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Court weighs patents for human genes

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a genetics company that holds patents on breast- and ovarian-cancer-causing genes, saying their claims on the two genes hinders further research by other companies and scientists, the Associated Press/CBS News reports.

4 Feb 2010

UBC announces the opening of new global office in Tokyo, Japan

nited BioSource Corporation (UBC) today announced the opening of its newest global office in Tokyo, Japan. The UBC office will be led by Kumpei Kobayashi, PharmD, a biopharmaceutical industry veteran with over 20 years of product development experience throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

4 Feb 2010

Poll: Health care 'damage' to Democrats 'has been done'

Politico: "Democrats will face nearly the same political environment this fall whether or not they pass health care reform legislation, according to a new poll out Tuesday." The poll, by Public Policy Polling, found that "Republicans currently have a generic ballot advantage of 43 percent to 40 percent in races for Congress. ... 'At this point, it looks like the political damage for Democrats on health care has been done,' PPP President Dean Debnam said. "The poll, conducted Jan. 29 - 31, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points" (Barr, 2/2).

3 Feb 2010

States consider their own health reform ideas

"Supporters of a bill that seeks to bar lifetime and annual payment caps on health insurance plans in Maine say they expect a large crowd at a legislative committee's hearing on the proposal." The same topic has been considered by the U.S. Congress as part of Democrats health overhaul (2/3).

3 Feb 2010

Questionable health insurance plans cause concern

Officials worry that people with no insurance will be drawn in by questionable health insurance plans. ABC News reports: The "[h]ealth care overhaul is stalled, resulting in a proliferation of plans that don't fully protect people, officials said. Watchdogs worry about two kinds of plans in particular."

3 Feb 2010

New York Times examines WHO process for getting H1N1 vaccines to countries in need

The New York Times examines the WHO's role as a "clearinghouse" for getting the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine to lower income nations. Though H1N1 has died down in North America and many wealthier nations "are trying to get rid of their [vaccine] surpluses," the virus continues to circulate in regions of North Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, according to the newspaper.

3 Feb 2010

Lobbying, ads slow down on health reform

"Drugmakers, business organizations and other interest groups in the health care battle have dialed down expensive lobbying campaigns as they assess how last month's stunning Republican capture of a Senate seat from Massachusetts has altered Washington's political landscape...," The Associated Press reports.

3 Feb 2010

Obama urges Senate Dems not to give up on health legislation

The Washington Post: President Obama attended an issues conference today with the Senate Democratic Caucus and "answered questions from senators, some of them facing uphill reelection battles."

3 Feb 2010

Lawmakers sound off on President's budget and health costs

While White House Budget Director Peter Orszag testified on Capitol Hill about President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget, some members expressed concern about health costs, McClatchy reports.

3 Feb 2010

House Dems' next step in health reform: Repeal of insurance antitrust exemption

Lawmakers "hoping to revive President Barack Obama's stalled health care overhaul have started writing a compromise bill, but it's unclear when the legislation will be ready for votes, a top House Democrat said Tuesday," The Associated Press reports. "The measure would change the massive Senate-approved health bill to what bargainers from the White House, Senate and House agreed to last month, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said in a brief interview.

3 Feb 2010

AP offers advice on choosing Medicare Advantage plans

Consumers can switch from original Medicare plans to Medicare Advantage plans until March 31 and to help them understand the options, The Associated Press offers answers to frequent questions about Medicare Advantage plans.

3 Feb 2010

Drug company CEOs under pressure

Dow Jones Newswires/The Wall Street Journal on Severin Schwan, chief executive of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG: "'It is difficult to gauge the impact of the planned U.S. healthcare reform on the pharmaceutical industry,' Schwan told reporters at a media conference to detail 2009 earnings. 'On the one hand, more U.S. citizens will be getting access to healthcare, which is positive. At the same time, pressure on drug prices will certainly increase,' he added." The wire service adds that he also said "decisions on generic biosimilars will be key" (Greil, 2/3).

3 Feb 2010

The debate over selling insurance across state lines

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz writes that Republicans in Congress have proposed this concept in the past "and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., embraced it as part of his 2008 presidential campaign. Advocates - including some insurers and small business groups - say it would give the more than 17 million Americans who buy individual coverage a greater choice of plans and the possibility of lower prices.

3 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 3, 2010

Today's headlines highlight what might be the Democrats' next health reform move in the House, where Speaker Pelosi plans to advance legislation next week to repeal insurance companies' antitrust exemption.

3 Feb 2010

Effective implementation of clinical information systems to maximize health care IT investment

Marking the launch of its newly redesigned Web site, Informatics Corporation of America (ICA; www.icainformatics.com), provider of electronic solutions to hospitals, integrated delivery networks (IDNs), and health information exchanges (HIEs), announces the availability of an informative white paper, “Health Care IT Investment Heightens Need For Effective Implementation: Introducing five key elements for successful roll-out of clinical information systems (CIS),” http://www.icainformatics.com/news-and-events/white-papers/.

3 Feb 2010

AFGE lauds proposed $57 billion funding for VA

Today, the American Federation of Government Employees and its National VA Council applauded the White House's proposed funding increases for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The White House's proposed fiscal year 2011 budget provides $57 billion in funding for the VA. For more than two decades, AFGE, which represents over 180,000 employees in the VA, has joined veterans' groups in calling for full funding of veterans' services.

3 Feb 2010

Majority of nurses experience workplace violence

Three-quarters of nurses providing private and public care experienced workplace violence, but only one in six incidents were formally reported, according to study published in the February issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

3 Feb 2010

Apple Valley Medical Center to hold free Heart Failure Community Education Evening

A free Heart Failure Community Education Evening will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at the Apple Valley Medical Center.

3 Feb 2010

ONA urges Ontario government to retain RNs and prevent negative impact on patient care

Ontario Nurses' Association (ONA) President Linda Haslam-Stroud, RN is calling for the Ontario government to use limited health-care funding available where it's going to matter most: improving patients' health outcomes by preserving registered nursing positions that are being cut as hospitals struggle to balance budgets.

3 Feb 2010