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Obama says he backs state flexibility for health law's coverage goals

The New York Times: "In remarks to the National Governors Association, Mr. Obama said he backed legislation that would enable states to request federal permission to withdraw from the law's mandates in 2014 rather than in 2017 as long as they could prove that they could find other ways to cover as many people as the original law would and at the same cost.

1 Mar 2011

Nile plans to develop novel therapeutics for ADHF

Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for cardiovascular disease, announced plans to pursue a new indication in the field of heart failure.

1 Mar 2011

New GuLF STUDY to look at health effects of oil spill on 55,000 cleanup workers, volunteers

A new study that will look at possible health effects of the Gulf of Mexico's Deepwater Horizon oil spill on 55,000 cleanup workers and volunteers begins today in towns across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.

1 Mar 2011

Health Care REIT signs definitive agreement to acquire Genesis for $2.4 billion

Health Care REIT, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the real estate assets of privately-owned Genesis HealthCare, a leading provider of short-term post-acute, rehabilitation, assisted living and long-term care services, for a purchase price of $2.4 billion.

28 Feb 2011

Obama’s health care reform: States may now choose to opt out

President Obama yesterday [Monday] has allowed states to choose to opt out of his big health-care reform overhaul and design their own health systems, as long as they meet the overall goals of the national plan. However critics feel, this was bound to happen anyway.

28 Feb 2011

BUSM Professor receives funding for research on obesity in African-American women

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) is one of five institutions receiving funding from the Aetna Foundation to support research designed to deepen understanding of the root causes of the nation’s well-documented obesity epidemic and drive viable solutions to the core problems. More than $1 million in funding will be granted in support of separate studies at BUSM, New York University School of Medicine, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University’s CARE program.

28 Feb 2011

EDMA supports the Rare Disease Day

On the occasion of the 2011 Rare Disease Day, EDMA, the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association, underlines the crucial role the In Vitro Diagnostic industry can play to diagnose rare diseases.

28 Feb 2011

Obama administration awaiting next reform ruling from Florida judge

Politico reports that the expected ruling could be another blow for the White House. Meanwhile, The Hill analyzes the importance of the fact that all the judges who have ruled thus far on health law challenges have agreed that the individual mandate involves a penalty, not a tax.

28 Feb 2011

Health law ups the ante in state-federal Medicaid budget battle

As this health insurance program for low-income people continues to place a huge burden on state budgets, governors are pressing for more flexibility regarding Medicaid's eligibility standards. The health law's expansion of this program — scheduled to take effect in 2014 — adds a sense of imperative to the conversation, as do the spending cuts being considered by Congress.

28 Feb 2011

Regulators face challenge of defining 'essential care' benefits

As federal regulators — in their efforts to implement the health law — work to define what basic medical services health insurers must cover under the measure, another set of regs, those dealing with accountable care organizations, are stalled at the Office of Management and Budget.

28 Feb 2011

Politics play into state-level implementation issues

The AP reports on how some GOP governors are flexing their political muscle to undermine the health law. Meanwhile, a Democratic governor is considering using her veto power on a bill passed by the state legislature that challenges the federal law.

28 Feb 2011

'Romneycare' continues to draw political focus

As one former GOP governor softens his criticism, Massachusetts' current Democratic governor chimes in with kudos for the state health overhaul that Romney oversaw when he was that state's chief executive.

28 Feb 2011

Deal to avert gov't shutdown appears within reach

A recent short-term spending plan that emerged from the House Appropriations Committee includes millions of dollars in cuts to federal health programs. Meanwhile, congressional efforts to reach agreement on a long-term spending plan may be getting more complicated.

28 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: Judge Kessler's decision; Utah is role model; Malpractice system flaws

The Republican strategy is to split the vast middle and working classes -- pitting unionized workers against nonunionized, public-sector workers against nonpublic, older workers within sight of Medicare and Social Security against younger workers who don't believe these programs will be there for them and the poor against the working middle class.

28 Feb 2011

State News: N.Y. Medicaid's compromise; Va. ups health spending; Medi-Cal ruling

One of the most familiar criticisms of the new national health care law is that it doesn't do much to contain costs. ... Cost controls are supposed to come later. "Later" has arrived now for Massachusetts' statewide plan, enacted in 2006 and similar in many ways to the federal one. Some 98 percent of all adults and nearly 100 percent of all children are covered, but costs have spiraled out of control.

28 Feb 2011

First Edition: February 28, 2011

Today's headlines include news about the budge struggles the nation's governors continue to face -- with Medicaid spending a central issue.

28 Feb 2011

Alexion joins EURORDIS, NORD and medical communities to observe Rare Disease Day 2011

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. joins the European Organization for Rare Diseases, the National Organization for Rare Disorders and families, governments, companies and medical communities around the world in observing the fourth annual Rare Disease Day today.

28 Feb 2011

AARP commends lawmakers for their opposition to health care nullification bill

Averting a potentially disastrous piece of legislation, a majority of Idaho Senators on the State Affairs Committee took a bold stand and voted down a measure to "nullify" the federal health care law in Idaho.

28 Feb 2011

Investing in adolescents can help reduce poverty, improve health, UNICEF report says

Additional investment in the world's 1.2 billion adolescents - 88 percent of whom live in the developing world - has the potential to help alleviate inequality and poverty, UNICEF said in its annual State of the World's Children report released on Friday, IRIN reports.

28 Feb 2011

Event marks ceremonial launch of U.N. Women

"After years of planning, fundraising and consultations, U.N. Women was officially launched Thursday," Inter Press Service reports, describing the expectations for the agency voiced by leaders gathered at the event. The ceremonial launch took place during a meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, U.N. News Centre writes.

28 Feb 2011