Medicare cuts of some 32% will soon affect the suppliers of Durable Medical Equipment in nine major cities. 

A new set of national dietary guidelines acknowledges that many Americans are unhealthy and emphasizes efforts to battle the obesity epidemic. In addition to lower sodium and saturated and trans fat goals, the recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also call for policymakers and the food industry to become engaged in the fight. The obesity epidemic is priority number one.

The new set of guidelines is open for public comment until July 15.

The National Institutes of Health have adopted a much stricter policy on reporting financial conflicts of interest.  This article reports on the proposed new rules which should become final before the end of the year.

For the third time this year, Congress is scrambling to stave off a hefty pay cut to doctors treating Medicare patients — even as the Obama administration mails out a glossy brochure to reassure seniors the health care program is on solid ground.

The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to repeal the antitrust exemption currently granted to health insurance companies. The vote was 406-19 to repeal the exemption, which has been in place since the end of World War II.

Advocates of an exemption repeal say the exemption has allowed health insurance companies to essentially divide the country into geographic zones. They argue the companies benefit from what amounts to local monopolies.

It is possible that the Senate may take up the measure sometime this year.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R. 1017, the “Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act.” The bill was approved 365:6.  In the U.S. Senate, a companion bill (S1204) has been introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).

H.R. 1017 requires the VA to have doctors of chiropractic on staff at no fewer than 75 major VA medical centers before the end of 2011 and for all major VA medical centers to have a doctor of chiropractic on staff before the end of 2013. There are nearly 160 VA treatment facilities nationwide.

The ACA reports that the CMS has adopted new "signature requirements" for Patient Health Records.  Their summary of this new requirement is reported..

The U.S. House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee, subcommittee on Health, the panel unanimously passed H.R. 1017, which would phase-in the expansion of chiropractic services to more than 120 additional Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers across the country...

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that implementing some of the law's tighter regulations of health plans would be "hand-to-hand combat.  Lawmakers want to give the Health and Human Services secretary new power to reject such hikes if they are deemed unjustifiable.

Sen. Tom Coburn, MD, (R, Okla.) said that health plans' profits may be excessive, but they are not the main problem with the U.S. health system. 'We continue to treat the symptoms and not the disease, and the disease is costs.'"