[National Journal] In an address that barely mentions health care, President Obama hits on the message heard repeatedly from the health care industry: If you want more jobs, don’t cut off federal funding.
Obama implores Congress not to “gut” investments in research, so American can maintain its spot as a world leader in medical innovation. That [...]

[Newswise] New research by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services indicates that including comprehensive tobacco cessation benefits in Medicaid insurance coverage can result in substantial savings for Medicaid programs. The study, titled “The Return on Investment of a Medicaid Tobacco Cessation Program in Massachusetts,” published by the open access journal [...]

[JAMA] As of July 2010, the United States spent $2.6 trillion per year on health care.1​ It is not just the level of spending that is of concern but the rate of growth over time. During the last 30 years, the growth in US health care spending has been 2.1% more per year than growth [...]

BERKELEY —  Emotional differences between the rich and poor, as depicted in such Charles Dickens classics as “A Christmas Carol” and “A Tale of Two Cities,” may have a scientific basis. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that people in the lower socio-economic classes are more physiologically attuned to suffering, and quicker [...]

[amenews] Medical practices generally earn less giving a single shot that protects against five diseases than injecting component immunizations separately, even though the same amount of counseling time is often required for combination shots as single vaccinations, according to a study.

[Kaiser Health News] Some of the most popular and expensive brand-name drugs are about to go generic. Take Lipitor, for example. In November, the heart drug comes off-patent — and by next June, there are likely to be multiple generic versions.With almost $11 billion in sales last year, it’s the largest blockbuster to fall off what [...]

[Associated Press] TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A drug for dangerously high blood pressure, normally priced at $25.90 per dose, offered to hospitals for $1,200. Fifteen deaths in 15 months blamed on shortages of life-saving medications.
A growing crisis in the availability of drugs for chemotherapy, infections and other serious ailments is endangering patients and forcing hospitals [...]

[Bloomberg] Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) partner Dinakar Singh discovered in 2001 that his 19-month-old daughter, Arya, had a crippling genetic disease called spinal muscular atrophy.
The malady makes the nerve cells that control muscles gradually deteriorate. There are no treatments, let alone a cure, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its October issue. Worse still, while [...]

[NYT] WASHINGTON — The Obama administration issued new standards on Monday that require health insurance plans to cover all government-approved contraceptives for women, without co-payments or other charges.
The standards, which also guarantee free coverage of other preventive services for women, follow recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and grew out of the new health [...]

[The Economist]- HEALTH care’s biggest firms keep getting bigger. Hospitals are consolidating. Insurers are beginning to provide health care as well as pay for it. And on July 21st Express Scripts, a giant pharmacy-benefit manager (PBM), announced that it would acquire a rival, Medco. The deal would give the combined company about one-third of America’s [...]