Health and Human Services News and Research

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State roundup: Loophole could mean Calif. docs eat some costs

A loophole in California's upcoming health care overhaul could be exploited by families gaming the system or responding to hardship in a way that doctors say could leave a pile of unpaid bills. A chain of events would create a two-month period during which a family has medical coverage but no insurer must pay its claims. Nonpayment of premiums for subsidized policies would trigger the oddity: Federal law provides a three-month grace period before cancellation -- but insurers are responsible only for the first month (Sanders, 5/21).

23 May 2013

More than half of U.S. docs now using EHRs

More than half of U.S. doctors have switched to electronic health records and are using them to manage patients' basic medical information and prescriptions, according to federal data set to be released Wednesday.

23 May 2013

Outreach effort moves forward despite Sebelius controversy

Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack tells CQ Healthbeat that the flap won't prevent a robust effort by the nonprofit group, Enroll America, to sign up the uninsured. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney draws parallels to earlier allegations about President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

23 May 2013

AASLD members at forefront to raise awareness of hepatitis B and C

Viral hepatitis is an asymptomatic disease affecting more than 5.3 million Americans. More than 75 percent of those with hepatitis C are unaware they have the virus.

23 May 2013

Scientists make important step forward in the quest to develop universal influenza vaccine

A new approach for immunizing against influenza elicited a more potent immune response and broader protection than the currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines when tested in mice and ferrets.

23 May 2013

First Edition: May 22, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the Medicaid expansion is shaking out in Virginia and Texas, as well as a report about the role health care is playing as the House attempts to negotiate an immigration reform measure.

22 May 2013

Viewpoints: Slowing health costs; What causes genetic testing to be so expensive; Iowa governor offers Medicaid supports a 'glimmer of hope'

We have done it. We have decreased the increase in the cost of healthcare. ... Is this decline the desperately needed bend in the healthcare cost curve or just the impact of the depressed economy? ... A slower growth of healthcare cost would mean less burden on the individual family, freeing that family to invest in and live a higher quality of life.

22 May 2013

Some GOP lawmakers target HHS Secretary Sebelius for fundraising

The members of Congress are questioning Sebelius' efforts to solicit funds for Enroll America, which is trying to help get people signed up for benefits under the federal health law.

22 May 2013

Ground battles continue over states' Medicaid expansion

News reports from Texas, Louisiana, Iowa, Florida and Maine highlight states' continuing debates over this health law provision.

22 May 2013

No significant benefit differences between IMRT and CRT therapies after prostatectomy

Use of the newer, more expensive intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and use of the older conformal radiotherapy (CRT) after surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland were associated with similar morbidity and cancer control outcomes, according to a study published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

21 May 2013

Viewpoints: Sebelius' 'ethical line'; As tricky phase of health law approaches, concerns about exchanges opening on time

One of the biggest questions hanging over the health-care system is how many young Americans will sign up for coverage once the Affordable Care Act begins to phase in this October. If too few buy insurance on the markets that the government is creating, insurance companies would be stuck covering primarily the old and the sick. They would have to pay out more per customer.

21 May 2013

IRS scandal, HHS fundraising stir the health law political pot

The Obama administration's efforts to raise money from private sources for the health law have led some likely donors to become "skittish." Meanwhile, as GOP lawmakers seek to link the Internal Revenue Service issues to the health law, media outlets examine the IRS's reach in this regard.

21 May 2013

Patients with treatment-resistant depression benefit from ketamine

Patients with treatment-resistant major depression saw dramatic improvement in their illness after treatment with ketamine, an anesthetic, according to the largest ketamine clinical trial to-date led by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

20 May 2013

All sterile drug products from NuVision Pharmacy lack sterility assurance, FDA warns

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care providers of concerns about a lack of sterility assurance of all sterile drug products made and distributed by NuVision Pharmacy of Dallas, Texas.

20 May 2013

Students receive Addiction Science Award at 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

An exploration of electronic "screen time" and sleep on mood, memory and learning was given the top Addiction Science Award at the 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair - the world's largest science competition for high school students.

20 May 2013

Republicans ask GAO to probe Sebelius' fundraising

GOP lawmakers seek an investigation of the Health and Human Services secretary's efforts to secure more funding for a private group that will help with the implementation of the health law. At the same time, an HHS spokesman offered more detail regarding whom she contacted.

18 May 2013

Highlights: State Medicaid investigators get more money to investigate fraud; Texas compromise end-of-life bill still splits lawmakers

State Medicaid fraud investigators will be able to get federal matching funds to electronically search for potential fraud, under a final rule to be published on Friday. The rule, which will be published by the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, is expected to save the federal government about $34.3 million from fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2023 in fraudulent claims that would have been paid (Adams, 5/16).

18 May 2013

FDA seeks injunction in court against New York City Fish

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is seeking a preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against New York City Fish, Inc., and several key employees for manufacturing and distributing ready-to-eat fish products under insanitary conditions causing them to become adulterated.

18 May 2013

First Edition: May 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the GOP vote to repeal the health law -- for the 37th time -- as well as how the current IRS scandal is being connected to the health law's implementation.

17 May 2013

Acting CMS chief Marilyn Tavenner becomes agency's first confirmed head in 7 years

In a 91-to-7 vote, the Senate approved President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Tavenner, who has been the agency's acting administrator, was endorsed by Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.

17 May 2013

Health and Human Services News and Research

State roundup: Loophole could mean Calif. docs eat some costs

More than half of U.S. docs now using EHRs

Outreach effort moves forward despite Sebelius controversy

AASLD members at forefront to raise awareness of hepatitis B and C

Scientists make important step forward in the quest to develop universal influenza vaccine

First Edition: May 22, 2013

Viewpoints: Slowing health costs; What causes genetic testing to be so expensive; Iowa governor offers Medicaid supports a 'glimmer of hope'

Some GOP lawmakers target HHS Secretary Sebelius for fundraising

Ground battles continue over states' Medicaid expansion

No significant benefit differences between IMRT and CRT therapies after prostatectomy

Viewpoints: Sebelius' 'ethical line'; As tricky phase of health law approaches, concerns about exchanges opening on time

IRS scandal, HHS fundraising stir the health law political pot

Patients with treatment-resistant depression benefit from ketamine

All sterile drug products from NuVision Pharmacy lack sterility assurance, FDA warns

Students receive Addiction Science Award at 2013 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

Republicans ask GAO to probe Sebelius' fundraising

Highlights: State Medicaid investigators get more money to investigate fraud; Texas compromise end-of-life bill still splits lawmakers

FDA seeks injunction in court against New York City Fish

First Edition: May 17, 2013

Acting CMS chief Marilyn Tavenner becomes agency's first confirmed head in 7 years

Event guide: 6th Operationalize Expanded Access Programs Summit East eBook

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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