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Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

In medical school, we were taught not to withhold information from our patients or to be "paternal" in making decisions for them. We internalized the idea that fully informed patients are better equipped to make treatment decisions.

17 May 2013

HHS to pay $1 billion for ideas to drive down health costs

The availability of a second round of grants -- funded by the health law -- was announced to support approaches to reduce costs and improve care. The initial round, announced last year, funded 107 organizations.

17 May 2013

First Edition: May 16, 2013

Today's headlines detail the Senate confirmation of Acting Chief Marilyn Tavenner to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

16 May 2013

GWU to hold forum to discuss public health issues that affect Latino immigrant communities

The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services will hold a forum on May 22 to discuss public health issues that disproportionately affect Latino immigrant communities.

16 May 2013

89 arrested in $223 million Medicare fraud schemes

Doctors and nurses were among those charged in the bust that spanned eight cities and focused on bogus Medicare charges.

16 May 2013

Simponi injection gets FDA approval to treat adults with ulcerative colitis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new use for Simponi (golimumab) injection to treat adults with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis.

16 May 2013

Prostate cancer drug Xofigo gets FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Xofigo (radium Ra 223 dichloride) to treat men with symptomatic late-stage (metastatic) castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread to bones but not to other organs.

16 May 2013

First Edition: May 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the latest Congressional Budget Office projections could further stall efforts to reach a grand bargain that includes changes to Medicare and other entitlement programs.

15 May 2013

Microclinic International to promote healthier living in the Cumberland Valley Region

Microclinic International was awarded a major CDC grant to promote healthier living and combat chronic disease in the Cumberland Valley Region in Appalachian Kentucky.

15 May 2013

Many physicians reject Medicaid -- A cause for concern as the expansion approaches

McClatchy reports that projections highlight how the shortage of physicians in general as well as those who choose not to accept Medicaid patients could undermine the health law's intent. Also in the news, fits and starts surround this health law provision in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio and Colorado.

15 May 2013

ASPS strongly supports Breast Cancer Patient Education Act

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons today announced its strong support of the "Breast Cancer Patient Education Act" (S. 931). This bipartisan legislation is being introduced today, coinciding with National Women's Health Week, in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Donna Christensen, M.D. (D-VI) and in the United States Senate by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and David Vitter (R-LA).

15 May 2013

New nimodipine oral solution receives FDA approval for subarachnoid hemorrhage treatment

On May 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Nymalize, a new nimodipine oral solution, to treat patients experiencing symptoms resulting from ruptured blood vessels in the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage).

15 May 2013

GOP probe Sebelius' fundraising for health law outreach

Congressional Republicans want to know whom she contacted and what other HHS officials are involved, while Sen. Lamar Alexander said he would ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate. A Sebelius spokesman said her actions were legal, and that she had not solicited pharmaceutical and insurance companies regulated by the agency.

15 May 2013

First Edition: May 14, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about an Obama administration plan to delay Medicaid DSH payment reductions.

14 May 2013

White House identifies key groups for health exchange enrollment

The Obama administration has identified specific groups of people it would like to focus on as it promotes enrollment in the state health insurance exchanges next year. The administration plans a localized approach to reach 2.7 million healthy people who are 18 to 35 years old and without health insurance, according to information provided by senior administration officials (Ethridge, 5/10).

14 May 2013

Sebelius raises eyebrows by soliciting donations for health law outreach

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has asked businesses and charitable groups to make large donations to help underwrite the costs of public outreach associated with the overhaul. A GOP leader is questioning the legality of the efforts.

14 May 2013

Food Defense Plan Builder: FDA's new tool to help food industry craft defense measures

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a new tool to help bolster the food industry's defense measures against an act of intentional food contamination.

14 May 2013

First Edition: May 13, 2013

Today's headlines include reports that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been seeking out funds from private sources to support efforts to publicize the health law.

13 May 2013

The president's impassioned health law speech: 'We're going to keep fighting'

President Barack Obama was unusually detailed in his defense of the law, emphasizing the scope of insurance coverage for many Americans.

13 May 2013

Viewpoints: The threat from 'contagion exhaustion;' An economist sees humor in hospital pricing

There has been a flurry of recent attention over two novel infectious agents: the first, a strain of avian influenza virus (H7N9) in China that is causing severe respiratory disease and other serious health complications in people; the second, a coronavirus, first reported last year in the Middle East, that has brought a crop of new infections.

13 May 2013

Health and Human Services News and Research

Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

HHS to pay $1 billion for ideas to drive down health costs

First Edition: May 16, 2013

GWU to hold forum to discuss public health issues that affect Latino immigrant communities

89 arrested in $223 million Medicare fraud schemes

Simponi injection gets FDA approval to treat adults with ulcerative colitis

Prostate cancer drug Xofigo gets FDA approval

First Edition: May 15, 2013

Microclinic International to promote healthier living in the Cumberland Valley Region

Many physicians reject Medicaid -- A cause for concern as the expansion approaches

ASPS strongly supports Breast Cancer Patient Education Act

New nimodipine oral solution receives FDA approval for subarachnoid hemorrhage treatment

GOP probe Sebelius' fundraising for health law outreach

First Edition: May 14, 2013

White House identifies key groups for health exchange enrollment

Sebelius raises eyebrows by soliciting donations for health law outreach

Food Defense Plan Builder: FDA's new tool to help food industry craft defense measures

First Edition: May 13, 2013

The president's impassioned health law speech: 'We're going to keep fighting'

Viewpoints: The threat from 'contagion exhaustion;' An economist sees humor in hospital pricing

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