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Aetna extends help to its members affected by wildfires burning in Oregon

Aetna is making it easier for members affected by wildfires in Oregon to refill prescriptions and access employee assistance, student assistance and behavioral health programs. The company is also extending claim and appeal filing times, and helping members who have evacuated find care outside their home areas, among other steps.

3 Aug 2013

Jersey Shore hospital participates in clinical study of investigational vaccine for prevention of CDI

Mark Martens, M.D., chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, announces that the hospital is participating in a clinical study to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of an investigational vaccine for the prevention of primary symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).

3 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Shutting down the government over health law is 'nutty' idea; GOP's Obamacare playbook for summer recess

Led by Sens. Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, the GOP insurgents are threatening to shut down the government on Oct. 1 if the stopgap funding bill contains money for Obamacare. This is nuts. The president will never sign a bill defunding the singular achievement of his presidency. Especially when he has control of the Senate. Especially when, though a narrow 51 percent majority of Americans disapproves of Obamacare, only 36 percent favors repeal. President Obama so knows he'll win any shutdown showdown that he's practically goading the Republicans into trying. ... Every fiscal showdown has redounded against the Republicans (Charles Krauthammer, 8/1).

3 Aug 2013

Clot-inhibiting drug apixaban shows added benefits in adults with non-valvular atrial fibrillation

The clot-inhibiting drug apixaban (trade name: Eliquis) has been approved in Germany since November 2012 for the prevention of embolism and stroke in adults with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

3 Aug 2013

IQWiG dossier assessment finds no added benefit of lixisenatide

Lixisenatide (trade name: Lyxumia) has been approved in Germany since February 2013 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in combination with oral blood-glucose lowering drugs or basal insulin when these, together with diet and exercise, do not provide adequate glycaemic control. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the current standard therapy.

3 Aug 2013

40th repeal vote unlikely to be charm for House Republicans

The vote in the GOP-controlled House, scheduled for Friday, would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from enforcing any part of the health law. Some news outlets explore why GOP lawmakers continue pushing purely symbolic votes that will go nowhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

3 Aug 2013

Atossa Genetics: Many American women still not aware of breast cancer risk

Virtually all American women are aware that the pink ribbon is the symbol of breast cancer awareness. Despite this near-universal recognition, it is still a sad fact that plenty of women do not truly appreciate the extent to which they are at risk for breast cancer.

3 Aug 2013

Mich. legislative panel moves Medicaid expansion forward

The approval for making at least 320,000 low-income adults eligible for Medicaid sets the stage for a crucial Senate vote later this month.

3 Aug 2013

Boulder Brands commends FDA's gluten-free labeling standards

Boulder Brands commends the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision today to standardize gluten-free labeling. Glutino and Udi's, Boulder Brands' gluten-free brands and trusted pioneers and leaders in gluten-free living, have spent years advocating for the FDA to create this mandate.

3 Aug 2013

Tavenner challenges GOP health law claims during Capitol Hill hearing

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Marilyn Tavenner disputed statements by Republican lawmakers that the country's health care reform law is causing workers to lose hours or benefits. The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service also testified.

3 Aug 2013

Spin battle over Obamacare premiums continues

Kaiser Health News offers five pointers to help you make sense of contradictory headlines about how much insurance could cost you when the Affordable Care Act marketplaces open for enrollment in October. Meanwhile, other media report on states' projections of what premiums may cost in the online marketplaces next year.

3 Aug 2013

Home healthcare sector: A steady source of job growth, employment in healthcare field

The July 2013 jobs report, released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, continues to demonstrate that the home healthcare sector is a steady source of job growth and employment in the healthcare field.

3 Aug 2013

Perceptions of children living with asthma may differ significantly from their caregivers

Children's perceptions of living with asthma may differ significantly from their caregivers' perceptions, which means both should be interviewed when they visit the doctor's office, a new study from UT Kids San Antonio and the Center for Airway Inflammation Research (cAIR) shows.

3 Aug 2013

Added benefit of thyroid cancer drug vandetanib not proven

Vandetanib (trade name: Caprelsa) has been approved in Germany since February 2012 for the treatment of adult patients who have a particular form of aggressive thyroid cancer. In a new benefit assessment, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care has now examined the added benefit of the drug pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products.

3 Aug 2013

Health law supporters plan August strategy to counter criticism

In response to efforts by some Republican lawmakers who are threatening to shut down the government as part of their attempt to stop the health law's implementation, some progressive groups plan to organize their own town hall meetings and stage protests at GOP events, among other things, to tout the law's perks. Others will go door to door to encourage consumers to enter the insurance market.

3 Aug 2013

Deal will keep federal contributions for insurance when Congress moves to exchanges

The Obama administration told Congress on Thursday that it would allow the federal government to continue paying a large share of the cost of health insurance for members of Congress and their aides, averting a problem for many who work on Capitol Hill.

3 Aug 2013

Assessing health law's impact on cities, people

Texas is home to more than two-thirds of the nation's 30 counties most in need of expanded health insurance coverage, including Dallas, according to a liberal group. The Center for American Progress Action Fund ranked 22 Texas counties -- including Dallas -- as among the "30 worst" in the country.

3 Aug 2013

First Edition: August 2, 2013

Today's headlines include details about today's health law repeal vote in the House. It comes just as lawmakers prepare to leave for the August break.

2 Aug 2013

NCDP joins Earth Institute

The National Center for Disaster Preparedness, a research, policy and education institution that has worked for the past decade across the United States to strengthen responses to extreme weather, terrorism and other threats, has joined Columbia University's Earth Institute.

2 Aug 2013

Viewpoints: Health law rollout needs a better salesman; the overhaul is shifting the economy to part-timers

We need a serious and sustained presidential conversation with the country about the new health care reform laws - or progressives risk losing ownership of this once-in-generation liberal reform. If you listen to people in focus group discussions right now, they are clueless about the most basic policies in the reforms, even though parts of the law are already in place, the exchanges are to be launched in October, and the law's requirements and benefits will become fully operative in January. ... And in the most recent national surveys, more people think their health insurance situation will be made worse by the impending changes (Stanley B. Greenberg, 7/30).

2 Aug 2013