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A new study by federal officials finds that state, local and federal health spending has steadily increased. And, the nation's health spending as a share of the economy jumped in 2009 by 1.1 points to 17.3 percent.

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin unveiled a bill this week that would abolish most forms of private health insurance and move state residents into a publicly funded insurance pool.

Some states allow pharmacists to take charge of medication-related care for patients as long as any changes made by pharmacists are communicated to the patients' doctors.

The more oral sex someone has had, the greater their risk of getting oral cancers that grow in the middle part of the throat. Transmission of the human papillomavirus is the reason, a leading researcher says.

Patients often welcome palliative care once it is explained that it can be more than hospice care. Many doctors, on the other hand, are still slow to embrace the approach.

When the severity of patient sickness and special local expenses are taken into account, some areas marked by big Medicare outlays flip from profligate to average or even frugal, according to the calculations from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Few options are available for the 42,000 Pennsylvanians losing coverage by the end of the month. Their state-subsidized health plan is out of money, and new Republican Gov. Tom Corbett is terminating the program.

Potential Republican presidential contender Gov. Haley Barbour made it clear at a House hearing that he wants control over how to spend Mississippi's Medicaid money. He challenged the administration to switch funding to block grants.

To reduce the odds a patient will have to return to the hospital, some health systems are trying to do a better job coordinating care. Starting in 2012, the federal health law will penalize hospitals for excess readmissions for some conditions.

A Maryland program to prevent hospital complications goes further than most, including those already under way in Medicare and new ones slated to begin next year under the health care overhaul law.