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Merck's NOXAFIL injection gets FDA approval for intravenous use

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved NOXAFIL (posaconazole) injection (18 mg/ mL), a new formulation of NOXAFIL for intravenous (IV) use.

16 Mar 2014

Almost Family agrees to acquire Caldwell Medical Center's Medicare-certified home health agency

Almost Family, Inc., today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of the Medicare-certified home health agency owned by Caldwell Medical Center located in Princeton, Kentucky.

16 Mar 2014

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer announce FDA approval of Eliquis for DVT prophylaxis

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Eliquis (apixaban) for the prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which may lead to pulmonary embolism (PE), in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

16 Mar 2014

Calif. reports more than 900,000 people have signed up for health plans

But officials note that the number of Latinos and young people enrolling on the state marketplace is still below expectations. Meanwhile, the troubled Maryland exchange is reportedly gearing up to adopt the technology used by Connecticut.

14 Mar 2014

First Edition: March 14, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about which states are doing well with health law enrollment and implementation, and which ones are not.

14 Mar 2014

Voter turnout, not Obamacare support, doomed Florida congressional election, Democrats say

Democrats are disputing the notion that their support of the health law will play a big role in November's elections. But the GOP isn't backing off on using the issue as a key point in trying to win races.

14 Mar 2014

State highlights: Vt. health care costs plan; Iowa inmate coverage; Mich. abortion law takes effect

A selection of health policy stories from Vermont, Iowa, Michigan, California, Florida, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

14 Mar 2014

Most parents fail to see obesity in their children

Susann Regber has worked for many years with children with obesity as a pediatric nurse. In her dissertation at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, she studied the parents' role in the health-promoting and disease-prevention work against child obesity in young children.

14 Mar 2014

Longer looks: The 'making of Obamacare;' unlocking an autistic son's secrets; antibiotics and the obesity epidemic

If you walk into a farm-supply store today, you're likely to find a bag of antibiotic powder that claims to boost the growth of poultry and livestock. That's because decades of agricultural research has shown that antibiotics seem to flip a switch in young animals' bodies, helping them pack on pounds. Manufacturers brag about the miraculous effects of feeding antibiotics to chicks and nursing calves. Dusty agricultural journals attest to the ways in which the drugs can act like a kind of superfood to produce cheap meat. But what if that meat is us? (Pagan Kennedy, 3/8).

14 Mar 2014

How many sign-ups to reach 6 million goal? 42 a minute.

That's how fast signups would have to be happening for the health law to "pass its first physical," reports The Associated Press. Meanwhile, health consultant Avalere projects that 5.4 million are actually on track to sign up for coverage by March 31.

14 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: The impact of Florida's special election; drug testing for doctors; the toll from Alzheimer's

A rule of electoral politics is that when a Democratic wave is building, the media broadcast it like a foregone conclusion. When a Republican wave is building, Beltway pundits are the last to admit it. After Tuesday's GOP win in a Florida special House election, even the press corps now agrees that Republicans are poised for major gains in November, assuming the GOP has the wit to exploit it (3/12).

14 Mar 2014

New ASN educational materials highlight importance of kidney health in older individuals

The American Society of Nephrology has released new educational materials highlighting the importance of kidney health in older individuals, the fastest growing group of Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

14 Mar 2014

Obese orthopedic trauma patients have lower injury severity scores

Approximately one-third of the American population is obese and the number is rising, as is the number of obese individuals involved in high-energy accidents with multiple injuries.

14 Mar 2014

Gov. Jan Brewer, Arizona's Medicaid expander, won't run again

The Republican governor pushed the state legislature to expand Medicaid coverage to most poor people in the state.

14 Mar 2014

Va. officials using two-week respite to bolster arguments on Medicaid expansion

The state's legislature adjourned without a budget because of arguments over growing the program for low income residents, and lawmakers will come back to try again March 24.

14 Mar 2014

Study shows effect of oral fungal yeast in inhibiting thrush

Scientists at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center have discovered how the beneficial fungal yeast, Pichia, holds at bay a harmful fungal yeast, Candida.

14 Mar 2014

House Republicans plan: Delay individual mandate for five years

The idea is to use the savings to reverse the annual SGR cut for Medicare doctors. Also, a group of Catholic employers in Oklahoma is suing about the health law's contraception coverage exception.

14 Mar 2014

Officials look for budget fixes for Minnesota's insurance exchange

In Minnesota, a proposed budget indicates that some officials want to spend $12.5 million to continue repairing the marketplace website and call center as well as spend $5 million in grants next year when the exchange is supposed to be self-sufficient.

14 Mar 2014

Sebelius: No more health law delays; no enrollment extension

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified Wednesday before the House Ways and Means Committee, taking questions on a range of health law questions.

14 Mar 2014

Health care costs have become more burdensome for most Americans, study finds

Since 2001, health care costs have become more burdensome for almost all Americans, at every income level and in every geographic area, finds a new study published in The Milbank Quarterly.

14 Mar 2014