Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and Web.

Iowa News

Hospital CEO reflects on health care reform
After months of discussions, the new healthcare reform bill was signed into law last week by President Obama.  Throughout all the political maneuvering, the media has cited many positive and negative aspects of this new legislation. However, like many of us, have you wondered what exactly it means?  Hopefully, the following will provide an insight as to what is included in the health care reform bill. (Osceola Sentinel-Tribune)

Health care is hot topic for Grassley in Northwood
It was the word of the night in Worth County on Wednesday night when Iowa Senator Charles Grassley stopped by the courthouse for a town hall meeting, and it’s on the mind of voters across Iowa: health care. (KIMT)

Police: Man used false name to avoid $39K hospital bill
According to a criminal complaint, Abdullrahman A. Aldosari, 51, obtain services and prescriptions from University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on three occasions between October 2009 and February 2010. Police said Aldosari used a false name and birth date to avoid being billed. The total cost of his services was $39,346, police said. (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

U.S. News

Outreach aims for trouble-free health care shift
The private “Enroll America” campaign is aimed at making it easy for Americans who qualify for Medicaid or private insurance subsidies to sign up. It will raise money to hire local staffs, which will push state governments to create user-friendly enrollment systems. The goal is to allow people to sign up when they see a doctor or apply for other benefits, with simple applications printed in multiple languages. (USA Today)

GOP hopes repeal-the-bill fire won’t burn them
Top Republicans are starting to worry about their health care rallying cry “Repeal the bill.” It just might singe GOP candidates in November’s elections, they fear, if voters begin to see benefits from the new law. (Associated Press)

Swindlers exploit confusion of health care law
Days after President Obama signed the $938 billion bill into law, a cable television advertisement exhorted viewers to call an 800-number so they wouldn’t miss a “limited enrollment” period to obtain coverage available “now that historic health care legislation has passed.” And there have already been reports of door-to-door salespeople peddling “Obamacare” insurance policies.

Baucus, Harkin commend new rule on health information technology incentives
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) led a broad group of 37 Senators in commending a proposed rule published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to distribute stimulus funds for health information technology. (Senate Finance Committee Press Release)

Parking is a battle ground between New York hospital and doctors union
To officials at St. Barnabas Hospital, replacing an overcrowded parking lot with a five-story parking garage would end the daily hassle of fighting for a space, benefiting staff members and visitors alike. But a doctors union has turned the nondescript parking lot into a battleground, arguing that the project should not qualify for stimulus money because it claims the project would eliminate 20 parking attendant jobs. (New York Times)

Haitian prime minister vows corruption won’t eat into aid funds
Now that the U.S., European Union and other major players have pledged about $5.3 billion in aid for Haiti to help that stricken nation recover from its devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, the question naturally occurs: Will the money be spent wisely? (National Public Radio)

Pfizer paid doctors, hospitals $35 million in last half of 2009
The world’s biggest drugmaker by revenue disclosed details Wednesday of its payments to about 4,500 doctors and other health professionals. Unlike rivals who have made some disclosures, Pfizer included figures on the considerable payments made to doctors running human tests of its drugs. (USA Today)

University of Miami database to reveal payments to doctors
The UM website — med.miami.edu/about/opa.asp — is searchable by name of faculty member or by name of company. It will be updated at least annually and now includes data for fiscal 2009 — which ended May 31, 2009. It lists doctors’ relationship with outside companies — but not the dollar amounts of the deals, which will start to be added later this year. (Miami Herald)