Thursday, February 24, 2011

Thursday Themes

House GOP leaders propose a temporary spending measure that would cut $2 billion from the federal budget each week for 2 weeks. Dems respond that this is the same extreme budget cutting that they have already rejected. Is the threat of a shut down a negotiating tactic, to convince the Tea Party that the mainstream GOP has tried its best to cut the budget?

States are struggling to get ahold of Medicaid spending. The Obama Administration is asking states to do so without dropping coverage. New York proposes to cap annual increases, but to put much of the decision of what to cut in the hands of providers.

Jane Brody discusses a new report on how to better manage multiple chronic conditions. Advocacy for Patients submitted comments for this report. In a related piece, Dr. David Katz tells us how to be a smart patient.

Doctors remain skeptical of electronic health records.

The feds raided pain clinics in Florida in an effort to eliminate pill mills. But will this make it even harder for legitimate chronic pain patients to get relief?

Meanwhile, the case for palliative care gets stronger -- it prolongs life.

Children living on farms learn to fight off germs, decreases the risk of asthma.

A small study points to specific proteins in the spinal fluid of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic Lyme disease.

And that's the morning's news. Have a great day. Jennifer

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