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Federal officials focus on radiation practices at Florida clinic; Medical scan makers announce new efforts to prevent mistakes

Medicare regulations require that when patients receive some types of highly specialized cancer treatments, their radiation oncologist must be on site. But The New York Times reports that federal officials are investigating a Florida cancer clinic that billed Medicare for such treatments while the doctors were absent, sometimes on overseas trips.

27 Feb 2010

Vion Pharmaceuticals' Onrigin SPA: FDA responds

VION PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that it had received a response from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a Special Protocol Assessment for its oncology therapeutic Onrigin™ (laromustine) Injection.

26 Feb 2010

Alegent Health, TeleHealth Services partner in "Generation Patient" enhancement initiative

TeleHealth Services, the nation's leading provider of healthcare grade televisions and on-demand interactive patient education solutions, today announced an extended partnership with Alegent Health. Building upon an existing relationship, Alegent has chosen TeleHealth Services as its interactive patient education and entertainment partner in the health system's unprecedented "Generation Patient" enhancement initiative.

26 Feb 2010

Lack of chemistry between Obama and GOP leaders could strain summit; Gingrich urges series of smaller bills

The New York Times reports on a lack of chemistry between President Barack Obama and leading Republicans such as Rep. John A. Boehner, the House Republican leader, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

26 Feb 2010

House passes bill to repeal antitrust exemption for health insurers

he House passed legislation Wednesday (406-19) to strip health insurers of their federal antitrust exemption.

26 Feb 2010

WellPoint executive defends premium increases at congressional hearing

In a congressional hearing Wednesday, an insurance company executive justified proposed premium increases and warned "that pending legislation" could make the problem of high medical costs worse. "The executive, Angela F. Braly, president of WellPoint, made the comments in testimony prepared for a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee," The New York Times reports.

25 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 25, 2010

Today's news is all about today's White House health summit -- with highlights of how WellPoint got grilled about proposed premium rate increases during a congressional hearing and how the House voted to repeal insurers' antitrust exemption.

25 Feb 2010

FEHBP's H.R. 4489 overhaul will undermine cost-saving tools and disrupt prescription drug benefits

“Regrettably, the FEHBP Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency, and Cost Savings Act (H.R. 4489) would undermine many of the cost-saving tools used in FEHBP and disrupt prescription drug benefits for 8 million federal employees, retirees, and their families.”

25 Feb 2010

Missouri lawmaker proposes changes to control prison health care costs

States struggle with funding health care for inmates, Medicaid cuts and funding health insurance for low-income residents in Minnestoa.

25 Feb 2010

Insurance execs defend rate hikes before Congress

Lawmakers said Anthem Blue Cross, the California insurer that proposed raising premium rates for some individual policyholders by as much as 39 percent, sought to boost profits at the expense of its insured, the Los Angeles Times reports. During a congressional hearing Wednesday, "Democrats said internal documents from [Anthem's parent firm] WellPoint Inc. showed that proposed rate increases of as much as 39% for California customers who buy individual policies would 'return California to a profit of 7%.'"

25 Feb 2010

FDA may set patient safety regulations for health IT

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund: "In the past two years, the agency has received reports of six patient deaths and several dozen injuries linked to malfunctions in the systems, Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in testimony prepared for a government hearing on Thursday. ... The FDA has been studying the issue for several years. Its latest concerns are surfacing as the government ramps up an ambitious plan to spend as much as $27 billion in stimulus money helping doctors and hospitals across the country purchase electronic medical records systems that rely on digital software rather than paper medical charts."

25 Feb 2010

Anthem Blue Cross will go forward with rate hikes, execs tell Calif. lawmakers

Anthem Blue Cross executives told California lawmakers Tuesday that they plan to go ahead with a rate hike of up to 39 percent for individual health insurance policies.

24 Feb 2010

Consumer Watchdog calls for public release of Blue Cross premium hike investigation documents

Consumer Watchdog today condemned Blue Cross's transfer of $2.8 billion to its parent company since 2007, including approximately $719.5 million in 2009 alone, as a way of hiding its true financial condition from regulators scrutinizing steep rate hikes. Consumer Watchdog said Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner should seize on the transfers to invalidate recent premium hikes and should make Blue Cross documents available for public scrutiny.

24 Feb 2010

Early implantation of cochlear devices in deaf children leads to better overall quality of life

Profoundly deaf children with cochlear implants to help them to hear rate their quality of life equal to their normal-hearing peers, according to new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center auditory specialists.

24 Feb 2010

FEHBP PBM contracts: HR 4489 to reduce fraud and grant OPM greater power to audit

The House Subcommittee for the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia heard testimony today on HR 4489, the “FEHBP Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency, and Cost Savings Act.” The proposed bill would reform many aspects of how the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) contracts with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to provide prescription drug benefits to federal workers.

24 Feb 2010

Genetic link between schizophrenia and autism may help study effectiveness of drugs for both illnesses

A genetic link between schizophrenia and autism is enabling researchers to study the effectiveness of drugs used to treat both illnesses.

24 Feb 2010

Head and neck tumors in close proximity to sensitive areas may lead to brain injury, visionary risk or hearing loss

When head and neck tumors - from sinus tumors to acoustic neuromas attached to the hearing and balance nerve at the base of the skull - are located in close proximity to such sensitive areas such as the brain and eyes, they are particularly dangerous due to possible brain injury, visionary risk or hearing loss.

23 Feb 2010

Insurers rebut criticisms of profits, rates

As the Obama Administration seizes on a proposed 39-percent rate hike by a California insurer earlier this month to rally new support for a health overhaul, that insurer's top executive is preparing to go before Congress, The Associated Press/Los Angeles Times reports.

22 Feb 2010

Early Cochlear implantation removes word-learning skill defects in deaf children

Learning words may be facilitated by early exposure to auditory input, according to research presented by the Indiana University School of Medicine at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting in San Diego, Feb. 18-22.

22 Feb 2010

Cash-strapped school districts are making mistake by cutting music from K-12 curriculum: Neuroscientist

At an 11 a.m. press briefing, Saturday, Feb. 20, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, a Northwestern University neuroscientist will argue that music training has profound effects that shape the sensory system and should be a mainstay of K-12 education.

22 Feb 2010

Hearing News and Research

Federal officials focus on radiation practices at Florida clinic; Medical scan makers announce new efforts to prevent mistakes

Vion Pharmaceuticals' Onrigin SPA: FDA responds

Alegent Health, TeleHealth Services partner in "Generation Patient" enhancement initiative

Lack of chemistry between Obama and GOP leaders could strain summit; Gingrich urges series of smaller bills

House passes bill to repeal antitrust exemption for health insurers

WellPoint executive defends premium increases at congressional hearing

First Edition: February 25, 2010

FEHBP's H.R. 4489 overhaul will undermine cost-saving tools and disrupt prescription drug benefits

Missouri lawmaker proposes changes to control prison health care costs

Insurance execs defend rate hikes before Congress

FDA may set patient safety regulations for health IT

Anthem Blue Cross will go forward with rate hikes, execs tell Calif. lawmakers

Consumer Watchdog calls for public release of Blue Cross premium hike investigation documents

Early implantation of cochlear devices in deaf children leads to better overall quality of life

FEHBP PBM contracts: HR 4489 to reduce fraud and grant OPM greater power to audit

Genetic link between schizophrenia and autism may help study effectiveness of drugs for both illnesses

Head and neck tumors in close proximity to sensitive areas may lead to brain injury, visionary risk or hearing loss

Insurers rebut criticisms of profits, rates

Early Cochlear implantation removes word-learning skill defects in deaf children

Cash-strapped school districts are making mistake by cutting music from K-12 curriculum: Neuroscientist

Improving healthcare sustainability through carbon data

Managing vibration in IVF laboratories

A New Approach to Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence

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