Health and Human Services News and Research

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Bay Area nonprofit hospitals struggle with finances; Medicaid plan for neighborhood clinics in New Orleans approved

When Mountain View's El Camino Hospital last month announced plans to lay off about 140 workers due largely to a rise in nonpaying clients, the medical provider highlighted a debate over the financial health of the Bay Area's nonprofit hospitals.

24 Sep 2010

New online health care reform resource from WebMD

WebMD Health Corp., the leading source of health information for consumers and health care professionals, is launching a new online resource to help Americans better understand the health care reform provisions that go into effect today. WebMD's health care reform resource presents a series of exclusive video interviews with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as well as in-depth editorial coverage, blogs, community and interactive polls.

23 Sep 2010

NextGen Healthcare becomes CCHIT Certified for Dermatology and Behavioral Health

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced that NextGen® Ambulatory EHR version 5.6, a CCHIT Certified® 2011 Ambulatory EHR, has been additionally certified for Dermatology and Behavioral Health in the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology's (CCHIT®) certification program.

23 Sep 2010

Researchers recruit pregnant women to study environment influences on children's health

The National Children's Study has initiated recruitment at 30 additional study locations around the United States. Study researchers at these locations seek to enroll women who are pregnant or may become pregnant in the next few years.

23 Sep 2010

Interleukin Genetics announces clinical study data on osteoarthritis progression

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. and the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced today findings from a large clinical study to evaluate the role of genetic factors in osteoarthritis progression which showed patients with radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis who inherited a specific pattern of genetic variations in the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) gene were almost twice as likely to progress to severe disease as other patients.

23 Sep 2010

Polls show continued confusion over health law as battle for public support continues

A new AP poll has found that more than half of Americans believe in error that the health law will raise their taxes this year. The law is also muddying up the minds of many struggling to figure out what the provisions mean to them.

23 Sep 2010

Titan completes enrollment in Probuphine Phase 3 study for opioid addiction

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that patient enrollment is now complete in the confirmatory, Phase 3 clinical study of Probuphine for the treatment of opioid addiction. This placebo and active controlled Phase 3 study is being conducted at 20 sites in the United States and the results are expected in the second quarter of 2011, about three months ahead of the original schedule.

22 Sep 2010

Newborn Coalition praises SACHDNC's Critical Congenital Heart Disease universal screening recommendation

In a historic vote on September 17, 2010, the Secretary's Advisory Committee for Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (SACHDNC) unanimously agreed to recommend the addition of screening for Critical Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease to the core panel for universal screening of all newborns in the United States.

22 Sep 2010

UC researcher receives NIDA’s Avant-Garde Award for cocaine addiction research

A University of Cincinnati (UC) researcher will receive $2.5 million over five years from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to support his work on a potential immunotherapy for cocaine addiction.

22 Sep 2010

NIDA's Avant-Garde Awards support novel approaches for treating tobacco and cocaine addiction

A potential immunotherapy, a new gene therapy, an enzyme inhibitor, and a compound originally isolated from a Chinese herb are among the latest approaches scientists are proposing to treat addiction.

22 Sep 2010

JHS conference focuses on future research directions to eliminate health disparities

The tenth anniversary of the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) will be observed on Sept. 23-24 in Jackson, Mississippi. The JHS is the largest study in history to investigate genetic factors that affect high blood pressure, heart and lung disease, stroke, diabetes, and other important diseases in African-Americans.

22 Sep 2010

MIDAS researchers continue to model how H1N1 may spread

As the United States prepares for the upcoming flu season, a group of researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health continues to model how H1N1 may spread.

22 Sep 2010

Study links progressive osteoarthritis to IL-1Ra gene variations

Scientists from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and Interleukin Genetics, Inc. announced today findings from a large clinical study to evaluate the role played by genetic factors in the worsening of osteoarthritis.

22 Sep 2010

Clinton Global Initiative meeting kicks off, U.S. will commit to Clean Cookstove project

"World leaders, CEOs, non-governmental organizations and philanthropists" are gathering this week at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, "[t]imed to coincide with the beginning of the United Nations General Assembly," WNYC News reports (Herman, 9/20).

22 Sep 2010

Republicans plan to chip away at health law; Senators call for insurance rate hearings

The New York Times: Republicans are hopeful they can pick up enough seats in November's midterm elections to chip away at the new health law. "This goal, though not fleshed out in a detailed legislative proposal, is much more than a campaign slogan. That conclusion emerged from interviews with a wide range of Republican lawmakers, who said they were determined to chip away at the law if they could not dismantle it." Republicans are expected to release specifics of the plan Thursday.

22 Sep 2010

Sebelius: Medicare Advantage premium costs to decline slightly in 2011

The Associated Press: "Seniors enrolled in popular private health insurance plans through Medicare will pay a little less on average next year, the Obama administration said Tuesday. The average monthly premium in so-called Medicare Advantage plans will dip to $35.69 in 2011, a 45-cent reduction from $36.14 this year, Medicare officials said."

22 Sep 2010

Health overhaul details trigger uncertainty, debate

The Orlando Sentinel: "It's one of the most overlooked pieces of health-care overhaul, but a plan to help companies pay health-care costs for early retirees has proved popular in Florida, where 69 companies and government agencies have applied for federal help.

22 Sep 2010

Aethlon Medical reestablishes efforts to advance Aethlon Hemopurifier

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, disclosed today that it has reestablished efforts to advance the Aethlon Hemopurifier within U.S. Government programs that support the development and purchase of treatment countermeasures against bioterror threats.

21 Sep 2010

HHS awards ICF International $11.7M contract under CDC task order

ICF International, a leading provider of consulting services and technology solutions to government and commercial clients, has been awarded a new $11.7 million contract by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The contract has a term of three years. The contract is awarded under a CDC National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities ID/IQ task order.

21 Sep 2010

New genes associated with osteoarthritis progression

21 Sep 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

Bay Area nonprofit hospitals struggle with finances; Medicaid plan for neighborhood clinics in New Orleans approved

New online health care reform resource from WebMD

NextGen Healthcare becomes CCHIT Certified for Dermatology and Behavioral Health

Researchers recruit pregnant women to study environment influences on children's health

Interleukin Genetics announces clinical study data on osteoarthritis progression

Polls show continued confusion over health law as battle for public support continues

Titan completes enrollment in Probuphine Phase 3 study for opioid addiction

Newborn Coalition praises SACHDNC's Critical Congenital Heart Disease universal screening recommendation

UC researcher receives NIDA’s Avant-Garde Award for cocaine addiction research

NIDA's Avant-Garde Awards support novel approaches for treating tobacco and cocaine addiction

JHS conference focuses on future research directions to eliminate health disparities

MIDAS researchers continue to model how H1N1 may spread

Study links progressive osteoarthritis to IL-1Ra gene variations

Clinton Global Initiative meeting kicks off, U.S. will commit to Clean Cookstove project

Republicans plan to chip away at health law; Senators call for insurance rate hearings

Sebelius: Medicare Advantage premium costs to decline slightly in 2011

Health overhaul details trigger uncertainty, debate

Aethlon Medical reestablishes efforts to advance Aethlon Hemopurifier

HHS awards ICF International $11.7M contract under CDC task order

New genes associated with osteoarthritis progression

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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