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DRCR Network study finds new treatment more effective

28 Apr 2010

Fine print complicates effort to cover young adults

Some parents may have to wait to get children as old as age 26 to be allowed to stay on their health plans because of the health law's fine print, The Associated Press reports. "As a consequence, some families may have to wait until 2011 to get their kids covered, particularly if the parents are working for a large employer, benefits experts and government officials say.

28 Apr 2010

As health reform's specifics continue to emerge, so do questions and answers from stakeholders

Determining how the law will be applied will be the next big battle in health reform and lobbyists are gearing up to influence implementation. "Congress gave sweeping power to federal agencies, especially (HHS), to fill in gaps lawmakers left in the 906-page legislation — an effort that will take years. The law refers more than 1,000 times to Cabinet secretaries who will make decisions on how to carry out the law. For example, the law requires insurance companies to spend 80% of premiums on medical claims, as opposed to administrative costs, by 2011. But it directs the health department to decide whether gray-area expenses, such as health-and-wellness programs offered by insurers, count as care or overhead."

28 Apr 2010

A bitter pill to swallow

Reporting for Kaiser Health News in collaboration with The Washington Post, Sandra Boodman writes: "When Jere Carpentier learned last year that she had advanced colon cancer -- her third malignancy in a dozen years -- she worried about spending hours in a clinic tethered to an intravenous line, enduring punishing chemotherapy that would make her hair fall out.

28 Apr 2010

States uneasy about impact of Medicaid expansion

The expansion of insurance coverage under the health reform law is due largely to an expansion of the government-funded Medicaid program, which is causing some doctors to worry about the specifics of implementation, according to the New York Times. "Absorbing that many people into the system will not be easy. The program is administered and partly financed by the states, which are now racing to figure out how to carry out the necessary changes and simplify enrollment even as they struggle to cope with severe budget cuts and staff shortages."

28 Apr 2010

Better vision ahead for many diabetic retinopathy patients

A nationwide, government-sponsored study finds that people with a common form of diabetic retinopathy can benefit from a medication first developed to combat another potentially blinding disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Treating diabetic macular edema (DME) with ranibizumab (Lucentis) eye injections, plus laser treatment if needed, appears to result in better vision than laser treatment alone, according to the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research (DRCR) Network study published today in Ophthalmology online, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy). DME is the main cause of vision loss in people with diabetes mellitus.

27 Apr 2010

Expensive generic drugs cost Australia billions

Consumers and the Australian Government are paying up to 10 times more for generic cholesterol-lowering drugs compared to the United Kingdom, according to research carried out by health economists at the University of Sydney.

27 Apr 2010

Salix Pharmaceuticals announces novel patient and health care provider support program for HE

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced plans for the Hepatic Encephalopathy Living Program (H.E.L.P.). H.E.L.P. is a first-of-its-kind patient and health care provider support program for the management of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and will launch on May 24, 2010. The program will provide patients with HE educational materials, co-pay assistance, treatment adherence support and a 24-hour toll-free hotline.

27 Apr 2010

3M first-quarter worldwide sales up 25% to $6.3 billion

3M today reported first-quarter earnings of $1.29 per share on sales of $6.3 billion. Operating income margins were 22.8 percent, up 7 percentage points year-on-year. Sales and per-share earnings increased 24.7 percent and 74.3 percent, respectively, versus the first quarter of 2009.

27 Apr 2010

First Edition: April 27, 2010

Today's headlines focus on the details of health reform that continue to emerge -- including states' reactions to high risk pools and questions about the sweeping expansion of Medicaid.

27 Apr 2010

Universite de Montreal demographer offers prediction of boomer future

Baby boomers are retiring healthy, financially secure and with a desire to travel. According to Universit- de Montr-al demographer Jacques L-gar-, baby boomers will remain among the most self-reliant generations to reach their golden years.

27 Apr 2010

Researchers to commence enrolling participants in National Children's Study

After years of planning, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are ready to begin enrolling participants in the National Children's Study, which will examine the effects of environmental and genetic factors on child and adult health.

27 Apr 2010

New DaVita Phosphorus Challenge tool for CKD and dialysis patients

DaVita Inc., a leading provider of kidney care services for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, today announced the launch of the DaVita Phosphorus Challenge, an online resource designed to serve as a core learning tool for CKD and dialysis patients.

27 Apr 2010

Department of Justice not to challenge Hospital Value Initiative proposal

The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by the Hospital Value Initiative (HVI) to establish an information exchange program that will provide data on the relative costs and resource efficiency of more than 300 hospitals in California. The department said the proposed information exchange may reduce health care costs by improving competition among hundreds of hospitals in California and facilitating more informed purchasing decisions by group purchasers of health care services.

27 Apr 2010

Laughter increases production of antibodies and activates body's protective cells

Laughter is a highly complex process. Joyous or mirthful laughter is considered a positive stress (eustress) that involves complicated brain activities leading to a positive effect on health. Norman Cousins first suggested the idea that humor and the associated laughter can benefit a person's health in the 1970s. His ground-breaking work, as a layperson diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, documented his use of laughter in treating himself—with medical approval and oversight—into remission.

27 Apr 2010

Health care costs of abused women change from year to year after abuse ends: Study

Victims of domestic violence endure significantly higher health costs than other women for three years after the abuse ends, a new study finds.

27 Apr 2010

WHO experts to examine polio outbreak in Tajikistan

The WHO said it sent six technical experts to assess a small outbreak of polio in Tajikistan, VOA News reports, adding that WHO "says this is the first importation of polio in the European region since Europe was certified as polio-free in 2002."

27 Apr 2010

Wall Street Journal examines changes to polio eradication strategy

The Wall Street Journal examines upcoming changes to the global strategy to eradicate polio with a focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's role in fighting the disease. "[O]rganizations behind the polio fight," which include the WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the CDC, "plan to announce a major revamp of their strategy to address shortcomings exposed by" the increasing number of polio outbreaks in "countries believed to have stopped the disease." The plan is expected to be announced next week.

27 Apr 2010

AMGA reports success in first two regional meetings on ACOs

The American Medical Group Association announced that the first two meetings in a series of regional meetings focused on accountable care organizations (ACOs) were unqualified successes, drawing healthcare leaders together to network in an intimate setting and to learn from leading medical groups and organized systems of care that are exemplars of the ACO model.

27 Apr 2010

Opinions: G8 summit; World Malaria Day; Family planning; Global Food Security Act

As G8 development leaders gather in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this week to discuss priorities for the upcoming summit, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the WFP, calls for world leaders to focus on the nutritional needs of mothers and children in developing countries in a Toronto Star opinion piece.

27 Apr 2010