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    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_459"
                     title="Murtha Dead at 77"
                     score="0.014"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/tb/18388?impressionId=1265735553954"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;Representative John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), 77, long-time chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, died yesterday afternoon from complications following a planned laparoscopic cholecystectomy, according to a statement from the congressman&apos;s office.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He had been admitted to the intensive care unit at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington on Jan. 31, days after surgeons at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., accidentally nicked his intestine during the operation, according to a report in &lt;em&gt;The Washington Post&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In that same report, Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.), a close friend of Murtha&apos;s, said the congressman developed an infection and fever.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Citing a request for privacy from the Murtha family and patient privacy laws, a spokesperson for the National Naval Medical Center declined to provide information on the operation.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In a statement, Virginia Hospital Center said Murtha died &quot;despite aggressive critical care interventions.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;According to the American College of Surgeons, risks of laparoscopic cholecystectomy include bleeding, infection, injury to the bile duct, liver injury, numbness, hernia at the incision site, anesthesia complications, and puncture of the intestine.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Death is extremely rare in healthy individuals, occurring in no more than 1 per 1,000 patients, according to the college.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A 2009 Cochrane Review comparing laparoscopic versus open cholecystectomy for patients with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis found no difference in mortality in 38 trials. No patients died in the laparoscopic group and only 0.09% died in the open group.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Severe complications were reported in 2.2% of the laparoscopic patients and 6.8% of the open patients.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Murtha had recently become the longest serving member of Congress in Pennsylvania state history.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;First elected in 1974, Murtha, a former Marine, was the first Vietnam War combat veteran to serve in Congress, and he served as an advocate for the military throughout his career. He was also a prominent critic of the Iraq War.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Murtha is survived by his wife, Joyce, and three children.&lt;/p&gt;

    </recommendedItem>
    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_423"
                     title="Week 31: Baucus Quotes Gandhi; Obama Wants $80 Billion HHS Boost"
                     score="0.013"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/tb/18337?impressionId=1265735553954"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON  --  Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, likes to start hearings with a quote from a famous leader. This week, he quoted Mahatma Gandhi.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Every worthwhile accomplishment . . . has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle, and a victory,&quot; said Baucus, who has been an integral part of the negotiations that stalled last month with Congress apparently just weeks away from passing a healthcare reform bill.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The effort to enact healthcare reform &quot;has certainly seen its struggles,&quot; Baucus said. But he said he agrees with President Barack Obama, who urged Congress during his State of the Union address not to give up on passing comprehensive reform.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;We have gone well past this effort&apos;s beginning,&quot; Baucus said. &quot;We have endured our share of struggle. Now let us at last bring this bill to victory.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Since the election to the U.S. Senate of Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown  --  a vocal opponent of healthcare reform  --  and the president&apos;s State of the Union message, which focused strongly on job creation and improving the economy, healthcare reform has been moved to a back burner.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But &quot;I&apos;m very confident we&apos;re going to pass healthcare reform this year,&quot; Baucus said during Wednesday&apos;s hearing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Obama also urged Congress again not to give up on a bill when he spoke to Democrats at a question-and-answer session on Thursday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;All that&apos;s changed in the last two weeks is that our party&apos;s gone from having the largest majority in a generation to having the second-largest majority in a generation,&quot; Obama said. &quot;We&apos;ve got to remember that.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although Baucus used most of his speaking time talking about healthcare reform, the purpose of this week&apos;s hearing was to question Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the $80 billion increase in funding for HHS requested in the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/18248&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/18248&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Obama&amp;#8200;Requests&amp;#8200;$80&amp;#8200;Billion&amp;#8200;Increase&amp;#8200;in&amp;#8200;Healthcare&amp;#8200;Funding&quot;&gt;president&apos;s 2011 budget&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Under Obama&apos;s blueprint, HHS would receive $911 billion in 2011, most of which would be Medicare and Medicaid spending. But the National Institutes of Health (NIH) would also get a $1 billion boost for medical research, and there would be money for improving food, drug, and device safety, and to intensify efforts to help Americans quit smoking and get healthy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The President&apos;s budget doesn&apos;t make any provisions for healthcare reform should it be enacted.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Healthcare spending now accounts for 17.3% of the nation&apos;s total spending, according to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18302&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18302&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;In&amp;#8200;Bad&amp;#8200;Economy,&amp;#8200;Record&amp;#8200;Growth&amp;#8200;in&amp;#8200;Health&amp;#8200;Spending&quot;&gt;new data&lt;/a&gt; released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The recession of 2009, coupled with growing use of medical services, led to the fastest one-year growth in health spending since the 1960s, according to the CMS report.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By 2019, national health spending is projected to reach $4.5 trillion and account for about 19% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the report.&lt;/p&gt;

    </recommendedItem>
    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_399"
                     title="In Bad Economy, Record Growth in Health Spending"
                     score="0.012"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/tb/18302?impressionId=1265735553954"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON  --  The recession of 2009, coupled with growing use of medical services, led to the fastest one-year growth in health spending since at least the 1960s, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare &amp;amp; Medicaid Services (CMS).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In 2009, national health spending grew 5.7% to reach $2.5 trillion, according to preliminary estimates from CMS actuaries and economists published in &lt;em&gt;Health Affairs.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That $2.5 trillion accounts for 17.3% of total GDP, which declined by 1% in 2009. In 2008, healthcare spending accounted for 16.2% of the GDP.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By 2019, national health spending will reach $4.5 trillion and account for about 19% of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to the report.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;National heath expenditures have grown faster than the GDP for years. But in 2009, the bad economy, job losses, an increasing Medicaid population, and more people seeing a doctor powered the unprecedented growth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While the 2009 numbers are preliminary, the authors singled out job losses that resulted in more people qualifying for Medicaid. Spending on Medicaid grew by nearly 10% in 2009, twice as fast as the year before.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Another spending growth driver: More people utilized healthcare services in 2009, in part because so many sought H1N1 pandemic flu vaccinations.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Utilization of medical services grew at a rate of 1.5% in 2009, compared with just a 0.9% growth rate in 2009. That translated into growth in spending on physician and clinical services as well: up 6.3% compared with 5% growth in 2008.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The report also found: &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;Hospital spending increased 5.9 percent in 2009 compared with 4.5 percent in 2008, and reached $760.6 billion.&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Spending on prescription drugs reached $246 billion, up by 5.2% compared with growth of 3.2% the previous year. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Government spending on healthcare in 2009 outpaced private insurance company spending, despite subsidies in the stimulus bill that allowed recently laid-off workers keep their private health insurance plans through COBRA. The number of people with private insurance plans declined by 1% in 2009. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;Growth in out-of-pocket spending slowed in 2009, which the study authors attribute to the recession. &lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The good news is the economy is expected to grow in 2010, and analysts predict the growth rates in healthcare to be closer to the growth in GDP. Health spending is expected to decelerate to a growth of less than 4%, while GDP is anticipated to rebound to a 4% growth rate.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;However, that assessment may not be accurate because the estimate is based on a 21% cut in Medicare payments to physicians. Those cuts are slated to go into effect on March 1, but Congress is expected to vote at the last minute to stall the cuts  --  as it does every year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If Medicare payments for physicians hold steady  --  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18094&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/18094&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;AMA&amp;#8200;Pushes&amp;#8200;for&amp;#8200;Permanent&amp;#8200;Doctor&amp;#8200;Pay&amp;#8200;Fix&quot;&gt;either by Congress voting to put the cuts on hold for the next decade, or by voting to overhaul the sustainable growth rate (SGR&lt;/a&gt;)  --  healthcare spending would grow at a rate of about 4.7% in 2010.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The authors point out the difficulty of forecasting future spending levels in the midst of a recession.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;How quickly economic growth rebounds, and to what extent, will affect the growth of healthcare spending over the next decade,&quot; the authors said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In addition, if a healthcare reform bill ultimately passes, new projections would have to be issued.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Should such legislation ultimately be signed into law, there would undoubtedly be many changes in healthcare delivery and financing,&quot; they said.&lt;/p&gt;

    </recommendedItem>
    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_378"
                     title="First Lady and Lawmakers Discuss Childhood Obesity"
                     score="0.012"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Obesity/tb/18270?impressionId=1265735553954"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON  --  Still engaged in an intensely partisan debate over healthcare reform, the White House is ready to launch an initiative that&apos;s likely to have widespread backing: a push to combat obesity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;First Lady Michelle Obama has announced a four-pronged assault on childhood obesity that focuses on increasing the number of &quot;healthy schools,&quot; adding more physical activity to youngsters&apos; lives, encouraging consumers to make smart food choices, and improving access to healthy foods, which she calls a major barrier to healthy eating.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;She invited a bipartisan group of lawmakers and leaders to the Old Family Dining Room of the White House Tuesday to ask for suggestions on dealing with the epidemic.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;One of the tougher challenges that we need to look at is improving the accessibility and affordability of foods because there are many food deserts in this nation, which makes it difficult for families trying to access good options,&quot; Obama told Senate leaders who oversee agriculture and health, as well as the Secretaries of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By that she referred to low income areas of many cities where there are no supermarkets, and the only food outlets are neighborhood convenience stores whose inventories are high on snacks but almost devoid of fresh fruit, vegetables, protein, and other healthy foodstuffs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;She said childhood obesity is a problem that is &quot;eminently solvable,&quot; adding, &quot;Anyone who has access to children in their lives is going to have to work together. And one of the things that&apos;s also very clear is that this problem won&apos;t be solved by any single federal solution. This is going to require national action.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Revising federal child nutrition programs, which include school lunch guidelines, will be part the initiative, Obama said, offering &quot;an opportunity to impact more than 30 million kids.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Congressional leaders pledged their support.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;Together with the First Lady, the secretaries of Education, Agriculture, and Health and their congressional counterparts, we are starting a dialogue to combat childhood obesity, one that holds the promise of making real progress toward addressing this public health crisis,&quot; Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) told reporters after the meeting.&lt;/p&gt;

    </recommendedItem>
    <recommendedItem id="20100101_19_312"
                     title="Reps to Request Info on White House Healthcare Deals"
                     score="0.006"
                     href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Reform/tb/18181?impressionId=1265735553954"
                     
      &lt;p&gt;WASHINGTON  --  In a rare display of bipartisanship, a top House Democrat agreed to back a Republican lawmaker&apos;s quest for details of closed-door deals the White House made with industry insiders to produce a healthcare reform bill.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he&apos;d help Michael Burgess, MD, (R-Texas), seek information on the names of representatives from the pharmaceutical, device, hospital, doctor, and insurance sectors, who met with White House officials regarding healthcare reform.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Waxman and Burgess said they will also request any written materials regarding the &quot;sum and substance&quot; of any deals made when the individual or groups met with a White House representative, and any &quot;written materials memorializing any agreements that were provided to outside participants.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;They said they will also request written communications between Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, and stakeholders from the healthcare industry.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It&apos;s no secret that the White House struck deals with various interest groups in order to win their support for overall healthcare reform.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;What we don&apos;t know is who made a deal with whom,&quot; said Burgess, an Ob/Gyn.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Obama administration has been criticized by some of its own supporters for what they see as reneging on a campaign promise to bring to the office an unparalleled level of transparency.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At one point, Obama even told the nation that he would welcome C-SPAN cameras into healthcare negotiations that would normally be top secret.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But no C-SPAN cameras ever recorded the closed-door deals, much to the dismay of the president of C-SPAN, who sent a letter to congressional leaders in December asking for access to film healthcare reform discussions.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In September, Burgess sent a letter to Obama asking for details on deals struck at a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/14153&quot; mce_href=&quot;http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/14153&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Major&amp;#8200;Stakeholders&amp;#8200;Vow&amp;#8200;to&amp;#8200;&apos;Bend&amp;#8200;Healthcare&amp;#8200;Spending&amp;#8200;Growth&amp;#8200;Curve&apos;&quot;&gt;May meeting &lt;/a&gt;at the White House in which stakeholders pledged savings of $2 trillion in reduced costs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That meeting included representatives from the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the American Medical Association (AMA), America&apos;s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the American Hospital Association (AHA), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;According to Burgess, after not receiving a response from the White House, he introduced a resolution to launch an official inquiry.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On Tuesday, less than 24 hours before the House Energy and Commerce Committee was scheduled to vote on the resolution, counsel for the White House sent Burgess 80 pages of public information, including White House visitor logs, speech text, and press releases.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;A far cry from the information requested&quot; in the letter, Burgess said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The White House introduced a new policy last year to list the names of all White House visitors starting on Sept. 15. In November, the White House released names and dates from an additional 575 individual appointments that were healthcare-related.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On Wednesday afternoon when the House Energy and Commerce Committee met, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the committee, informally agreed to sign off on another letter, but didn&apos;t endorse Burgess&apos; resolution.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Waxman instructed the committee to report the resolution to the full House, but without endorsement, which means the House probably won&apos;t take up the measure. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Waxman said he&apos;d work with Burgess to write a letter requesting the information instead of relying on the House to pass a resolution launching an official inquiry.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&quot;A resolution of inquiry is a serious oversight tool and it should not be used unless other avenues to obtain information have been undertaken and exhausted,&quot; Waxman said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Burgess&apos; resolution would have encompassed notes of communication between the president and his chief of staff and other top advisers, presidential e-mails, and other high-level deliberations.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;There has been no showing  --  or even an allegation  --  of wrongdoing that would justify this kind of request,&quot; Waxman said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although his resolution essentially failed, Burgess said he was pleased with the outcome of the markup.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Waxman&apos;s agreement to work with him &quot;somewhat surprised&quot; him, he said, although Waxman has a long record of a &quot;commitment to being open and above-board.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Indeed, Waxman has been an advocate of government transparency and has launched numerous inquiries, including an investigation of the FDA&apos;s handling of rosiglitazone (Avandia) after a meta-analysis linked the drug to increased cardiovascular risk.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;During the markup, Republicans accused the administration of breaking its promise to increase transparency. Democrats, meanwhile, defended the White House for being significantly more transparent than the Bush administration.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Bush administration came under fire for keeping a tight lid on negotiations that led to the formation of its energy policy. For years Reps. Waxman and John Dingell (D-Mich.) tried to get the Bush administration to disclose information from the closed-door meetings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;The White House consistently rebuffed these requests,&quot; Waxman said.&lt;/p&gt;

    </recommendedItem>
</recommendedContent>
