News stories of interest to rural health and human services, with information provided via the Rural Assistance Center Copyright 2009 Rural Assistance Center http://www.raconline.org/news/topstories.php Kaiser Health News reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday the Senate will vote Saturday on a procedural move to begin debate on the Senate's health care reform bill. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/19/Senate-Democrat-Rally.aspx Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:48:13 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/19/Senate-Democrat-Rally.aspx Kaiser Health News reports that the House voted largely along party lines Thursday to permanently end annual cuts in doctors' Medicare payments, which the Congress has temporarily averted from year to year, http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/20/medicare-Doc-fix-vote.aspx Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:45:39 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/20/medicare-Doc-fix-vote.aspx Only about 1 in 4 Americans aged 5064 regularly take advantage of preventive services such as screenings and immunizations, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in collaboration with AARP and the American Medical Association (AMA). http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r091119a.htm Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:22:53 CST http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r091119a.htm Wide sections of the Southeast, Appalachia, and some tribal lands in the West and Northern Plains have the nation′s highest rates of obesity and diabetes, according to estimates released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r091119c.htm Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:19:08 CST http://www.cdc.gov/media/pressrel/2009/r091119c.htm KULR8 News, (MT) reports that the Senate has unanimously passed the Rural Veterans Health Care Improvement Act, sponsored by Senator Jon Tester. http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/70591627.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/70591627.html HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the availability of up to $10 million in grants to help reach American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children who qualify for, but are not yet enrolled, in Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP). http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12591 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12591 This final rule with comment period from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services revises the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from their continuing experience with this system. In addition, it updates the revised Medicare ambulatory surgical center payment system to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from their continuing experience with this system. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-26499.htm Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-26499.htm HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a statement yesterday on new breast cancer screening recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, saying that the guidelines were the product of an outside, expert panel that does not "set federal policy and they don't determine what services are covered by the federal government." http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/11/20091118a.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:12:13 CST http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/11/20091118a.html Kaiser Health News article reports that Democratic leaders in the Senate unveiled their proposal on Wednesday for overhauling the health care system, outlining landmark legislation that they said would cover most of the uninsured while reducing the federal budget deficit. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/18/CBO-Score-senate-bill.aspx Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:05:46 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/18/CBO-Score-senate-bill.aspx Daily Yonder article discusses how broadband will benefit rural communities, but it has downsides, too. Rural communities should plan now to make this new technology serve their interests. http://www.dailyyonder.com/dealing-broadbands-rural-downside/2009/11/18/2460 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:44:50 CST http://www.dailyyonder.com/dealing-broadbands-rural-downside/2009/11/18/2460 Shortfalls in health take years off the lives of all Americans and hurt our nation's economy, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), which today announced the new Commission to Build a Healthier America, a national, independent and nonpartisan health commission that will focus on factors outside the health care system and identify non-medical, evidence-based strategiesboth short- and long-termto improve the health of all Americans. http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=26672 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=26672 On November 17, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Everyday Health announced a partnership that will expand the delivery of FDAs vital consumer health information to the 30 million unique users who visit Everyday Health (www.EverydayHealth.com) each month. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm189923.htm Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm189923.htm USA TODAY reviewed several stimulus reports to determine the number of jobs created or saved per stimulus dollar. The review found 14 recipients that reported saving or creating more than 100 jobs for less than $1,500 per job suggesting they overreported the number of jobs. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-11-02-stimjobs_N.htm?csp=34 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:48:08 CST http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-11-02-stimjobs_N.htm?csp=34 CMS announces that as part of the Obama Administration's goal of reducing waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) significantly revised and improved its calculations of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) error rates in 2009, reflecting a more complete accounting of Medicare's improper payments than in past years. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12575 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12575 InformationWeek Healthcare Newsletter reports that several new networks are being launched across the country, and while they vary in size, scope, and clientele, the goals and challenges are similar. http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/EMR/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221601130 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/EMR/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=221601130 HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced awards totaling nearly $1.2 million to help health professions faculty from disadvantaged backgrounds repay their student loans. The funds are part of $500 million appropriated to HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) to address workforce shortages and encourage greater diversity in the health professions. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12573 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:28:26 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12573 CBS News reports that uninsured patients with traumatic injuries, such as car crashes, falls and gunshot wounds, were almost twice as likely to die in the hospital as similarly injured patients with health insurance, according to a troubling new study. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/16/health/main5674116.shtml Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:20:54 CST http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/16/health/main5674116.shtml KTVB Boise, (ID) article reports that a federal task force came out with new recommendations Monday regarding breast cancer screenings with guidelines that differ from what women have long been told. http://www.ktvb.com/home/Taskforce-recommends-fewer-breast-cancer-screenings-70250577.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.ktvb.com/home/Taskforce-recommends-fewer-breast-cancer-screenings-70250577.html The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for Americas Health have released a new poll showing that 71 percent of Americans favor an increased investment in disease prevention and that disease prevention is one of the most popular components of health reform. http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=51652 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=51652 Kaiser Health News tells how devices that measure blood pressure and other health information may help the elderly and people with chronic conditions stay in touch with doctors while remaining at home, cutting health spending by catching problems before they escalate into crises. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/November/17/New-technology.aspx Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/November/17/New-technology.aspx Daily Yonder article reports that over the past two weeks, as health care legislation passed by a hair through the U.S. Congress, other policy changes have steadily unfolded that will improve the fortunes of rural community broadband. http://www.dailyyonder.com/rewiring-old-fund-rural-broadband/2009/11/17/2455 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.dailyyonder.com/rewiring-old-fund-rural-broadband/2009/11/17/2455 AHA News reports that as of mid-October, an estimated 63,000-153,000 Americans have been hospitalized with 2009 H1N1 flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced yesterday. http://www.ahanews.com/ahanews_app/jsp/display.jsp?dcrpath=AHANEWS/AHANewsNowArticle/data/ann_111309_H1N1&domain=AHANEWS Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:44:59 CST http://www.ahanews.com/ahanews_app/jsp/display.jsp?dcrpath=AHANEWS/AHANewsNowArticle/data/ann_111309_H1N1&domain=AHANEWS Associated Press article via Jackson Sun, (FL) reports that Mississippi is just one of several mostly rural states across the South with a dearth of resources for HIV and AIDS patients. http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20091116/NEWS01/91116004/1002/rss Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:00:50 CST http://www.jacksonsun.com/article/20091116/NEWS01/91116004/1002/rss Robert Wood Johnson Foundation article discusses that as Congress and the Obama Administration search for ways to reform health care, a new report demonstrates that rationing and price controls are not the only ways to control health care costs. http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=37449 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:34:21 CST http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=37449 Des Moines Register, (IA) article via Center for Rural Affairs tells how the small town of Manilla, Iowa, offers free land and suspends property taxes for five years for those who build a home in their developments, a throwback to how plains states were homesteaded in the 1800s. http://www.cfra.org/ruralmonitor/2009/11/15/free-land-key-small-towns-growth Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:47:21 CST http://www.cfra.org/ruralmonitor/2009/11/15/free-land-key-small-towns-growth Detroit Free Press, (MI) article tells how videoconferencing -- telepsychiatry -- is an effective way to treat families where doctors may be an hour away, and as crucial as telemedicine is in meeting health needs in underserved areas, U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, a Menominee Democrat, has cosponsored a bill increasing funding and reimbursement for health providers to expand these services. http://www.freep.com/article/20091115/NEWS05/911150525/1001/rss01 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.freep.com/article/20091115/NEWS05/911150525/1001/rss01 Vail Daily, (CO) article tells of the Community Paramedics program where you take a resource that is already available in the community, link it with existing health care services and provide expanded patient care including treatment delivered directly to patients in their homes. http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20091115/NEWS/911129982/1062/RSS Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20091115/NEWS/911129982/1062/RSS Comments are being sought by the FCC on the health care delivery elements of the national broadband plan, as well as seeking input relating to the universal service rural health care support mechanism and the rural health care Pilot Program, specifically as such programs may assist in the deployment and adoption of broadband services. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12548 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12548 More than 85,000 physicians and other eligible professionals who successfully reported quality-related data to Medicare under the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) received incentive payments totaling more than $92 million, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today, well above the $36 million paid in 2007. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12546 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12546 The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) congratulates Kris Sparks, director of the Washington State Office of Rural Health and a long-time NOSORH leader, on being elected president-elect of the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) by the organizations members. http://www.nosorh.org/news/pr/sparks2.php Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:20:30 CST http://www.nosorh.org/news/pr/sparks2.php