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Soligenix demonstrates improved immunogenicity and rapid action of anthrax vaccine, VeloThrax

Soligenix, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat serious inflammatory diseases where there remains an unmet medical need, as well as developing several biodefense vaccines and therapeutics, announced today results demonstrating the improved immunogenicity and rapid action of its anthrax vaccine, VeloThrax™.

7 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 7, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about how uninsured people fare with the health law's exemptions.

7 Aug 2014

Gallup survey: States that embraced health law see big drops in uninsured; holdout states are experiencing far less change

The study found that states that expanded Medicaid and set up their own exchanges experienced greater declines in the rate of uninsurance than those that didn't. Nationwide, the percentage of uninsured Americans dropped from 18 percent in September 2013, to 13.4 percent in June 2014, according to the survey.

7 Aug 2014

Gut microbiome analysis has potential to be a new tool for noninvasive colorectal cancer screening

Analysis of the gut microbiome more successfully distinguished healthy individuals from those with precancerous adenomatous polyps and those with invasive colorectal cancer compared with assessment of clinical risk factors and fecal occult blood testing, according to data published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

7 Aug 2014

African Americans less likely to engage in CRC screening in VA healthcare system

According to researchers in California, African Americans' participation in colorectal cancer screening is low and the use of colonoscopy infrequent despite similar access to care across races in a Veterans Affairs healthcare system.

7 Aug 2014

Report says feds stop public disclosure of serious hospital errors

USA Today reports the federal government has stopped publicly reporting when hospitals leave foreign objects in patients' bodies or make other life-threatening mistakes. Meanwhile, Medicare spent more than $30 million on questionable HIV medications in 2012 and the agency is resuming audits for some fee-for-service claims.

7 Aug 2014

New study casts doubt on the effectiveness of brief counseling for illicit drug use

In an effort to stem substance use, the U.S. has invested heavily in the past decade in a brief screening-and-intervention protocol for alcohol and other drugs.

7 Aug 2014

Viewpoints: Higher costs don't mean better health quality; states and the uninsured

The good news about health care spending continues. In the first nine months of this fiscal year, Medicare spending increased only 1.2 percent in nominal terms, and for 2014, it's now projected to be $1,000 lower per beneficiary than the Congressional Budget Office said it would be as recently as 2010. Even the Medicare trustees are starting to recognize that something big may be happening. In evaluating the recent deceleration, however, a crucial question remains: Can slower cost growth continue without harming the quality of outcomes? (Peter R. Orszag, 8/5).

7 Aug 2014

Treating Americans with untested Ebola drug raises concerns

Using the experimental drug before it is tested in clinical trials will make it difficult to determine whether it is actually safe and effective, say scientists. Meanwhile, African officials say they have been inundated with requests from dying patients and their relatives for the same treatment.

7 Aug 2014

American Journal of Public Health special issue to highlight health disparities among Veterans Affairs

In an online-only, open access special issue of the American Journal of Public Health, researchers investigate issues of health equity, quality and disparities within the Veterans Affairs health care system.

7 Aug 2014

PSAL students to receive free comprehensive health screening at HSS

It's a parent's worst nightmare, and it happens out of the blue. While playing a sport, often football, a teen athlete collapses on the field and doesn't make it.

7 Aug 2014

State highlights: Insurer uses Tenn. position for bargaining power; N.Y.'s Medicaid cash drain

The dominion of Tennessee's largest health insurer is reflected in its headquarters' lofty perch above the city, atop a hill that during the Civil War was lined with Union cannons to repel Confederate troops. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has used its position to establish a similarly firm foothold in the first year of the marketplaces created by the health law. The company sold 88 percent of the plans for Tennessee individuals and families. Only one other insurer, Cigna, bothered to offer policies in Chattanooga, and the premiums were substantially higher than those offered by BlueCross (Rau, 8/6).

7 Aug 2014

Wis. senator seeks to appeal recent decision regarding his health law challenge

The focus of the lawsuit by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is an Office of Personnel Management regulation that allows congressional staffers to get their health care subsidized under the law's exchanges. In other news, health issues are emerging as flashpoints in this year's Arkansas senate race.

7 Aug 2014

CAP re-accredited as CME provider for physicians

The College of American Pathologists was resurveyed by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education and awarded Accreditation with Commendation for six years as a provider of continuing medical education (CME) for physicians.

7 Aug 2014

Some states boost transparency of insurance rate review amid criticism

Connecticut regulators deny an insurer's proposed rate increase but criticize the state's public hearing process. Meanwhile, Illinois officials give the public online access to rate filings and Florida advocates blame state lawmaker's suspension of rate review for the big premium increases in that state.

7 Aug 2014

Rural residents pay more for exchange plans

Rural residents paid slightly higher premiums for exchange health plans than their city counterparts, reports Modern Healthcare. Meanwhile, Vermont's GOP leaders say they want the state's health insurance exchange to succeed, but residents are fed up with problems.

7 Aug 2014

Health Care News and Research

Soligenix demonstrates improved immunogenicity and rapid action of anthrax vaccine, VeloThrax

First Edition: August 7, 2014

Gallup survey: States that embraced health law see big drops in uninsured; holdout states are experiencing far less change

Gut microbiome analysis has potential to be a new tool for noninvasive colorectal cancer screening

African Americans less likely to engage in CRC screening in VA healthcare system

Report says feds stop public disclosure of serious hospital errors

New study casts doubt on the effectiveness of brief counseling for illicit drug use

Viewpoints: Higher costs don't mean better health quality; states and the uninsured

Treating Americans with untested Ebola drug raises concerns

American Journal of Public Health special issue to highlight health disparities among Veterans Affairs

PSAL students to receive free comprehensive health screening at HSS

State highlights: Insurer uses Tenn. position for bargaining power; N.Y.'s Medicaid cash drain

Wis. senator seeks to appeal recent decision regarding his health law challenge

CAP re-accredited as CME provider for physicians

Some states boost transparency of insurance rate review amid criticism

Rural residents pay more for exchange plans

House Veterans Affairs chair accuses VA of misleading panel on deaths

Calif. insurers team on huge digital medical records plan

Almost Family records net service revenues of $125 million for Q2 2014

First Edition: August 6, 2014

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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