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Heart death risk cut by early warning drugs tests

The likelihood of people dying because their medication has a side effect that affects the electrical activity of the heart is being reduced - thanks to a better understanding of why this happens and the development of tests to predict it.

From The University of Manchester 14 Jul 2008

Tough action needed to protect children from the allure of smoking

A new BMA report calls on the UK Governments to introduce a range of tough measures aimed at reducing young people's exposure to positive images of smoking.

7 Jul 2008

Doctors call for change in Australian motorcycle laws to protect children

A study by doctors in Victoria has found that each year between 2000 and 2004, the number of deaths and injuries among children in motorcycle-related accidents has risen annually by almost 10%.

7 Jul 2008

Pennsylvania health care cost containment council employees let go after program authorization lapses

Nearly the entire staff of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has been let go due to a political disagreement between Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and state Senate Republicans over whether a bill to reauthorize the council should also include an extension of a malpractice insurance subsidy for physicians, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Goldstein, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/2).

4 Jul 2008

Massachusetts cigarette tax increases by $1 per pack to fund state health insurance law

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) on Tuesday signed into law a bill that increases the state cigarette tax by $1 per pack, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The increase, which brings the tax to $2.51, took effect immediately.

4 Jul 2008

Bush calls on congress to reauthorize PEPFAR ahead of G8 summit

President Bush on Wednesday called on Congress to quickly reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ahead of the Group of Eight industrialized nations summit next week in Hokkaido, Japan, Reuters reports.

4 Jul 2008

DHS Inspector General issues recommendation on reporting procedures of immigrant detainee deaths

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau should promptly report all deaths of immigrants held at federal detention centers in the U.S. to the Department of Homeland Security, as well as to state authorities where required by law, according to recommendations in a report released Tuesday by the DHS Office of Inspector General, the New York Times reports.

4 Jul 2008

Pennsylvania tells Autism Speaks to stop talking

Yesterday in a historical and unprecedented move, the Pennsylvania legislature voted nearly unanimously in the affirmative for House Bill 1150 to mandate commercial insurance companies to cover some services for children with autism.

3 Jul 2008

Edward Kennedy working toward bipartisan support for major health care initiative in 2009

The office of Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) has begun to hold a series of meetings with a number of health care experts to "begin laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal health care," the Boston Globe reports.

3 Jul 2008

North Carolina mental health parity law comes into effect

North Carolina health care insurers must provide the same amount of coverage for certain mental conditions as they do for physical ailments under a state law that took effect on Tuesday, the Winston-Salem Journal reports.

3 Jul 2008

India reduces rate of HIV transmission in some states

India has managed to reduce the rate of HIV transmission in some states through increased awareness, resources and legislation, according to a report released Monday by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Reuters reports.

3 Jul 2008

Ethics summit to prioritize concerns for medical triage, treatment and safety during influenza pandemic

Public health professionals from across the country will convene July 14-15 in Indianapolis for a national summit on ethical and policy issues faced by public health officials and the medical community while preparing for a large-scale epidemic.

2 Jul 2008

Democratic lawmakers call Bush administration's efforts to temporarily hold Medicare physician payment rates at current levels 'misleading'

Democratic Sens. Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.) in a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt wrote that there "have been several misleading -- and possibly incorrect -- reports from the [Bush] administration regarding actions on physician claims filed beginning July 1," The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 6/30).

2 Jul 2008

Legislation To Reauthorize PEPFAR Still Getting Blocked In Senate Despite Agreement Reached Last Week, Bush's Support

Efforts to pass a measure (S 2731) aimed at reauthorizing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief failed on Friday after Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) rejected a request by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to vote on the bill, CQ Today reports.

2 Jul 2008

Costs pose challenge to Massachusetts health insurance law one year after deadline for residents to obtain coverage

One year after the deadline for Massachusetts residents to obtain health coverage under the state's health insurance law, the percentage of uninsured has declined but the law "still faces a huge challenge: costs," USA Today reports.

2 Jul 2008

President Bush signs war supplemental spending bill that blocks six new Medicaid rules

President Bush on Monday signed into law a supplemental war appropriations bill (HR 2642) with a provision that will delay for one year six new Medicaid regulations proposed by his administration, CongressDaily reports (Sanchez, CongressDaily, 6/30).

2 Jul 2008

Lawmakers to introduce bill that would overturn Supreme Court decision on medical device liability

Democratic lawmakers recently announced plans to introduce legislation in the House and Senate that would overturn a February Supreme Court decision that FDA approval of certain medical devices protects manufacturers from product liability lawsuits filed in state courts, CQ HealthBeat reports.

2 Jul 2008

Bush Administration to temporarily keep Medicare physician payment rates at current levels after congress fails to pass legislation to delay scheduled cut

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Friday said that the agency will maintain the current Medicare payment rate for physicians because Congress was unable to pass legislation to avert a 10.6% cut scheduled to go into effect on Tuesday before lawmakers left for the Fourth of July recess, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, congressional aides said the freeze to payment rates could last 10 days (Kane, Washington Post, 6/28).

2 Jul 2008

SureScripts, RxHub merge, create single e-prescription network

Officials from SureScripts and RxHub, two electronic prescription networks, on Tuesday will announce their merger in an effort to promote greater adoption of electronic prescribing by physicians, the Washington Post reports (Goldfarb, Washington Post, 7/1).

2 Jul 2008

Federal Judge rejects request for injunction against Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, editorial says

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Ricardo Urbina on Monday rejected a request for a preliminary injunction against a Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 6/30).

2 Jul 2008

Medical Legislation News and Research

Heart death risk cut by early warning drugs tests

Tough action needed to protect children from the allure of smoking

Doctors call for change in Australian motorcycle laws to protect children

Pennsylvania health care cost containment council employees let go after program authorization lapses

Massachusetts cigarette tax increases by $1 per pack to fund state health insurance law

Bush calls on congress to reauthorize PEPFAR ahead of G8 summit

DHS Inspector General issues recommendation on reporting procedures of immigrant detainee deaths

Pennsylvania tells Autism Speaks to stop talking

Edward Kennedy working toward bipartisan support for major health care initiative in 2009

North Carolina mental health parity law comes into effect

India reduces rate of HIV transmission in some states

Ethics summit to prioritize concerns for medical triage, treatment and safety during influenza pandemic

Democratic lawmakers call Bush administration's efforts to temporarily hold Medicare physician payment rates at current levels 'misleading'

Legislation To Reauthorize PEPFAR Still Getting Blocked In Senate Despite Agreement Reached Last Week, Bush's Support

Costs pose challenge to Massachusetts health insurance law one year after deadline for residents to obtain coverage

President Bush signs war supplemental spending bill that blocks six new Medicaid rules

Lawmakers to introduce bill that would overturn Supreme Court decision on medical device liability

Bush Administration to temporarily keep Medicare physician payment rates at current levels after congress fails to pass legislation to delay scheduled cut

SureScripts, RxHub merge, create single e-prescription network

Federal Judge rejects request for injunction against Medicare competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, editorial says

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