Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid's health reform bill fulfills the promise that more than 132 million Americans with family dental coverage can keep their current dental plan without disrupting established dentist-patient relationships, according to the National Association of Dental Plans. [More]

Unilever United States, Inc., of Englewood Cliffs, NJ, in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is voluntarily recalling certain Shedd’s Country Crock® chilled side-dish products because they may contain undeclared sulfites. [More]

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. Scientists hope the finding could lead to an effective therapy to target and inhibit the expression of this gene resulting in inhibition of cancer growth. [More]

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) announced their opposition to the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” released this week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. [More]

There are 18 separate tax hikes in the Reid-Obama healthcare bill. One of them caps the amount that can be deferred in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) at $2500 per year (a similar provision was included in the Pelosi-Obama health bill and written about by Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rogers, R-Was., for National Review Online). [More]

The National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI) today announced a new initiative in the war on methamphetamine. The National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) is a multi-state electronic tracking program that enforces purchase limitations on over-the-counter (OTC) medicines containing pseudoephedrine in real-time at the point of sale. [More]

Say hello to Botax, the 5% tax on cosmetic procedures that was a surprise addition to the roughly 2,000 page health care reform bill. The proposed tax, scheduled to take effect January 2010, has been suggested as a way to help fund health care reform. [More]

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops urged the Senate to make essential changes its health reform bill in order to keep in place federal law on abortion funding and conscience protection on abortion, protect access to health care for immigrants and include strong provisions for adequate affordability. [More]

Long term care insurance may not seem like headline news or talk-show fare, but Denise Gott pursues the topic with passion and flair. "I'm on a mission to wake up America," she says. Her message is now appearing on CNN newscasts in the nation's airports and broadcasts on Delta Air Line flights. Gott is Chairman of the Board of LTC Financial Partners LLC (LTCFP) -- http://www.ltcfp.com -- one of the nation's largest and most experienced long-term care insurance agencies. [More]

Older adults who have alcohol dependence problems drink significantly more than do younger adults who have similar problems, a new study has found. [More]

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders. [More]

Medidata Solutions, Inc., a leading global provider of hosted clinical development solutions, today announced that it filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of 4.5 million shares of common stock of the company. [More]

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, has collaborated with the Discovery Health Channel to produce a program profiling three patients with metastatic breast cancer and their healthcare team as they customize each patient's treatment regimen to their individual tumor type and health status. [More]

Toxic dust: Toxins in coal-tar-based sealcoats in parking lots may be the culprit in contaminated house dust, according to a USGS study. PAHs - or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - are large molecules found in oil, coal and tar deposits, and can have toxic effects. [More]

The Department of Health today began providing free H1N1 flu shots to members of priority groups that did not have previous access to the vaccine. [More]