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Health dept. IG says six Medicare Advantage insurers broke rules

Health New Florida: "A multinational company and two members of the Fortune 500 were named among six insurers found in violation of Medicare marketing rules when federal inspectors checked their books and sat in on presentations as 'secret shoppers,' documents show." The three big firms were Aetna, Universal American Corp and Munich American Holding Corp.'s Sterling Insurance.

1 Apr 2010

Physicians face pressures from increased patient loads, looming payment cuts

Two provisions of the new health overhaul law "may accelerate a trend" of doctors leaving their profession. It points to parts of the legislation that would ask physicians to accept new administrative chores and standards, although some of them might result in better reimbursement rates from insurers and the government.

1 Apr 2010

Obama's gamble on a health care overhaul

Bloomberg BusinessWeek examines President Obama's long push for health care reform. "That Obama chose to stake his presidency on the U.S. health overhaul will define his legacy even as he risked the careers of many fellow Democrats in doing so. ... Obama's pursuit of health care reflected his desire to succeed where no other president had, as much as a determination to seize the chance to fix a broken system, according to [former Sen. Tom] Daschle.

1 Apr 2010

Insurers comply with new coverage rules for sick children

Early Tuesday, insurers agreed to new rules for covering sick children, including a ban that will take effect in September on "pre-existing condition exclusions" for children younger than 19.

1 Apr 2010

Tanda Professional Restore light therapy now made available for at-home use

During a press conference yesterday, doctors and experts unveiled a groundbreaking medical device using the healing properties of light therapy for pain management and improving mobility. For the first time ever, a licensed medical device that delivers clinical levels of light therapy only previously available in a doctor's office, has now been made available for at-home use.

1 Apr 2010

GeneLink's net sales for fourth-quarter of 2009 increased by 9.7%

GeneLink, Inc., a leading consumer genomics biotech company, today reported financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

1 Apr 2010

Court rules against gene patents

The New York Times: A judicial ruling that "threw out parts of two gene patents and called into question thousands more" has biotechnology executives hastening "to reassure their investors that the ruling would not necessarily undermine their businesses, at least in the short run. But the executives themselves were struggling on Tuesday to figure out what the long-term impact would be."

1 Apr 2010

A roundup of health overhaul fack-checking

Will all Americans get health coverage as good as lawmakers' insurance under the overhaul, as Democrats pledged? Apparently so. Even though most federal workers will maintain their federally employee's benefits, lawmakers will have to sign up for insurance plans through the new, state-run exchanges offered through the health legislation (Barry, 3/31).

1 Apr 2010

BioCision, Biohit announce co-promotion program

BioCision LLC today announced that it has agreed to a co-promotion program with Biohit Inc.. Biohit's ErgoTube microcentrifuge tubes will now be branded and sold by both Biohit Inc. and BioCision. In addition, Biohit Inc. will cross-promote BioCision's highly thermo-conductive CoolRack microfuge tube racks for use in combination with ErgoTubes.

31 Mar 2010

Social networks can spread misunderstandings about proper use of antibiotics

Misunderstandings about proper use of antibiotics have the potential to spread widely through social networks such as Twitter, according to a report in the April issue of AJIC: American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC).

31 Mar 2010

Fully integrated medical curriculum proves beneficial for minority students

Of all the licensing exams along the way to becoming an M.D., the Step 1 is notorious for having the worst national passage rate. By adopting a fully integrated medical curriculum in lieu of the traditional academic model, the University of Texas Medical Branch has seen a dramatic drop over the course of a decade in the failure rate, with underrepresented minority students benefiting the most, according to new research that will be presented April 30, 2010 at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

31 Mar 2010

Immigrants with mental disabilities: Reforms needed to ensure fair treatment and due process

Major reforms are needed in the nation's immigration court and detention system to ensure fair treatment and due process for immigrants with mental disabilities, according to new findings released today by Texas Appleseed, with pro bono counsel Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

31 Mar 2010

CompPharma's standardized directory of workers' compensation pharmacy industry

CompPharma, a consortium of workers' compensation pharmacy benefit managers, has compiled a directory of terms and definitions describing various aspects of the workers' compensation pharmacy industry.

31 Mar 2010

2010 BIO International Convention to discuss issues that impact drug discovery and development

The 2010 BIO International Convention will feature a robust health and medical program highlighting the latest scientific breakthroughs and policy and business development issues that impact drug discovery and development. Hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Convention will be held May 3-6, 2010 in Chicago, Ill. at McCormick Place.

31 Mar 2010

New legislation will increase access to health care, says DDI

Will the newly signed health care legislation create a major shift in how pharmaceutical brand decisions are made? The bill will increase access to health insurance, but many believe the practice of medicine is already in transition, and the bill signed by President Obama will simply accelerate changes already being implemented.

31 Mar 2010

Experts to discuss employee health care benefits in BNA Tax & Accounting webinar

When President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, he ushered in dramatic health care reforms unparalleled since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. On April 8, two of the nation's foremost employee benefits and health care law experts from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, Bruce Fried and Martin Moderson, will present a BNA Tax & Accounting webinar, Health Care Reform – Preparing Employers and Health Plans, directed to professionals who advise employers large and small on employee health care benefits or work with ERISA or non-ERISA health plans.

31 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 31, 2010

According to today's headlines, just as President Obama signed the last piece of the health overhaul into law, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched efforts to shape its regulatory language. Meanwhile, analysis of particular policies included in the sweeping measure continue.

31 Mar 2010

Bayat Foundation inaugurates construction of Gawhartaj Bayat maternity hospital in Afghanistan

In a country that leads in infant mortality rates, the Bayat Foundation inaugurated the construction of a maternity hospital in a ceremony with local officials. Named "Gawhartaj Bayat", this much needed facility will accommodate space for 20 beds, a pharmacy, laboratory, and include modern equipment. The project is scheduled to be complete and open for care by October 1, 2010 in Gardez, the capital of the southeast province of Paktia in Afghanistan.

31 Mar 2010

Eisai Europe seeks EMA approval of eribulin mesylate for locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer

Eisai Europe Ltd. today announced that it has submitted a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for approval of eribulin mesylate, also known as 'E7389', for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer in Europe. Eribulin mesylate, a non-taxane microtubule dynamics inhibitor, is an investigational chemical compound discovered and developed by Eisai. Regulatory applications for eribulin mesylate have also been submitted in the United States and Japan.

31 Mar 2010

PhRMA report: 234 medicines in development for special health care needs of children

America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies are developing 234 medicines for the special health care needs of children, according to a new report released today by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

31 Mar 2010