Health plans say they'll risk losing members to protect profit margins Meanwhile, businesses and individuals are dropping coverage in the wake of higher insurance premiums. After 13 years, Congress OKs genetic bias ban The bill would bar health insurers from basing eligibility or premiums on genetic information. "When Dr. DeBakey spoke, everybody listened," says George Noon, MD, a long-time colleague and former student of heart surgeon pioneer Michael DeBakey, MD, whose 60-year medical career was recently honored when he received the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor. MORE HEADLINES ADVERTISEMENT

INSIDE THIS WEEK Deadline does not compute While individual doctors have embraced EMR systems, the nation is far from an interconnected, interoperable network to meet a 2014 goal. Government & Medicine Relative risk is all in the family Should you underwrite a family member's business venture? You can survive -- emotionally and financially. Business, page 2x1 Seeking the best cardio path How heart health markers are lowered may be as important as getting them down, say new cardiology studies. Health & Science NEED NEWS? E-mail alerts STAY INFORMED with RSS HEAR IT NOW on ReachMD

American Medical News - May 19, 2008 (vol. 51 no. 19)

GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE  Go to section
  EMR deadline does not compute: Falling short of 2014 goals
  Quick View - Medicare health plan pay headed up

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES  Go to section
  Heart surgeon pioneer wins highest civilian honor
  AMA to help monitor Blues settlement
  Hospitalized kids found at risk for drug errors

BUSINESS  Go to section
  Relative risk: Keeping financial enterprise all in the family
  Ohio hospital pays patients for bills from competing facilities

OPINION  Go to section
  Improvements on patient safety rules
  AMA Leader Commentary - Addressing the epidemic of video game overuse
  Letters - Physicians should be more realistic on national health insurance -- they have already experienced Medicare and others

HEALTH & SCIENCE  Go to section
  Seeking the best path (American College of Cardiology scientific session)
  Address mental health needs of returning troops, study says

American Medical News

American Medical News is the newspaper for America's physicians. Published since 1958, it is one of the most widely read publications in the United States on news affecting the medical profession. From Medicare and managed care to public health and practice management, no other source covers the same range of current events affecting medical practice.

American Medical News is published by the American Medical Association and is intended to serve as a credible forum for information affecting physicians and their practices. The content of articles and the opinions expressed in AMNews are not necessarily endorsed by the AMA.