The congress is made up of three conferences
1) Medical Tourism Conference,
2) Expatriate Healthcare Travel Insurance & Global Health Insurance Conference
3) Healthcare Development Conference; together they make most resourceful and immense congress of the world attended by government representatives, elite professionals and influencing organizations.

Designed for sharing, learning and networking, Jonathan Edelheit, CEO of the Medical Tourism Association spoke of the Congress: ”We are very excited at the caliber of participants we have for our 3rd annual global conference. The quality of the delegates of the conference is a clear indicator of the growth in the industry and the elite healthcare leaders who are presenting, sharing their insight and knowledge. We are constantly getting enormous response and are convinced that this congress will be Mecca gathering for healthcare, medical tourism & insurance professionals.”

It is important to note that Congress has created a dedicated networking sessions for business meetings. Participating organizations are commending efforts of Medical Tourism Association for creating such platform.

“The Medical Tourism Congress is an important opportunity to meet with others in the industry and advance the field of medical tourism in the United States,” said Jeff Argotsinger, Head of Swiss Re’s Medical Expense Group. ”Swiss Re appreciates the value of providing employers with the medical travel option as part of our employer stop loss coverage to reduce health care costs for eligible operations without sacrificing quality of care.”

Medical Tourism Recently announced the extensive agenda of congress and list of incredible speakers, coming exclusively with the sole purpose of providing a learning platform for industry stakeholders. The agenda of the congress was developed after meticulous evaluation of current trends, opportunities and challenges of the industry.

“We are attending the Medical Tourism Congress, because it is an opportunity for us to network with people in the industry, make some strategic alliances with facilitators, and ultimately bring more patients to our organization. The largest event of medical tourism, we expect to learn the challenges for patients to travel, the progress of the industry and be involved on the development of this great win win situation for everyone: from the patient to the hospitals and clinics, and everyone in between involved in the process, facilitators, insurance companies, tourist services and technology developers. It’s quite obvious that the future of medicine will be discussed in this type of forum and as a provider of high quality, latest technology, effective treatments we will not miss it for anything,” said Elias Bemaras, CEO, ProgenCell stem cell therapies.

The list of the participants will be updates regularly at www.MedicalTourismCongress.com, however partial list is available to view.

The Country Participant and Company Participant List can be viewed at: http://medicaltourismcongress.com/en/participant-list.html

The finalized agenda is available at: http://medicaltourismcongress.com/en/agenda.html

The finalized list of speakers is available at: http://medicaltourismcongress.com/en/speakers.html

The conference is the largest of its kind in the world and brings together the top healthcare leaders from around the world.

Some of the Participating Countries as of September 1st are -

Afghanistan – Argentina – Australia – Bahamas – Barbados – Belgium – Belize – Bermuda – Bosnia – Brazil – Bulgaria – Canada – China – Colombia – Costa Rica – Croatia – Cyprus – Denmark – Dominican Republic – Egypt – El Salvador – Ethiopia – France – Germany – Ghana – Greece – Guam – Guatemala – Hong Kong – Hungary – Iceland – India – Iran – Iraq- Israel – Japan – Jordan – Kazakhstan - Kenya – Latvia – Luxembourg – Malaysia – Mexico – New Zealand – Nigeria – Oman – Panama – Peru – Philippines – Qatar – Romania – Russian Federation – Serbia – Singapore – South Africa – South Korea – Spain – Sri Lanka – Sweden – Switzerland – Taiwan – Tanzania – Thailand – Tunisia – Turkey – U.S. Virgin Islands – Ukraine – United Arab Emirates – United Kingdom – Uruguay – USA – Vietnam

Some of the Participating Companies as of September 1^st are -

24 x7 Medical Tourism – AAAASFI (American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities, Inc) – AB Complete Medical Tour – ACS, a Xerox Company – Advanced Practice Nurse International -Adventist Hinsdale Hospital -Advisor Alliance – Aeromedevac – Aesthic Dentistry Costa – Rica – Aetna – Aflac – African Development Bank - Ageless Wonders Panama – AIICO GENERAL INSURANCE CO. LTD – AIMIS (American Institute of Minimal Invasive Surgery-Spine) – Air Ambulance Specialists – AirMed International, LLC – AirTran Airways – AIS Benefit Concepts LLC – Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. – Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. - Alianza Exportacion de Servicios de Salud – Al-Khalidi Hospital – Allianz Egypt – AllMedicalTourism.com – Allynjoyce, LLC - Almater Hospital – America Israeli Medical Association – American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) – American Medical and Life Insurance Company – American Seniors Association (ASA) – Amerinet - Anesthesia Consultants International, Inc. – Angeles Health International Inc. – ANGELS OF FLIGHT CANADA.INC – Anshen+Allen – Aon Consulting – APCO Worldwide – Apollo Hospitals Group – Arab Medical Centre – Arabia Insurance Company – Bahrain – Aranwa Hotels Resorts & Spas – Argentina Foundation – Argentina HealthCare – Fundacion Export.Ar – Argentine HealthCare – Aria Persian Shafa – Arroyo Insurance Services – Asclepeion-Intermedical Solutions – ASIAN JOURNAL – Asko – Assaf Harofeh Medical Center – ASSIST-CARD – Association for German Consulting Engineers and Architects, VBI – Assuta Medical Centers Ltd. – Atlantis Casino Resort Spa - Attorney and Ethics Consultant – Autoridad de Turismo de Panama (ATP) - Babcock & Helliwell – Badia Hand to Shoulder Center – BANGKOK DUSIT MEDICAL SERVICES – Baptist Health South Florida – Barbados Fertility Centre – Bavarian Ministry of Health – Beike Biotechnology – Belize Healthcare Partners Ltd – Benefit Controls Companies – BenefitsLab - Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust – Big Smile – Bill Lucas & Associates – Bill Lucas Insurance - Blackbaud, Inc. – Blood Centers of America – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana – Blue Shield of California - BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee – BM International – Boultbee & Co – Bovis Lend Lease LMB Inc. – Bradley/Dixie Companies – Brasil National Tourism – Breeden Benefit Group - Broker Benefit Services -
Bulgarian Cardiac Institute – Bumrungrad Hospital Public Company Limited – Bupa International – Burt, Hill – C.J. Meyers Co. LLC – Reinsurance Services – Cairo University – California Broker Magazine – California Hospital Associaiton – Cancer Treatment Centers of America – Cancun Cosmetic Dentistry – Cannon Design – Caribbean Health Travel Magazine – Carolina Benefit Designs – Catalan Tourist Board – Barcelona Medical Centre – Cayman Islands – CCHER - Center for Healthcare Emergency Readiness – CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Centro Dental de Especialistas – Centro Dental, Guatemala – CGFNS International (and Legacy Health System) – Chai Medical Tourism – Chatham Steel Corporation – Chihuahua Medical City – Children’s Hospital Boston – Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh - CIGNA – Circana Health Passport – Citigroup – Clements International – Cleveland Clinic CompreCare Affiliate – Clinica Biblica, Costa Rica – Clínica Colsanitas – Clinica del Occidente – Clinica del Prado – Clinica Las Condes, Santiago, Chile – Clinica San Pablo – Clinica Unibe S.A. Costa Rica – Clinica Universidad de Navarra – Clinical Support Services Sector – Dubai Health Authority – CMN Inc. – CMN/ Europ Assistance – CMPBS – Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems – Coalition America, Inc. – Cochin Medical City and Tourism – Collett Manor Sustainable Healthcare and Development – COLOMBIA TOURS SOLUTIONS – Colombian Government Trade Bureau- Proexport – Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company - Columbia University School of Social Work – Commercial Insurance – Westport Insurance Corporation - Continental Airlines – Continental Medical Travel – Coomeva Medicina Prepagada – Corporate Health and Wellness Association – Corporate Wellness Magazine – COSI – Cosmas Health – Cosmetic Dental Care – Costa Rica Medical Solutions – Costamed Clinics and Costadental -
Coulter & Associates – CreateACTivity, Inc. – CSG Systems – DANCA, Architects – Data Decision Group – DavidShield International Medical Insurance – DavidShield International Medical Insurance – Daviron Group LLC – DCB Insurance Services – Debson Medical Tourism Inc – Deggendorf University – DelAm / Atlas Expatriate Benefits – Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas – Austin, Texas – Dell Services – Deloitte – Brightman Almagor Zohar – Deloitte Consulting – DENTAL HOUSE – Dentis International Dental Care – Department of Health, Taiwan – Destination World Travel, LLC – Direct Laboratory Services, Inc. – Direct Labs – Discovery Communications – Diversified Communications – Diversified Surgical Management, LP – DNV Healthcare Inc. - DocFroc LLC – Doctors Hospital (Bahamas) Ltd. – Dominican University – Dr. Marco A. Muñoz Cavallini & Assoc. – Dubai Health Authority, UAE – Eastway insurance Agency, Inc. – El Salvador – ELITE IVF AG – Elite Underwriting Services - Ellis, LLC Ukraine – e-MedSol – Emerson – Equals3 – Equitec-Intersalud – eSSENTIAL Accessibility Inc. – Europ Assistance USA – Eva Claiborne Skin Institute – Evergreen General Agency, Inc – Executive Financial Advisors, inc – ExHealth, Dubai HealthCare City – Exigence – Fairmont Specialty – FLENI – Florida Med-Retreat – Fortis Healthcare Limited – Foscal – France Medical Services – Fresenius Medical Care EG – Frontier International Group, Inc. – Fundación Cardioinfantil – Fundacion Cardiovascular de Colombia – Fundacion Export.Ar – FUNDACION OFTALMOLOGICA DE SANTANDER – FV Hospital – Gallup, Inc. – GD3 Solutons Inc. – General Electric – German Healthcare Consulting – German National Tourist Board (GNTB) – German National Tourist Office – GH Healthcare Consultants – Global Benefit Associates -
Global Benefit Associates of California – Global Benefit Options – Global Crosswalk Inc – Global Excel – Global Excel Management Inc. - Global Health, Inc. – Global Healthcare Concierge – Global Spa and Wellness – Global Voyager Assistance (cyprus) LTD – Gordon Insurance Services – Gorgeous Getaways – Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureua – Green Crescent Insurance Company - Green MBA Program, Dominican University, CA – Green Nurture – Group Benefits Agency, Inc. – Grubb & Ellis – Guatemala Health & Wellness Tourism Commission of Agexport – Guatemala Tourism Board – Gulf Coast Medical Specialists – Gulf Medical University and GMC Hospitals – HAND AND UPPER EXTREMITY CENTER – HCC Medical Insurance Services – Health Expeditions LLC – Health Insurance, Ministry of Health –Syria – Health Policy and Communication Consultant – Health Systems International – Health Tourism Magazine – HealthCare Brazil – Healthcare Reform Magazine – Healthcare Without Harm (HCWH) – Healthcarebrazil.com – HealthGlobe – Healthways, Inc. - Heffernan Insurance Brokers - Hello Tourism and Travel Inc – Henry Ford Health System – Hernia Center of Southern California – HOK Advance Strategies – Homewood Health Centre – Hospital Aleman – Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz – Hospital Almatar, SA de CV -
Hospital Centro Médico – Hospital CIMA – Chihuahua – Hospital Clinica Biblica, Costa Rica – Hospital Clinica Biblica’s International Patient Department - HOSPITAL MEXICO AMERICANO – Hospital Pablo Tobon Uribe – Hospital Universitario Austral – Hospitals International – hospitalscout.com – HYUNDAI MEDIS – IBIS (International Benefits Information Service) Advisors – Ilan Geva & Friends – INGUAT (Guatemala Tourism Board) – Inha University Hospital – Inova Health Systems – Inser – Instituto Bariatrico – Insuremytrip.com – InterGlobal Insurance Company Ltd. (IGIC) – Interhealth South Africa / Egypt / Afghanistan – Intermedical Solutions – International Board of Medicine and Surgery – International Captive Managers Limited – International Medical Group – International Orthopedic Group - Badia Hand to Shoulder Center – International Relations & Health Affairs and Director of Health Minister’s - International Society of Medical Hydrology and Climatology – International SOS Assistance, Inc. – International University of Health and Welfare – Invest Barbados – ISI / GHI – ISPA International Spa Association – Israel Ministry of Tourism – Istiqlal Hospital – IVF Panama – Jack H. Horwitz Insurance Serivces Inc. – Jackson International – Jackson Memorial Hospital International – Japan Tourism Marketing Co. – Johns Hopkins Medicine International – Jordan Hospital – Jordan Investment Board – Jordan Private Hospitals Association – Jordan Private Hospitals Association (PHA) - Jordan Tourism Board – Kadeco – Kaniksu Consulting – Khalidi Hosiptal -
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre – King Hussein Cancer Centre – KIVULINI WOMEN’S RIGHTS ORGANISATION – Kiwi Medical – Klinikum Stuttgart – KONGRESIST at Healthcare – Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) – Korea International Medical Association (KIMA) – Korea University Anam Hospital – KPMG International Cooperative - Kraft Foods – KRK Resources - L2BW HealthCare & Wellness – LA Association of Health Underwriters – LabCorp – Land O’ Lakes, Inc. - LeClairRyan LLP – Leo Largoza Insurance Services - Levity Corporation – LIFE Support - Life’s Benefits and Insurance Services – Lockton Benefit Group – Lorenzana Dental Center – Lowdermilk and Associates, inc. - Lowe’s Companies, Inc. - Lufthansa German Airlines – M3 Insurance Solutions for Business (M3) – Maccabi-Dent – Mae de Deus Hospital – Majan International Agencies Travel & Tourism LLC - Mala’s Management Consultancy – Managed Benefit Plans Inc - Mandara Spa – Marsh U.S. Consumer, a service of Seabury & Smith, Inc – MaryKay – Mayfair Brooker Ltd – Mazzetti Nash Lipsey Burch (M+NLB) – McKinsey & Co, Harvard – Medcozy Medical Tourism – Medellin Health City – MEDEX Global Group – MEDEX Global Solutions – MediBid – Medica San Miguel – Medical Care Canada – Medical Destinations – Medical Helpline – Medical Services Organisation SA – Medical Tour Experts – Medical Tourism Associates – Medical Tourism Association – Medical Tourism Consultant – Medical Tourism Magazine – Medical Tourism Guatemala – MedicalTourism.com – MEDICHOL AUSTRALIA – Medicine Without Boundaries, LLC – Medicoast – Medihelp Clinic Services – MedSafe Travel, Inc. – Medtrav – Mercer Health & Benefits Services (Mercer) - Merian Iselin – Orthopaedic Clinic – Merwitzer Insurance Solutions – Midwest Business Group on Health – Ministry of Health Cayman Islands – Ministry of Health Holding – Singapore – Ministry of Health Japan, -
Ministry of Health Syria – Ministry of Health United Arab Emirates – Ministry of Tourism Brazil – Ministry of Welfare and Labor Japan and Japan National Tourism Agency – Mintz Levin – Miyako Hybrid Hotel – Moinhos de Vento Hospital – Molbek Development – Mondial Assistance USA – Moolchand Healthcare Group – MoPH/COMPRI – Morehead State University - Moscow Medical & Health Tourism – MSPA International, Mandara Spa, JW Marriott – Mutual Healthcare Development Ltd. – Mylooks Danmark SMBA - NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) - National Australian Bank – National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) – National Health Service, UK – National Insurance Specialists - National Preferred Provider Organization - NBBJ (Naramore, Bain, Brady & Johanson) – Nelson J. Merwitzer & Associates - Network of Better Medical Care – New Leaf Venture Partners – NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital – Nixon Benefits – Norfolk Mobility Benefits – North American Surgery, Inc – Northwest Community Hospital – Oak Park Financial & Insurance Services - OECD - Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development - Office of State Personnel, North Carolina – OLAJUMOKE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL – On Call International – One Hundred Years, LLC – Optiláser – P.P. Minerals Pvt. Ltd. – PAHEF - Pan American Health and Education Foundation – PAHO - Pan American Health Organization – Pan American Life Insurance Group – Panama – Partners Havard Medical International – Partners Insurance – Partners International – Passport Medical, Inc. – PCFI Senior Living and Leisure Corp. -
Penn Medicine – Perkins+Will – Perpetual Equity – PeruMedicalTours – Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc – Philippine Dept. of Tourism – Pine Creek Medical Center – Piper Jordan – PlacidWay – Plan To Win Insurance Agency – Planet Esperanto XXI – PMCS – Polenzani Benefits & Insurance Services – Porto Alegre Health Care – Brasil – Porto Alegre, Brazil - PPD, Inc. – Precept – Preferred Medical Claim Solutions - PREMIER CHARTER TRAVELS – Premier Jets – Prince Court Medical Center, Malaysia – PROCOMER – PROESA Investment El Salvador – Progencell – PROMED – Promotora Médica Las Américas – Public Employees Health Program – Public Healthcare Group, Singapore – Puerta de Las Americas – Putnam/Price – Qatar Insurance Company-Doha – Quality Health Management (QHM) – Quality Resources International – Rapport Benefits Group, Inc. – Recife, Brazil – Reed Group – Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield - Revstone Industries LLC – REZA Consultancy – Route Three Employee Benefits – Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. - RTKL Associates Inc. - Saint Augustine clinic – Salud sin fronteras – SAM Medical Center – Santa Casa Hospital – Sao Lucas Hospital – Scholle Packaging - Seattle’s Convention & Visitors Bureau – Select Energy Services, LLC – Self Funding Employer Association – Self Funding Magazine – Seoul National University Hospital USA, INC. – SEOUL ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL US OFFICE – Seven Corners, Inc – Shaw Hankins – Shuang Ho Hospital – Singapore Tourism Board – Sky Service Air Ambulance – SKYBOND HEALTH PLAZA NIG LTD – Skyservice Air Ambulance – SmithGroup - SMTUR – Sorry Works! – Southeastern Spine Center and Research Institute – Southern Cross University – SpaFinder, Inc. – Spa-Med-Holiday – Spas of America – spaYOGA+ – Spazio Urbano – Specialty Hospital – Specialty Hospital – Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center,Inc – Spur Interactive – SQEAssure – Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP – Sri-Samudarasanna Vaharaya – St. Frances Cabrini Medical Center, Inc. – St. Joseph’s Candler Health System – Stackpole & Associates, Inc. -
Star Management Consultancy – StarNeuro – Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. – State of Arkansas – State of Montana – Steele Briggs Insurance Brokerage, Inc. - Stop-Loss Brokerage, Inc. – STUWEB TRAVELS LTD – SunMed International, LLC – Sunshine Medical Tourism, LLC – SuperSmartHealth – Surgical Trip LLC – Swiss Reinsurance Company – Syria Ministry of Health – Taipei Medical University – Taipei Medical University Hospital – Teleflex Medical – Teleosis Institute - Texas Benefit – Thailand Medical Travel & Tourism – The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers (AAHID) – The Biggest Loser – Season 2 – The Center for Progressive Sports Medicine – The Compliance Team, Inc. – The Consolidated Marketing Group - The Exigence Group – The Lloyd Law Group PC – The Mahoney Group – The Nolan Group – The Spine Center – The State of Montana Health Care and Benefit Division - Thoits Insurance Service, Inc. - Thomas E. Mestmaker Insurance & Associates inc. – THTDC Turkish Healthcare Tourism development Council – Tourism Authority of Thailand – Transpelo – Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada – Travel Insurance Center – Travel Partner International – Treatment Abroad Russia – Treatment Abroad Ukraine – Tri Wellness - Trusted Insurance Services -
Tucson Medical Center – Turkish Airlines – Turkish Culture and Tourism Office – Turn to Jordan – Turnkey Consulting USA, LLC – UBIFRANCE – French Trade Commission – UC San Diego Health System – UCLA School of Public Health – UKE Consult & Management – United Family Healthcare – United States Department of Energy – United States Environmental Protection Agency - UnitedHealth Group – UnitedHealth International – Univers Workplace Benefits – University Insurance Agency LLC - University Medical Center Hamburg-Epppendorf – University of Alabama at Birmingham – University of Alabama at Birmingham, Health Services Administration – University Of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) – University of Miami International Medicine Institute – University of Miami Medical Center – University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital – University of Washington, Integrated Design Lab – Urban Ltd. – USAID Jordan Economic Development Program – USBenefits Insurance Services – USGBC - United States Green Building Council – USI Insurance Services – USNOW – Veiovis – Verisign – Verso Paper Corp. – Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. – VK Studio Architects, Planners and Designers – Belgium - Voluntary Benefits Magazine – Walt Disney Company – Wan Fang Hospital – Warner Pacific Insurance Services – Washington National Insurance Company - Waterford Center for Integrative Medicine – Wealth Management – Webb and Greer Insurance Agency - Weight Loss Forever – Wellness Health Fairs – Westport Insurance Corporation - WHR Architects, Inc – Williams and West LLC – Willis – WinningMan.com – wonkwang universty hospital – World Bank – World Med Access – World Medical Resources – WorldMed Assist – www.MedicalTourism.com – www.visitandcare.com – Xellum Management Consulting – Xetica Argentina – Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone Authority- YESFEZ – Zebra Technologies Corporation - Zotai General Trading

More information on the Congresses is available at their respective websites

http://www.medicaltourismcongress.com

http://www.expatriateconference.com

http://www.healthcaredevelopmentconference.com

The Medical Tourism Association™ (Global Healthcare Association) http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com is the first and only international non-profit trade association for the medical tourism and global healthcare industry made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliated companies and members with the common goal of promoting the highest level of quality of healthcare to patients in a global environment. Our Association (Global Healthcare Association) promotes the interests of its healthcare provider and medical tourism facilitator members. The Medical Tourism Association™ (Global Healthcare Association) has three tenets: Transparency in Quality and Pricing, Communication and Education.

-The companies listed above are attendees of the 2010 World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress, the Expatriate Healthcare, Travel Insurance and Global Health Insurance Conference and the Sustainable Healthcare & Hospital Development Conference. All conferences will be held in Los Angeles, CA on Sept. 22-24, 2010.

The $5 billion program is a key “bridge” provision of the new health-care law, intended to encourage employers to maintain coverage of early retirees and their families until states are able to establish federally subsidized health insurance exchanges in 2014. At that point, early retirees dropped by their employers presumably could purchase insurance through the exchanges at more affordable rates than the ones currently available to them on the individual market.

But the large number of employers deemed eligible in the first round of applications has prompted concern that the program will run out of funds long before its expiration in 2014.

The applicants approved so far span a broad spectrum: Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, major unions, schools, local governments and nonprofit groups.

Among them is the conglomerate Koch Industries, one of whose principal owners, billionaire David Koch, has been a major funder of groups that lobbied heavily to defeat the health-care law. “Once laws or programs are enacted we will not place ourselves or our employees at a disadvantage by turning our back on incentives offered to our competitors,” said the company’s director of communication, Melissa Cohlmia. Many state governments that are party to a lawsuit contesting the health-care law’s constitutionality also applied successfully.

The new federal fund will reimburse up to 80 percent of a covered individual’s medical costs over $15,000 and up to $90,000.

Employers can use the reimbursement to lower early retirees’ premiums and other costs. But at a news conference Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the principal goal was to halt the steady decline of employers offering coverage to early retirees.

The share of large firms providing such coverage dropped from 66 percent in 1988 to 29 percent in 2009, though not much of that decline occurred recently. Because of their age and higher likelihood of having a pre-existing condition, early retirees attempting to buy insurance on the individual market face premiums that are four times those of young adults, if they get covered at all.

“For many people, early retirement is not their choice. Maybe it’s a family situation or a health condition,” Sebelius said. “So if employers want to do the right thing . . . we’re going to help make it happen.”

In a recent analysis, economist Paul Fronstin of the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute says that if all eligible groups were to apply, the $5 billion in the program would run out by the end of next year – two years before health exchanges arrive.

Even if that happens, Fronstin said it is unlikely that many employers will cut the estimated 1.3 million early retirees and family members on their rolls.

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 31, 2010; 11:15 PM

“I can confirm we plan to appeal,” said Tracy Schmaller, a Justice Department spokesperson, adding that the department was “likely to file this week.”

She said the department would both appeal US District Judge Royce Lambert’s temporary suspension of federal funding for stemcell research and seek a stay of the suspension while the appeal is pending.

“The president said very plainly that this is important, life-saving research,” White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters earlier. “We’re reviewing all possibilities.”

“We’re reviewing it so we can keep this important, potentially life-saving research moving forward in the most ethical way possible,” he said. President Barack Obama authorized the renewal of federal funding in March 2009, reversing a ban imposed by his predecessor George W. Bush in 2001 on moral and religious grounds.

In lifting the ban, Obama rejected what he said was a “false choice” between sound science and moral values.

But in his ruling Monday, Lambert sided with a group that includes several Christian organizations who argued that federal funding would go for research that involved destroying human embryos, which it argued violated a 1996 law.

Scientists, who had lauded the easing of Bush-era restrictions, saw the latest turn as a dismaying setback for research that is believed to hold great potential for treatment of diseases like diabetes, Alzheimers and Parkinson’s.

“I was stunned,” said Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, which sets the rules for stemcell research funded by the federal government.

“This decision has the potential to do serious damage to one of the more promising areas of biomedical research and just at a time when we were gaining momentum,” he told reporters in a conference call.

Calling the consequences of the ruling “dramatic and far reaching,” Collin said 50 grant proposals that were awaiting peer review have been pulled, and as much as 74 million dollars in grant monies for other projects has been frozen.

“If this decision stands, very promising research on human diseases for which we need new insights and new options will not get done,” he said.

“It’s back to the future,” said Kurt Civin, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

Civin said institutions around the country are now scrambling to understand the implications of the ruling and determine how their research projects might be affected.

“It seems that we will have to put a lot of research in the freezer right now,” he told AFP.

William Caldwell, CEO of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts, said not all such research would stop because there were still state and private sources of funding.

“I do believe there is a strong, positive sentiment in Congress, actually on both the Republican and the Democratic side, to support embryonic stem cell development in this country,” he said.

Researchers believe that stem cells, so-called because they are the foundation for all human cells, provide two promising avenues for scientists.

First, they can be used for research that cannot be performed inside the body. But scientists believe they can also coax the foundational cells into cardiac, pancreatic or brain cells to replace damaged or infected cells and allow tissue or organs to reconstitute themselves.

There are three types of stem cells currently being examined for their potential medical research value.

Embryonic stem cells, which are extracted from human embryos; adult stem cells, which are taken from the body or from elements discarded after birth, such the umbilical cord; and induced pluripotent stem cells — adult stem cells that have been genetically modified to resemble embryonic stem cells.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

The embryonic hearts in question came from quail eggs. Each quail embryo was only two or three days old so the heart measured just 2 cubic millimeters in volume; at that stage, the heart is essentially a clump of cells that hasn’t yet developed its four-chambered structure. The pulses of infrared light were delivered by an optical fiber that ended 500 micrometres from the embryo.

Before they switched on the laser, the heart beat once every 1.5 seconds, but firing the laser twice a second quickened the heartbeat to match the laser rate as long as the laser fired…. ”It worked beautifully: the heart rate was in lockstep with the laser pulse rate,” says [study coauthor] Duco Jansen of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. [New Scientist]

Several years ago, a different scientific team showed that laser pulses could set the pace of a cluster of heart cells in a petri dish, but the new study, published in Nature Photonics, marks the first time a laser has set the pace of an entire heart. Lead author Michael Jenkins of Case Western Reserve University says the technique will offer a new way to study heart development.

“We want to know how congenital heart defects form, and how the heart’s rhythms during development affect it later on,” he says. “Having a noninvasive way to modify the heart rate would be useful.” [ScienceNOW]

At the energy level used the laser pulses didn’t appear to damage the cells, but the researchers intend to thoroughly investigate the safety of the process. They’ll also be looking into other details–like how exactly this mechanism works. At the moment, it’s still unclear.

They suggest that it might create a temperature gradient that can stimulate “action potential in excitable tissues,” as was also proposed in earlier work on clusters of cardiomyocytes.

The devaluation of doctors’ time continues unabated.

As we move into our new era of health care delivery with millions more needing physician time (and other health care provider’s time, for that matter) –- we’re seeing a powerful force emerge –- a subtle marketing of limitless physician availability facilitated by the advance of the electronic medical record, social media, and smartphones.

Doctors, you see, must be always present, always available, always giving.

These sound like dire words, but the degree to which it has resonated around the Web among doctors is telling.

Dr. Wes continues:

Increasingly the question becomes -– if we choose future doctors on their willingness to sacrifice for others without expectation of appropriate boundaries and compensation -– will we be drawing from the same pool of people as the ones who will make the best technically-skilled clinicians? What type of person will enter medicine if they know that their personal life will always take second place to patient care?

Dr. Brian V (long last name, but another one whom you all should read) adds his voice to this:

It started with the pager and it’s evolved to real-time social media.

I’ve seen it too many times: Physicians excited to please open the door to unlimited patient email only to see themselves shutting their families out at night as they answer questions –- all for free. And those physicians who suggest that emails should carry a fee are indicted for greed.

We have been on electronic medical records (EMR) for 14 years, yet we don’t accept email from our patients. We could do it, but we don’t –- and both of these doctors hit on the head the reason why we don’t. The goal of IT in our office can be summed up in one word: efficiency. The practice of medicine has become dominated with non-clinical tasks:

* We have to gather information and organize it.
* We have to serve as an “information central” for our patients, collecting from disparate sources to make informed choices.
* We have to comply with the maze of government and insurance industry rules.
* We have to give information to patients and to other medical providers.

So what actually happens in our office is less medicine and more information management. IT allows us to do this in less time, leaving more time for our patients.

Accepting emails from patients at this point would mean more time spent doing unreimbursed tasks. Actually, it would potentially decrease our revenue, handling problems outside of the office (for free) instead of being paid for our services. Doing so would give us three options:

1. Working extra hours to make up for lost revenue.
2. Giving free care via email and just accepting less pay, seeing less patients total.
3. Spending less time with each patient to make up for the decreased revenue.

I am busy enough that I don’t want anyone to have to come in for things I could handle remotely. Email communication with patients sounds ideal in many ways. But unfortunately, the business case for this is so bad that we can’t open ourselves up to patient emails. One answer would be to have a minimal charge for an e-visit ($20?), which would be credited toward an office visit if the e-visit warranted that the person come in to be seen. The amount needs to be enough to ward off frivolous questions, and would have to be applicable to ALL insurances (including Medicare and Medicaid).

Email also works well with the idea of the “medical home,” which reimburses doctors for overall care of populations. (I give my opinion on the medical home in this post.)

Until this happens –- until we are somehow paid for giving care outside of the office –- this useful technology will remain unused. Is it greedy to not want to give things away for free? Is it greedy for me to not want to spend less time with my family, make less money, or spend less time with patients? Is it greedy to think I am worth $20?

If so, you can call me greedy.

August 10th, 2010 by DrRob in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion

Galeria de Fotos de todo el XXX Congreso Médico en Bogotá, Colombia ver este enlace

Perhaps it’s in the nature of regenerative medicine news to multiply. Earlier today stem cell researchers announced the first clinical trial using adult stem cells to treat a spinal cord injury would begin at the end of the month. Now, two studies have hit the wire this afternoon detailing two different ways to fix damaged hearts, one by turning structural cells into beating heart tissue, another by restoring mammals’ long-lost ability to regenerate heart tissue much as some amphibians regenerate lost limbs.

The first study, conducted at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of California, San Francisco, reprogrammed fibroblasts — structural heart cells that cannot beat — into beating cells by adding a handful of genes into the mix. The team took the genes that turn cells in a developing embryo into cardiomyocytes, or beating heart tissue cells.

By adding these genes — there were only three of them — to fibroblasts removed from mice and reinserted the gene-loaded fibroblasts into living mice, the cells transformed into beating heart tissue within a day.

The second study looked to amphibians like newts to figure out why mammals cannot regenerate tissue like amphibians can. Some studies have theorized that over time, mammals gave up the ability to regenerate because the process can also lead to runaway cell division — cancer. A genetic tumor suppressor may have evolved somewhere along the way that keeps humans from regenerating everything from severed limbs to damaged heart tissue.

Researchers found that a couple of genes — retinoblastoma, or Rb, and another known as ARF — are involved in tumor suppression. So they blocked the genes in mice with heart problems. Their heart cells then began to grow and divide, replacing old and damaged tissue.

Of course, both of these therapies need a whole lot of scrutiny, testing, and more testing before they end up in human trials, but either or both could spell big news for those living under the constant specter of heart failure. When humans suffer from heart attacks, their heart cells die (how many depends on the severity of the attack and how long they are deprived of oxygen). This leaves inactive scar tissue behind that does not regenerate, meaning that person is permanently left with a faulty heart that never heals (hence all the assistive mechanical devices like the one former VP Dick Cheney just received).

Something like 5 million Americans live with heart failure constantly threatening. The ability to regenerate those damaged cardiovascular tissues that keep our hearts strong would allow our bodies to repair themselves without resorting to extremely risky transplant surgeries or invasive implanted medical devices.

[Reuters] Clay Dillow

The new company will “tackle chronic diseases and age-related disease,” said Ishrak, who will serve as the company’s chairman.

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Source: Bloomberg

The Medicare hospital trust fund is not projected to exhaust its funds until 2029, 12 years later than forecast last year, according to an annual report.

However, the deep recession ate into receipts for another major program for retired Americans, Social Security, helping push it into deficit for the first time in 27 years, the same report from the two programs’ trustees said.

In the long run, Social Security, which was benefiting 53 million Americans at the end of 2009, was due to exhaust its reserves in 2037, the report said, the same date as was projected in last year’s assessment.

The yawning U.S. budget deficit and the Obama administration’s healthcare overhaul are among politically polarizing issues in November mid-term elections.

The administration hailed Medicare’s improved finances, and some smaller benefits to Social Security, as a dividend from healthcare reform, while critics cited the financial problems facing the two retiree programs as evidence of grave fiscal problems.

“The impact of healthcare reform is made clear by the trustees reports, which show some very positive developments for Social Security and especially Medicare,” Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, one of the trustees, said at a press conference.

The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, Judd Gregg, said the administration should focus on cash shortfalls in Medicare and Social Security instead of how far off in the future the programs’ funds will expire.

“The crisis is upon our doorstep,” he said in a statement. “As of this year, both of these massive entitlement programs will have more going out than coming in.”

Social Security accounted for about $678 billion, or 20 percent of the U.S. budget in the 2009 fiscal year, while Medicare and its companion Medicaid healthcare program for the poor claimed $676 billion.

Although the financial difficulties facing the two programs have been apparent for years, politicians have been unable to agree on how to put them on sounder footing. Lawmakers have been reluctant to cut benefits or raise taxes or set aside enough revenue to keep them running at current levels.

HEALTH SAVINGS

The report said cost savings to the Medicare program would come through reductions in projected payment increases to hospitals and healthcare providers in coming years.

However, over the past several years, Congress has regularly blocked cuts in planned Medicare payments to physicians.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged the administration would need to strike a balance between the controversial pay adjustments, which could drive some healthcare providers away from the Medicare program, and the need to reduce costs to ensure the long-term health of the program.

The funds’ trustees urged lawmakers to address the looming financial problems of the programs soon. In addition to Sebelius and Geithner, trustees include Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

The Medicare report acknowledged the softening recovery will add an additional obstacle to the financial health of the programs. The report assumed a return to full employment will not happen until 2017, two years later than projected last year.

After a painful recession, the U.S. budget deficit is expected this year to top the record $1.41 trillion hit in 2009, and the national debt has reached $13 trillion.

The annual report is usually released in April or May but the trustees delayed publication to study how the fate of the programs would be affected by recently passed healthcare reform legislation.

A blue ribbon bipartisan commission is due to make recommendations by December about how to improve the long-range state of U.S. finances, and is expected to offer thoughts on how to put the two programs on sounder long-term footing.

Source: Reuters