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Daily Rounds: MA Bill Targets High-Cost Care; Sperm Super-Donor; MBAs For MDs; Germy Uniforms

Legislator seeks cuts to highest health payments - The Boston Globe "Ronald Mariano, the House majority leader, planned to file legislation today that would force insurers to cut payments to the most expensive hospitals and doctors, a bold proposal that is likely to meet opposition from many providers.The amount the insurers saved would be used to increase payments to the lowest-paid hospitals and doctors, and to reduce health insurance premiums for employers and consumers. Mariano, a Quincy Democrat, said his plan could shave roughly $267 million off premiums, based on a previous analysis by Governor Deval Patrick’s staff." (boston.com)

One Sperm Donor, 150 Sons and Daughters - NYTimes.com "Now, there is growing concern among parents, donors and medical experts about potential negative consequences of having so many children fathered by the same donors, including the possibility that genes for rare diseases could be spread more widely through the population. Some experts are even calling attention to the increased odds of accidental incest between half sisters and half brothers, who often live close to one another." (nytimes.com)

Doctors Discover the Benefits of Business School - NYTimes.com "Under heavy pressure from government regulators and insurance companies, more and more physicians across the country are learning to think like entrepreneurs. As recently as the late 1990s, there were only five or six joint M.D./M.B.A degree programs at the nation’s universities, said Dr. Maria Y. Chandler, a pediatrician with an M.B.A. who is an associate clinical professor in the medical and business schools at the University of California, Irvine. “Now there are 65,” she said." (nytimes.com)

Medical News: Hospital Uniforms Teeming With Germs, Study Finds - MedPage Today "More than 60% of physicians' coats and nurses' uniforms sampled in a major Israeli hospital tested positive for disease-causing bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, researchers said. For 63% of the 60 physicians and 75 nurses at Hebrew University's Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in the study, at least one spot sampled on their outer clothing carried pathogenic bacteria, according to Yonit Wiener-Well, MD, and colleagues there." (medpagetoday.com)

Cracking The Conundrum Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome : Shots - Health Blog : NPR "Nearly three decades have passed since the debate began about a series of symptoms that have come to be known as chronic fatigue syndrome. It's cause is still unknown, but over the years, researchers have identified various brain, immune system and energy metabolism irregularities involved. Some patients describe the syndrome as feeling like an "unrelenting, unremitting flu." Doctors say some treatments can help." (npr.org)

This program aired on September 6, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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