Obama, GOP Seek Accord On health care, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said after the meeting the president should start from scratch. Mr. Obama repeated he was open to new approaches as long as they achieve his goals, and argued that many Republican ideas are already in the pending bills (The Wall Street Journal). No High Hopes For Health Care Summit Immediately after President Barack Obama announced a bipartisan health reform summit, Democrats and Republicans made clear they have almost no expectation the half-day meeting can break a bitter yearlong standoff (Politico). Congress Opens Probe Into Anthem Blue Cross Rate Increases Congress opened an investigation Tuesday into Anthem Blue Cross' impending rate increases in California as President Obama cited the premium hikes -- some as high as 39% -- in his bid to pass national healthcare legislation (Los Angeles Times). Long-Term Care Hospitals Face Little Scrutiny No one at the hospital noticed that Tina Bell-Jackman was dying. On the night of June 26, 2007, Ms. Bell-Jackman turned restlessly in her bed in Room 7 at Select Specialty Hospital of Kansas City, a small medical center that specializes in treating chronically ill patients. Ms. Bell-Jackman, a 46-year-old with diabetes, had been hospitalized at Select for five weeks, was increasingly agitated and could not speak because of a surgical hole in her throat (The New York Times).

FDA To Increase Oversight Of Medical Radiation The federal Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it would take steps to more stringently regulate three of the most potent forms of medical radiation, including increasingly popular CT scans, some of which deliver the radiation equivalent of 400 chest X-rays (The New York Times). Sign up to receive this list of First Edition headlines via email. Check out all of Kaiser Health News' email options including First Edition and Breaking News alerts on our Subscriptions page.

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