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Administration looking for new companies to run health marketplace

Federal officials lay out specifications for companies who will take over the website as they seek to make sure the sign-up effort does not run into repeat problems during next fall's enrollment season.

29 Apr 2014

Royal Solutions 3.0 gets ONC HIT 2014 Edition Modular EHR certification

Royal Solutions Group's, Royal Solutions 3.0 has achieved ONC HIT 2014 Edition Modular EHR certification, which designates that the software is capable of supporting eligible providers with meeting the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Meaningful Use measures required to qualify for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

29 Apr 2014

Researchers develop animal model of human hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers have developed an animal model of human hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in rhesus macaques, an advance that may lead to treatments, vaccines and improved methods of diagnosing the disease.

29 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: 'Pinocchios' for the Koch brothers; Obamacare 'miracle'; the law's effect on hiring

The health care ads being run by Americans for Prosperity - one of the many frantically waving arms of the Koch brothers - are a gift to fact checkers everywhere. Because they deliberately twist the truth to persuade people to "stop supporting Obamacare," they have become a machine for producing "Pinocchios," the mendacity rating system used by Glenn Kessler at The Washington Post (David Firestone, 4/24).

26 Apr 2014

HHS calls health care providers to expand use of medications to treat opioid addiction, reduce overdose deaths

A national response to the epidemic of prescription opioid overdose deaths was outlined yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine by leaders of agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

26 Apr 2014

Study: Health plans dropped after health law may have been canceled anyway

A new study says the health law didn't lead to more cancellations of health plans than what typically occurs every year as part of the normal churn of the individual policy market.

26 Apr 2014

Research roundup: Structural concerns in ACOs; public's view of mandated contraception coverage

The Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) programs reward participating health care provider groups that achieve slower spending growth and high quality of care.

26 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: Blum's departure is a serious loss; GOP fighting Medicaid expansion with new tactic

The official who matters most when it comes to controlling U.S. health-care spending has just resigned, leaving behind a program with serious fiscal problems that badly needs further reform.

25 Apr 2014

NIAMS scientific director to receive 2014 Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine

John J. O'Shea, M.D., scientific director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), has been named the 2014 recipient of the Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine, conferred by the Feinstein Institute's peer-reviewed, open-access journal Molecular Medicine.

25 Apr 2014

Glaucoma drug may help reverse obesity-related vision loss in women

An inexpensive glaucoma drug, when added to a weight loss plan, can improve vision for women with a disorder called idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

23 Apr 2014

Findings may help researchers develop future interventions to prevent malaria

According to a study published today in PLOS Pathogens, children who live in regions of the world where malaria is common can mount an immune response to infection with malaria parasites that may enable them to avoid repeated bouts of high fever and illness and partially control the growth of malaria parasites in their bloodstream.

22 Apr 2014

All Together Better Health conference to be held in Pittsburgh this June

The biennial All Together Better Health conference will hold its first U.S. meeting in Pittsburgh this June to highlight the latest research on interprofessionalism and team-based health care delivery. The international conference serves as a forum for health system executives, educational leaders and policy makers to share new studies and shape the future of the health care workforce.

22 Apr 2014

GAO report details administration fund-raising efforts to boost health law

The investigation examined the campaign by federal officials to raise money to spur health insurance enrollment, according to The New York Times.

22 Apr 2014

New Aspen Dental office opens in Pickerington, OH

A new Aspen Dental office is opening in Pickerington, OH on Thursday, April 17. Located at 10705 Blacklick Eastern Rd 100, the conveniently located practice will provide dental services that range from dentures and preventive care to general dentistry and restoration.

21 Apr 2014

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to Emergent BioSolutions' BioThrax for PEP of anthrax disease

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) of anthrax disease resulting from suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis.

21 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 21, 2014

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a GAO report on how the Obama administration raised money from outside groups to promote the health law.

21 Apr 2014

$Viewpoints: The number keeps rising; new fears about census fracus; patients lose as insurers 'play games'$

Viewpoints: The number keeps rising; new fears about census fracus; patients lose as insurers 'play games'

Obamacare's critics have had a bad week. On Thursday, President Obama announced that 8 million people have enrolled in new health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces, and a significant portion of them are young Americans.

21 Apr 2014

Sebelius says no to Kansas Senate run

Despite recent appeals from Democrats for outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to run against Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., she has declined. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that political attack ads are now trying to offer positive alternatives.

21 Apr 2014

Obama presses scrutiny of 2015 health insurance rates

The president made his appeal to state insurance commissioners at a meeting Thursday. Elsewhere, consumer spending related to the health law jumps, the GOP again demands to know the White House's involvement in the healthcare.gov rollout, and hospitals try their hand as insurers.

19 Apr 2014