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CVS Caremark awarded Specialty Pharmacy accreditation from URAC

CVS Caremark announced today that it has been awarded Specialty Pharmacy accreditation from URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

31 Mar 2010

Judge throws out human gene patents linked to cancers

The New York Times: A federal judge Monday threw out two patents on human genes that are linked to breast and ovarian cancer. "The decision, if upheld, could throw into doubt the patents covering thousands of human genes and reshape the law of intellectual property."

31 Mar 2010

Obama signs final health changes into law

President Barack Obama signed Congress's health reconciliation bill today, making final changes to the health overhaul law. 'This day affirms our ability to overcome the challenges of our politics and meet the challenges of our time,' Obama told a college audience outside Washington, as he signed into law final changes to the sweeping plan approved by lawmakers last week, along with reforms in college student loan programs."

31 Mar 2010

Insurers agree to administration view on kids' coverage

Uncertainty over whether the health overhaul would deliver promised insurance protections to children came to a quick end Monday when insurers told the administration they would not seek to block regulations clarifying the matter, The Associated Press reports. At issue is whether insurers would be required to offer plans to children with preexisting conditions right away.

31 Mar 2010

State roundup: Romney on Mass. care, Kansas Rx costs, Colorado insurance costs

The Boston Globe, on former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's reaction to the new federal health law: "The former governor, who has been mentioned as a possible candidate again for president in 2012, had labeled Obama's bill 'unhealthy for America' and has called for its repeal, even as conservative critics say it was modeled on Romney's policy."

31 Mar 2010

Insurers brace for overhaul changes

The Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail: The health overhaul seeks to insure millions of Americans who do not currently have coverage with new subsidies, in essence, delivering millions of new customers to insurers. But, the bill would also guarantee people won't be excluded from coverage because of sickness, a potentially costly proposition for insurance firms who continue to complain that too few Americans will become insured and the risk won't be spread thinly enough to offset coverage of the sickest people.

31 Mar 2010

Close-ups on how the health overhaul gives and takes away

"An association representing 300 large corporations urged President Obama and Congress on Monday to repeal a provision of the health care overhaul that prompted AT&T, Caterpillar and other companies to announce substantial charges for the current quarter."

31 Mar 2010

States mull joining health care reform lawsuits or keeping out of it

The Associated Press/New York Times: Indiana has joined the lawsuit brought by 13 states challenging the constitutionality of a mandate on Americans to carry health insurance in the new health reform law. "State Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Monday that Indiana would be added to an amended version of the lawsuit against the law that is expected to be filed soon" (3/29).

31 Mar 2010

Women, diabetics, dementia patients most likely to fall in 'doughnut hole'; Reform seeks to close coverage gap

Among elderly Americans, women and those with diabetes and dementia are most likely to find themselves in the Medicare Part D drug plan 'doughnut hole,' the coverage gap that occurs after a beneficiary has reached the annual coverage limit but hasn't spent enough on drugs to qualify for catastrophic coverage.

31 Mar 2010

Despite simmering GOP rage on health bill, some Republicans say they can still work with Democrats

NPR reports: "Though conservative anger with Washington over the newly signed bill has been particularly hot, some longtime political observers see a revival of previous populist movements from the right. ... Chip Berlet with Political Research Associates, a liberal group that tracks populist anti-government movements, says this is nothing new.

31 Mar 2010

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals reports net income of $2.7M for 2009 against year-ago loss

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing first-in-class, anti-infective compounds for the treatment and prevention of antibiotic-resistant infections, today reported full-year and fourth quarter financial results for 2009. The company also highlighted recent progress of its proprietary and partnered development programs.

30 Mar 2010

Posting calorie counts on menus and menu boards also needed in Ontario

US President Barack Obama's groundbreaking health care legislation includes a provision requiring restaurants to post calories on menus and menu boards. For the past year, Ontario's doctors have been calling for similar action from the government, chain restaurants and school cafeterias in the province and believe now is the perfect time for this initiative to be implemented.

30 Mar 2010

Court rules certain claims covering isolated DNA sequences in patents covering BRACAnalysis as invalid

Myriad Genetics, Inc. today announced that Judge Robert W. Sweet of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that certain claims covering isolated DNA sequences in seven of the 23 patents covering BRACAnalysis® are invalid. Myriad will appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and will continue to vigorously defend this litigation.

30 Mar 2010

Bayshore Home Health deploys WinMagic's SecureDoc full-disk encryption software

Bayshore Home Health, Canada's largest provider of home and community health care services, is installing WinMagic's SecureDoc full-disk encryption software on all laptops and tablets used by the company, including those utilized by clinical managers and nurses.

30 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 30, 2010

Today's news pages are full of stories detailing more particulars of the new health care bill to be signed into law today by President Obama. Meanwhile, the headlines also indicate that for Democrats, politically capitalizing on the new measure will be no easy task.

30 Mar 2010

US consumers torn between health insurance coverage and rising health care costs

DSS Research, the leader in market research for the health insurance industry, developed a proprietary set of metrics that gauge the level of engagement in health care on the part of the consumer. This quarter we also added questions based on the current health care crisis.

30 Mar 2010

National Donate Life Month: Facts surrounding dire need for organ donations

With Thursday, April 1, 2010, marking the start of "National Donate Life Month," Health Net, Inc. is working to increase awareness regarding the urgent need for organ donations - particularly among minority populations - and also to dispute some of the misperceptions surrounding organ donation.

30 Mar 2010

Spillane Weingarten wins jury verdict for Wilshire Radiology MRI against COHR

Alex Weingarten of Spillane Weingarten LLP, a California based business litigation law firm, won a unanimous jury verdict in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of medical imaging center Wilshire Radiology MRI, Inc., against COHR, Inc., a large national conglomerate providing a broad range of services across the health care industry.

30 Mar 2010

Study suggests two distinct versions of multiple sclerosis

There may be two distinct versions of multiple sclerosis, a study in both animal models and human blood samples suggests. What's more, a patient's responsiveness to the most popular first-line drug for this episodic and all-too-often recurring autoimmune condition seems to depend on which version that patient has.

30 Mar 2010

UHC awards Great American Insurance with 3-year agreement for equipment asset management

Today the University HealthSystem Consortium announced that it has awarded a 3-year agreement for equipment asset management to Great American Insurance Company, a member of Great American Insurance Group. Awarded through a competitive bid process, the agreement became effective on February 1, 2010.

30 Mar 2010