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Hearing date set for injunction request on Express Scripts-Medco merger

The judge overseeing a private antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX)'s acquisition of Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) set a hearing for April 10 on a request for an injunction to undo the deal.

5 Apr 2012

Financial incentives for purchasing a healthier food option

The aging baby boomers and subsequent generations will be looking to the food industry to provide products that can help them live longer, healthier and more active lives than previous generations, according to research presented at the Institute of Food Technologists' Wellness 12 meeting.

5 Apr 2012

GOP plans for health law replacement; Obama softens court rhetoric

Republican lawmakers say they are beginning to pull together a health care package that could replace the 2010 law if the Supreme Court overturns it.

5 Apr 2012

Hospital news: Officials plan new building in Colo.; Mich. facility is shutting down

In hospital news: Denver hospital officials plan an expansion, a Michigan hospital says it's shutting down, and in Massachusetts, Steward Health Care plans to buy a hospital.

5 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 5, 2012

In today's headlines, reports about how the budget debate is mixing into presidential poiltics.

5 Apr 2012

Recycled glasses costs twice as much as ready-made glasses

You might feel good sending your old reading glasses to a developing country. But a recent international study, led by the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), a collaborating partner in the Vision CRC, in Sydney, suggests it is far better to give $10 for an eye examination and a new pair of glasses if you want to help someone in desperate need, and it is far better for building capacity in these communities.

5 Apr 2012

U.N. reports increase in cholera cases in Haiti as rains begin

In a monthly bulletin on the humanitarian response in Haiti, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that an increase of new cholera cases has been recorded in the western and northern parts of the country and "that Haitian health officials recorded 77 new cases a day for the whole country in early March, when the rains began," the Associated Press/USA Today reports.

5 Apr 2012

Jakarta Globe examines maternal mortality in Indonesia

The Jakarta Globe examines maternal mortality in Indonesia, writing, "Indonesia may be progressing slowly and steadily toward fulfilling its targets under the Millennium Development Goals, but the issue of maternal health continues to present many challenges."

5 Apr 2012

Phenomenex, AB SCIEX announce new solution to ensure food safety in India

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, and Phenomenex, a global leader in separation science techniques, today announced a new workflow solution specifically tailored for laboratories in India to ensure the safety of spices, teas, fruits, vegetables and other food products for domestic and export markets.

5 Apr 2012

New NewYork-Presbyterian autism center to open in early 2013

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, along with its affiliated medical schools Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, today celebrated the start of construction on the new Center for Autism and the Developing Brain at the Hospital's Westchester campus in White Plains.

5 Apr 2012

Health plan settles lawsuits in Fla.; Minnesota HMOs to return $73M to state, feds

In Florida, a health plan in Tampa will pay $137.5 million to settle lawsuits over Medicare and Medicaid claims, while Magic Johnson plans to invest in a new HIV plan there. In Minnesota, the federal government and the state will split $73 million nonprofit HMOs are returning while other Minnesota health plans profits jump 21 percent.

5 Apr 2012

ACR finds list of five medical imaging exams

As part of its ongoing efforts to ensure safe, effective and appropriate use of medical imaging, the American College of Radiology (ACR) identified a list of five imaging exams whose necessity should be discussed before being ordered.

5 Apr 2012

TB survivors speak at USAID World TB Day event

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog summarizes an event hosted by USAID in late March to commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. The blog includes "brief profiles and pictures of some of the survivors featured in the event 'Voices of TB.'"

5 Apr 2012

Quantifying the health law's Medicaid expansion

Taking the recession's impact and reform together, the Obama years' Medicaid expansion (assuming the president and reform survive) will come to about 26 percent, higher than the Clinton years, no doubt, but significantly smaller than the increases experienced under either of the Bushes.

5 Apr 2012

Fogarty receives NIH grant to help foster next generation of global health scientists

To help foster the next generation of global health scientists, Fogarty International Center and its partners at the National Institutes of Health are building a network of U.S. academic institutions to provide early-career physicians, veterinarians, dentists and scientists with a significant mentored research experience in a developing country.

5 Apr 2012

Only few women consume aspirin to reduce risk of heart disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, and evidence-based national guidelines promote the use of daily aspirin for women at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. However, less than half of the women who could benefit from aspirin are taking it, according to an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

5 Apr 2012

UH to host 'Science Impacting Health and Society' lecture series

A new lecture series at the University of Houston (UH) will give Houstonians an opportunity to learn how science is making a difference in health and medicine. The first of five lectures will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 at the Hilton University of Houston.

5 Apr 2012

National program in Mauritania working to end FGM, IPS reports

"A multi-pronged strategy to end female genital mutilation [FGM] in Mauritania is making gradual progress, though campaigners acknowledge much remains to be done in a country where more than two-thirds of girls suffer excision," Inter Press Service reports.

5 Apr 2012

Physician groups identify unnecessary procedures

The list of 45 tests and procedures was pulled together by nine medical speciality groups to help reduce spending and improve patients' health.

5 Apr 2012

President lashes out at GOP budget and Medicare plan, Romney

In a Tuesday speech billed by many as a preview of the Obama reelection campaign's favorite themes, President Barack Obama blasted the treatment of Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlement programs by the Republicans and warned that their spending blueprint is a form of "Social Darwinism."

5 Apr 2012