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First Edition: December 17, 2012

Today's headlines include weekend updates regarding the fiscal cliff negotiations as well as news regarding states' decisions on health exchanges.

17 Dec 2012

Appeals court: Calif. can cut Medicaid reimbursement rates

A federal appeals court panel ruled Thursday that Medi-Cal payments to providers may be reduced by 10 percent -- a move that HHS had previously approved.

15 Dec 2012

U.S. government working to uphold, advance LGBT rights

In this White House blog post, Samantha Power, special assistant to the President and senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights at the National Security Council, highlights progress made across the U.S. government in implementing "the first-ever Presidential Memorandum to advance the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) persons."

15 Dec 2012

UMass Medical School to assist New Hampshire's Disproportionate Share Hospital program

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a three-year contract to UMass Medical School to assist with New Hampshire's Disproportionate Share Hospital program.

15 Dec 2012

Novartis receives FDA approval for Signifor injection to treat Cushing's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Signifor (pasireotide diaspartate) injection for the treatment of Cushing's disease patients who cannot be helped through surgery.

15 Dec 2012

Surgical Information Systems to demonstrate anesthesia information management system during PGA

Surgical Information Systems announced today it will showcase its industry-leading anesthesia information management system as a key component of the EHR during the upcoming PostGraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology.

15 Dec 2012

Iclusig gets FDA approval for two rare blood and bone marrow diseases

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Iclusig (ponatinib) to treat adults with chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), two rare blood and bone marrow diseases.

15 Dec 2012

FDA approves GSK’s raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raxibacumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with inhalational anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs and for prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved raxibacumab injection to treat inhalational anthrax, a form of the infectious disease caused by breathing in the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Raxibacumab also is approved to prevent inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Krugman says GOP's attacks on big government don't translate to Medicare; Democrats' must overcome hesitancy to bargain

By all accounts, Republicans have, so far, offered almost no specifics. They claim that they're willing to raise $800 billion in revenue by closing loopholes, but they refuse to specify which loopholes they would close; they are demanding large cuts in spending, but the specific cuts they have been willing to lay out wouldn't come close to delivering the savings they demand. It's a very peculiar situation.

14 Dec 2012

House Republicans assail administration on health law implementation

Members of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health assert administration officials have not been helpful to states.

14 Dec 2012

LED light instantly triggers or reverses depression-like behavior in rodents

A specific pattern of neuronal firing in a brain reward circuit instantly rendered mice vulnerable to depression-like behavior induced by acute severe stress, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health has found. When researchers used a high-tech method to mimic the pattern, previously resilient mice instantly succumbed to a depression-like syndrome of social withdrawal and reduced pleasure-seeking - they avoided other animals and lost their sweet tooth.

13 Dec 2012

Analyzing the Medicaid expansion balance sheet

As states contemplate the financial implications of pursuing the health law's Medicaid expansion, the recent Health and Human Services' decision not to fund partial expansions continues to draw reactions.

13 Dec 2012

Texas Governor calls for late-term abortion ban

Citing what he called fetal pain, former GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry urged state lawmakers to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He said his ultimate goal was to eliminate abortions altogether.

13 Dec 2012

AZD6765 briefly improves treatment-resistant patients' depression symptoms in minutes

A drug that works through the same brain mechanism as the fast-acting antidepressant ketamine briefly improved treatment-resistant patients' depression symptoms in minutes, with minimal untoward side effects, in a clinical trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The experimental agent, called AZD6765, acts through the brain's glutamate chemical messenger system.

13 Dec 2012

Six states get an early greenlight on health exchanges from HHS

The Obama administration also gave conditional approval on Monday to six states -- all led by Democratic governors -- that were the first to meet the health law's rules for setting up health insurance marketplaces.

12 Dec 2012

In 'fiscal cliff' talks, Medicare and Medicaid savings ideas draw scrutiny

The Wall Street Journal asks when cuts to these programs will start affecting beneficiaries and causing access issues. Other savings ideas face a burden of proof. Also, The Hill reports that the White House is cooling to the idea of $100 billion in Medicaid cuts floated earlier this year. In the background, news outlets offer reports about progress or lack thereof in averting the looming cliff.

12 Dec 2012

HHS to states: Partial Medicaid expansion won't get full federal funding

On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services said it was all or nothing on the health care law's expansion of Medicaid eligibility, disappointing some Republican governors who were considering smaller growth in the state-federal program for the poor and elderly.

12 Dec 2012

Clinical trial to examine AstraZeneca experimental drug against pulmonary tuberculosis

A clinical trial will examine an investigational drug's early bacteria-killing activity in patients newly diagnosed with drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis.

12 Dec 2012

Administration: No enhanced match for partial Medicaid expansion

The Obama administration filled in a key detail of what states must do to receive full federal funding for an expansion of Medicaid under the 2010 health law. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a letter sent Monday to governors that states cannot partially expand their Medicaid programs and get full federal funding.

11 Dec 2012