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GOP repeal plans move ahead in House and Senate; Support to undo 1099 reporting provision gains momentum

In the House, Republicans begin their committee-level efforts to dismantle the health law today. Meanwhile, GOP senators continue to push for a repeal vote in the upper chamber.

27 Jan 2011

AHF surpasses 150,000 patient milestone

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, is proud to announce a major milestone in its mission to provide cutting-edge medicine and advocacy regardless of a person's ability to pay. The organization has recently surpassed the 150,000 patient mark worldwide.

27 Jan 2011

Mass cholera vaccination early in outbreak could stem spread of disease, studies show

"The cholera bacterium has undergone important mutations in recent years, causing longer outbreaks of the disease with increased fatalities, researchers reported on Wednesday," Reuters reports. "In a package of papers published in the journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, they said mass vaccinations should be considered as a solution even after outbreaks have begun," the news service writes (Lyn, 1/26).

27 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif. regulator gets emergency approval to oversee insurance spending; Ariz. seeks Medicaid waiver

Governors have deep differences over national health care reform, but when it comes to so-called insurance exchanges — a centerpiece of the sprawling new federal law — nearly every state is moving ahead with implementation.

27 Jan 2011

Metanx promotes restoration of lost cutaneous sensation in Diabetic Neuropathy patients

PamLab L.L.C., developer and marketer of Metanx®, announced today that the results of a study to determine if nutritional management with Metanx® improves numbness in the feet of patients with Diabetic Neuropathy (DN) was published in the fourth quarter 2010 issue of Reviews in Neurological Diseases. The study demonstrated that Metanx®, a medical food available by prescription, promotes restoration of lost cutaneous sensation in DN patients.

27 Jan 2011

Obama briefly highlights foreign policy themes in State of Union address

President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday "focused on jobs, budget trimming, and investment, but he also underscored foreign policy concerns and outlined an approach to international relations with 'a new level of engagement,'" CBS News' "Political Hotsheet" blog reports.

27 Jan 2011

First-ever list of America's Top 50 Cities for Hospital Care

Responding to consumers' concerns about the quality of hospital care in their communities, HealthGrades, the nation's leading independent health care ratings organization, today released the first-ever list of America's Top 50 Cities for Hospital Care. The rankings are based on a comprehensive study of patient death and complication rates at the nation's nearly 5,000 hospitals.

27 Jan 2011

Poll findings indicate public's continued mixed feelings about health overhaul

Americans are still pretty polarized in their views of the health care overhaul law passed last year, including whether to repeal it. But a majority oppose the notion of defunding the law's provisions in order to neuter it, a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health finds (Hobson, 1/25).

27 Jan 2011

GE's Pathology Imaging Centre of Excellence receives HTX investment under Ontario Flagship Program

HTX announced today an agreement to establish GE's first global Pathology Imaging Centre of Excellence in Toronto, Ontario. GE Healthcare and its digital pathology joint venture, Omnyx™, will invest $7.75M along with a $2.25M grant from the Health Technology Exchange (HTX). Planned collaborative research and development (R&D) partnerships will bring an additional $7.2M, for a total investment of $17.2M over the next 3 years.

27 Jan 2011

State of the Union address includes brief, but clear, defense of health law

President Barack Obama made clear that he is willing to tinker around the edges of the sweeping reform, but not return to the days before the measure became law. Media outlets analyzed the specifics of his comments and offered a big picture view of the impact of the entire speech, including fact-checking some of his related policy ideas and budget recommendations.

27 Jan 2011

Lancet series examines health issues facing populations in Southeast Asia

"Southeast Asia's 600 million people are facing a raft of new health challenges as the disaster-prone region undergoes some of the world's fastest social change," according to a series of papers and commentary pieces, published Tuesday in the Lancet, Agence France-Presse reports (O'Brien, 1/25).

27 Jan 2011

Canadian PM, Tanzanian President open meeting to develop framework for $40b maternal and child health initiative

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete were in Geneva on Wednesday to open a meeting aimed at "developing a framework" to monitor the implementation of a $40 billion U.N. maternal and child health initiative, according to CBC News. Harper and Kikwete are co-chairs of a commission that is charged with ensuring accountability for the pledges.

27 Jan 2011

Study finds incentives for physicians don't improve patient care

Paying doctors financial rewards to meet targets for improving the care of patients made no discernible difference to the health or treatment of people with high blood pressure, a study has found.

27 Jan 2011

The Wall Street Journal takes legal action to open Medicare database

The publisher of The Wall Street Journal filed suit Tuesday to overturn a decades-long court order barring public access to a confidential Medicare database it says is essential to rooting out fraud and abuse in the government health-care program.

27 Jan 2011

Alcon fourth quarter sales raise 5.7% to $1.81 billion in 2010

Alcon, Inc. reported that global sales rose 5.7 percent to $1.81 billion for the fourth quarter of 2010. Revenue from acquisitions added 100 basis points to sales growth in the quarter, while foreign currency fluctuations reduced reported sales growth by 20 basis points.

27 Jan 2011

Stakeholders, GOP lawmakers focus efforts against Medicare spending panel

News outlets report on how the health law's Independent Payment Advisory Board is the focus of negative attention from numerous vantage points.

27 Jan 2011

U.S. FDA announces link between breast implants and ALCL

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a possible association between saline and silicone gel-filled breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a very rare type of cancer.

27 Jan 2011

ASPS, FDA collaborate to establish national breast implant registry

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is establishing a national registry for breast implants in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The registry is being developed in response to reports of a rare lymphoma--Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL)—in a very small number of women with breast implants.

27 Jan 2011

FAQ: Selling health insurance across state lines

"A day after voting to repeal the federal health law, a group of more than 60 House Republicans introduced a bill reviving an idea long popular with conservatives: allowing consumers to buy health insurance across state lines so that residents of a state with expensive health plans could find cheaper options"

27 Jan 2011