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HHS secretary Sebelius testifies before Senate appropriations panel

During her testimony, the Health and Human Services secretary took questions on the health law and pointed out — according to Modern Healthcare — funding concerns related to rural critical access hospitals and anti-fraud and abuse efforts.

1 Apr 2011

Health law opponents optimistic in efforts to block implementation

Politico reports that the tea party movement is finding "surprising success." Meanwhile, KHN reports that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli gives his state's health challenge good odds of winning in court.

1 Apr 2011

AARP under attack in GOP efforts against health law

House Republicans issued a report Wednesday and plan to hold a hearing Friday to investigate AARP's support for the health law as well as the organization's business interests.

1 Apr 2011

Opinions: Foreign aid; Congressman's global war on abortion

The idea that wealthy countries have a moral obligation to provide aid to poor nations "persists in the face of overwhelming evidence that such 'aid' does the world's poor more harm than good," Marian Tupy, a senior fellow at the Legatum Institute in London, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

1 Apr 2011

Medicare moves to pay for Provenge

On Wednesday, Medicare officials signaled the federal insurance program will pay for this costly prostate cancer drug, a move that National Journal described as heading off "accusations that the [government] would be 'rationing' care."

1 Apr 2011

Hands-free electronic water faucets more likely to be contaminated with hazardous bacteria

A study of newly installed, hands-free faucets at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, all equipped with the latest electronic-eye sensors to automatically detect hands and dispense preset amounts of water, shows they were more likely to be contaminated with one of the most common and hazardous bacteria in hospitals compared to old-style fixtures with separate handles for hot and cold water.

1 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Controlling long-term-care spending; march madness and health reform; hospital physicians

Prepare to hear a lot about Medicaid, the government health-insurance program for the poor. ... The U.S. government can't put itself on a sustainable fiscal course without doing something to slow health spending. It can't slow health spending costs without treating Medicaid. And it can't treat Medicaid without confronting the fact that it has become the long-term-care insurer of last resort for an aging society.

1 Apr 2011

Roundup: Minn. and Fla. weigh changes in programs for disabled, poor; Iowa lawmakers consider new abortion restrictions

Due to a shockingly large deficit, Gov. Rick Scott is planning to invoke his emergency powers and make deep cuts to the rates charged by group homes and case workers who help the developmentally disabled. Scott could announce a 15 percent rate cut as early as Thursday to close the $170 million budget gap in the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, according to lawmakers who were briefed Wednesday.

1 Apr 2011

HHS unveils ACO details

During a Thursday morning press call, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick unveiled the long-awaited federal rule on accountable care organizations.

1 Apr 2011

China BCT fourth quarter revenue increases 82.3% to $66.8 million

China BCT Pharmacy Group, Inc.,, a leading pharmaceutical distributor, retail pharmacy, and manufacturer of pharmaceutical products in Guangxi Province, China, today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010.

31 Mar 2011

First Edition: March 31, 2011

In today's news, reports on continuing congressional efforts to reach a deal on the current-year budget and on a move by Medicare to cover Provenge, a prostate cancer drug.

31 Mar 2011

FDA grants Nile Fast Track designation for cenderitide post-acute development program

Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that develops novel therapeutics for heart failure patients, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation to Nile's post-acute development program for cenderitide, which has the goal of reducing cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular re-hospitalization in the post-acute period in patients with acute decompensated heart failure.

31 Mar 2011

Aetna commends FDA's decision on hydroxyprogesterone caproate

The United States Food and Drug Administration today announced that specialty pharmacies can continue compounding 17P based on a valid prescription for an individually identified patient.

31 Mar 2011

Important updates on spondyloarthritis highlighted at 2010 SPARTAN meeting

Spondyloarthritis is a group of inflammatory conditions causing spine and joint pain and deformity, mostly in young men. Important updates on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of SpA are presented in the April issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

31 Mar 2011

Pacira reports net loss of $7.0 million for quarter ended December 31, 2010

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2010, provided an update on the execution of its pre-commercial and launch strategies for EXPAREL and established 2011 financial guidance.

31 Mar 2011

Low-level radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear plant detected as far away as U.S.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said U.S. government sensors had detected radiation believed to be from the damaged nuclear plant, Reuters writes.

31 Mar 2011

Facing possible cuts, international aid advocates attempt to drum up support for foreign assistance

International aid groups are "scrambling to engage members of Congress and the American public in a dialogue about the need to secure U.S. foreign assistance funding" as the "next deadline for the U.S. Congress to pass a full fiscal year 2011 budget or another short-term continuing resolution is fast approaching" and discussions on the FY12 budget need to begin, the Devex blog "Obama's Foreign Aid Reform" reports.

31 Mar 2011

SMFM praises FDA's announcement on Makena drug

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine weighed in on today's FDA announcement to continue to allow pharmacies to compound hydroxyprogesterone caproate, also known as 17P.

31 Mar 2011

South Sudan faces serious health challenges as new nation, Lancet Newsdesk reports

In South Sudan, which is poised to become "the world's newest country" in July, "90% of the population lives on less than $1 a day," and the region is plagued by multiple systemic health issues as a result of years of war, Lancet Infectious Diseases Newsdesk reports.

31 Mar 2011

Health advocates file petition with U.N. over proposed trade agreement among several countries

Several health advocacy groups have submitted a letter to U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health Anand Grover "outlining their objections" to negotiations over a trans-Pacific partnership agreement being negotiated by the governments of Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States and Vietnam, claiming that the agreement would inhibit access to low-cost medications in developing countries, BMJ News reports.

31 Mar 2011

Health Care News and Research

HHS secretary Sebelius testifies before Senate appropriations panel

Health law opponents optimistic in efforts to block implementation

AARP under attack in GOP efforts against health law

Opinions: Foreign aid; Congressman's global war on abortion

Medicare moves to pay for Provenge

Hands-free electronic water faucets more likely to be contaminated with hazardous bacteria

Viewpoints: Controlling long-term-care spending; march madness and health reform; hospital physicians

Roundup: Minn. and Fla. weigh changes in programs for disabled, poor; Iowa lawmakers consider new abortion restrictions

HHS unveils ACO details

China BCT fourth quarter revenue increases 82.3% to $66.8 million

First Edition: March 31, 2011

FDA grants Nile Fast Track designation for cenderitide post-acute development program

Aetna commends FDA's decision on hydroxyprogesterone caproate

Important updates on spondyloarthritis highlighted at 2010 SPARTAN meeting

Pacira reports net loss of $7.0 million for quarter ended December 31, 2010

Low-level radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear plant detected as far away as U.S.

Facing possible cuts, international aid advocates attempt to drum up support for foreign assistance

SMFM praises FDA's announcement on Makena drug

South Sudan faces serious health challenges as new nation, Lancet Newsdesk reports

Health advocates file petition with U.N. over proposed trade agreement among several countries

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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