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States restart health care push The Wall Street Journal Share     With the fate of a national health care overhaul unclear, state legislators are pushing their own bills aimed at expanding coverage, though tight budgets are likely to hinder many of these efforts. Lawmakers in at least two states, California and Missouri, have introduced legislation for the current session to create government-backed coverage for state residents. In others, including Virginia and New Jersey, legislators are hoping to tweak existing state programs to include more people. More U.S. expands medical care for Haitians The New York Times Share
According to The New York Times, Haitian earthquake survivors who need medical care for life-threatening injuries will be transported to hospitals in Tampa, Fla.; Atlanta; New York; Philadelphia; Boston; and Lyons, N.J. The cities chosen are part of the Federal National Disaster Medical System, which the Department of Health and Human Services is using to help provide care to critically injured survivors. Participating hospitals will also be reimbursed under the NDMS, at 110 percent of Medicare rates for costs incurred in treating patients who, before they left Haiti, went through the NDMS screening process and met evacuation criteria. HHS has also activated two Federal Coordinating Centers (Atlanta and Tampa) and staffed them with teams from the Department of Veterans Affairs who will meet the flights and arrange ground transportation to hospitals. More Senate sets stage for SGR fix to freeze Medicare pay for five years, followed by massive cut Medscape Today Share
Physicians who were hoping for a permanent solution to the notorious sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for setting Medicare rates may have to settle for another temporary fix that would freeze their pay for five years at 2009 levels and then cut it by 25 percent to 30 percent in 2015. More
Taxes key in competing health legislation Savannah Morning News Share
State Rep. Ron Stephens has added a new wrinkle to his proposal to generate badly needed revenue by raising cigarette taxes. The Savannah Republican previously had tried to sell the idea simply as a good thing; now he is in effect promoting it as the lesser of two evils. More Medicare pay overhaul heats up as health reform moves to back burner American Medical News Share
With a comprehensive health system reform effort effectively on hold after the victory of a Republican Senate candidate in Massachusetts, physician organizations are mobilizing to prevent Medicare doctor payment reform from also becoming a casualty of the altered political landscape on Capitol Hill. More  Health spending a winner in Obama budget Reuters Share
Health research is a potential winner in the budget proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama, with the National Institutes of Health in line for an extra $1 billion for medical research. Obama's budget plan also would provide $25.5 billion for six months to help prop up Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance plan for the poor, $1.4 billion for food safety efforts and $3 billion for AIDS prevention. The budget also proposes an expansion of health and food aid to other countries, especially for research into AIDS and neglected tropical diseases. More First of Haitian earthquake victims arrive at Atlanta hospitals The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Share
Five Haitian earthquake victims, including an 18-month-old with brain injuries, were airlifted Tuesday night to Dobbins Air Force Base for treatment at area hospitals. As many as 45 more patients are expected to arrive by week's end. More More EMRs are in physician offices, but use still lags American Medical News Share
Physicians increasingly are adopting electronic medical records systems, even before government economic incentives for doing so have kicked in. But a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found those doctors weren't yet doing a whole lot with the technology. More Health care reform: Can Mayo emerge a winner? Chicago Star-Tribune Share
Congress thinks the Mayo Clinic is a model for health care reform. Critics say there are other factors at work. Almost four years ago, the doctors who run Mayo Clinic took a big gamble. The goal: Get Medicare to reward the most efficient hospitals and pay less to the least efficient -- cutting waste, raising quality and saving money all around. More
HIV/AIDS drug puzzle cracked Reuters Share
British and U.S. researchers said they had grown a crystal that enabled them to see the structure of an enzyme called integrase, which is found in retroviruses like HIV and is a target for some of the newest HIV medicines. "Despite initially painstakingly slow progress and very many failed attempts, we did not give up and our effort was finally rewarded," said Peter Cherepanov of Imperial College London, who conducted the research with scientists from Harvard University. More Grady dialysis patients band together to face new deadline on care The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Share
Several Grady Memorial Hospital dialysis patients gathered Feb. 2 and discussed the hospital's new deadline that could end their care. They shared their anxiety. Some said they couldn't sleep. They decided they would fight together to keep their care. Today was supposed to be the deadline on care for these patients. But Grady officials presented a new deadline with new consequences. More GSU: 18 percent of Georgians lack health insurance The Atlanta Business Chronicle Share
Georgia has the fifth-most number of uninsured people in the United States, according to an annual report Wednesday from Georgia State University. Only California, Texas, Florida, and New York have more uninsured individuals than Georgia, GSU said. However, the number of Georgians without health insurance increased only slightly to 1.67 million in 2008. More |
 
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