The president has given his State of the Union address, the GOP has given its response, and many of you, our WebMD users, have submitted your questions about health care reform. Thank you! We participated in a special roundtable event with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on January 27th, and we were able to ask some questions that struck a theme among many of you. Once again, thank you for all your questions!U.S. Backs Down - WSJ.com
A day after President Barack Obama ordered the government to get rid of burdensome rules, two federal agencies backed down from proposals that had drawn jeers from businesses. The Labor Department said it was withdrawing a proposal on noise in the workplace that could have forced manufacturers to install noise-reducing equipment. And the Food and Drug Administration retreated from plans to tighten rules on medical-device approvals, postponing a proposal that would have given the FDA power to order additional postmarket studies of devices.
The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission has announced the 2011 criteria for several of its accrediting and testing programs, Modern Healthcare reports. EHNAC is a not-for-profit organization that accredits health care transaction systems, such as electronic prescribing networks and health information exchanges (Conn, Modern Healthcare , 1/19). EHNAC held a 60-day public comment period to develop the new program criteria for 2011 (Miliard, Healthcare IT News , 1/19).
Group Announces New Criteria for Accrediting Health Data Systems - iHealthBeat
HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality plans to launch a two-year project that will identify barriers Medicaid providers face when trying to meet meaningful use standards, according to an announcement posted on Tuesday in the Federal Register , Modern Healthcare reports. Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid (McKinney, Modern Healthcare , 1/18). Survey Details AHRQ will collect data through research institute RTI International, which will survey approximately 300 individual clinicians and 90 others participating in nine focus groups. According to AHRQ, the project will allow the agency to assist specific Medicaid providers and help them use EHRs more effectively (Mosquera, Government Health IT , 1/18).
AHRQ To Determine Meaningful Use Barriers in Medicaid Program - iHealthBeat
Public News Service
January 20, 2011 CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Tuesday's party-line vote in the U.S. House to repeal last year's health-care reform is not popular with two doctors who are also members of the West Virginia state Senate. Sen.
WASHINGTON—The Republican-led House voted Wednesday to repeal the health-care overhaul that is a signature achievement of President Barack Obama, in a largely symbolic move that made good on a GOP election promise but left uncertain what the party would offer as an alternative. The vote was 245-189 in favor of repeal, with three Democrats joining the entire Republican caucus in the majority. That compared with 34 House Democrats who voted in March 2010 against enacting the law. Despite Wednesday's vote, the law is all but certain to remain in place for now.
House Votes to Repeal Health-Care Law - WSJ.com
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Medicaid: Supreme Court to rule on California Medicaid payments to providers - Courant.com
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Though Republicans have vowed to get rid of Obama's sweeping health care reform as quickly as possible, it turns out most Americans don't want the legislation repealed entirely. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday found that only 18% are in favor of completely ejecting the health care overhaul passed last year, which Republicans dubbed "Obamacare." Three-quarters of Democrats support the law, according to ABC News, while 80% of Republicans oppose it. Furthermore, Republicans polled largely said they anticipate negative consequences of the legislation, while most Dems expect positive effects. However even among those who said they don't support the law, only 33% favored a flat-out repeal.
Americans are still split on health care reform, but only 18% favor a total repeal: poll
From NBC's Catherine Chomiak As House Republicans return to their health-care reform repeal effort -- and as the tone of political discourse is examined -- former Senate leaders Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Bill Frist (R-TN) and former Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH) announced the creation of a bipartisan health project. The project's goal is to aid states with the new law's implementation and to find bipartisan solutions to health challenges. At a press conference in DC, the three men stressed the importance of working together and across party lines. "Progress cannot be achieved in the absence of bipartisan support.
First Read - Daschle, Frist, Strickland stress bipartisanship on health care
Daschle, Frist, and Strickland might be good guests for CHCRadio. Although I wish they would be nonpartisan instead of bipartisan by Jan 19