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Peer-mediated interventions may provide greater social benefits for children with ASD

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who attend regular education classes may be more likely to improve their social skills if their typically developing peers are taught how to interact with them than if only the children with ASD are taught such skills. According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, a shift away from more commonly used interventions that focus on training children with ASD directly may provide greater social benefits for children with ASD.

1 Dec 2011

States opposing health law are among those receiving federal grants for exchanges

The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that nearly $220 million in new grants would be awarded to 13 states bringing the total that have been awarded such assistance to 29. This number includes seven of the states run by GOP governors that are suing the administration to overturn the health law.

1 Dec 2011

Ranbaxy receives FDA approval for first generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first generic version of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor.

30 Nov 2011

Medicare to pay for obesity counseling sessions

The United States Medicare program for the elderly will cover counseling for obesity. Obesity rates have hit the highest in the past few years and this measure is an attempt to curb the epidemic.

30 Nov 2011

Physician practices, pharmacies face barriers to e-prescribing despite benefits

Physician practices and pharmacies generally view electronic prescribing as an important tool to improve patient safety and save time, but both groups face barriers to realizing the technology's full benefit, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

30 Nov 2011

HHS rejects two MLR waiver requests

The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday delivered the news that health law waiver requests from Indiana and Louisiana had been given the thumbs down, making these two states the third and fourth to have their applications for relief denied outright.

30 Nov 2011

HHS approves Ariz. Medicaid cut; La. officials find common ground on Medicaid needs

Federal officials approve an additional 5 percent cut in payments to Arizona hospitals and other providers. Meanwhile, in Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration has rare kind words for Sen. Mary Landrieu and New York struggles with its Medicaid payment computer system.

29 Nov 2011

First Edition: November 29, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, and working in collaboration with The Washington Post, Sandra G. Boodman writes: "Propelled by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which took effect in 2009, 2 million veterans, many of whom served in Iraq and Afghanistan, are eligible for generous benefits that can amount to a full scholarship.

29 Nov 2011

Federal funding, Medicare plan specifics draw campaign-trail reports

News outlets examine the federal funds received by Texas while Rick Perry has been the state's governor as well as some of the positions taken by Mitt Romney.

28 Nov 2011

Funds for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria dry up

A global fund organization against three killer diseases says it has run out of money to pay for new grant programs for the next two years. An official with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said Thursday that it has been forced to cease giving new grants until 2014 because of global economic woes brought on by debt crises in the U.S. and Europe.

27 Nov 2011

NIH-led study advances HIV vaccine research

HIV is coated in sugars that usually hide the virus from the immune system. Newly published research reveals how one broadly neutralizing HIV antibody actually uses part of the sugary cloak to help bind to the virus. The antibody binding site, called the V1/V2 region, represents a suitable HIV vaccine target, according to the scientists who conducted the study. In addition, their research reveals the detailed structure of the V1/V2 region, the last part of the virus surface to be visualized at the atomic level.

24 Nov 2011

Insurance commissioners back brokers on health law standard

After more than a year of debate, state regulators ... approved a resolution calling for changes to the healthcare reform law's medical loss ratio provision. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) passed the measure 26-20, over strenuous objections from commissioners who said the process and the resolution itself would undermine the NAIC's reputation.

24 Nov 2011

FDA takes legal action against dietary supplement manufacturer in Pennsylvania

The FDA today took legal action against a dietary supplement maker and owner for substituting ingredients and products without noting the changes on the final product labels. The permanent injunction, filed on behalf of the FDA by the U.S. Department of Justice, would stop the defendants from making and distributing more than 400 products for being in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

24 Nov 2011

Transcept receives FDA approval for Intermezzo to treat insomnia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Intermezzo (zolpidem tartrate sublingual tablets) for use as needed to treat insomnia characterized by middle-of-the-night waking followed by difficulty returning to sleep.

23 Nov 2011

New report: Sharp rise in number of energy drink-related ED visits from 2005-2009

A new nationwide report indicates that from 2005 to 2009, there has been a sharp increase in the number of emergency departments visits associated with the use of non-alcohol energy drinks - from 1,128 visits in 2005 to 13,114 visits in 2009.

23 Nov 2011

Study reveals specific functional deficit in inner ear mechanotransduction channels

National Institutes of Health-funded researchers have identified two proteins that may be the key components of the long-sought after mechanotransduction channel in the inner ear-the place where the mechanical stimulation of sound waves is transformed into electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound.

22 Nov 2011

CRF to sponsor Women's Heart Health Summit

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) will sponsor the Women's Heart Health Summit: "In Pursuit of Excellence: Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women." The goal of the meeting is to examine current prevention, treatment, and key research issues to collectively identify opportunities and recommendations that will lead to improved cardiovascular outcomes in women.

22 Nov 2011

FDA allows marketing of Aptus EndoStapling System to treat AAA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first system that can repair a failed or problematic aortic endograft, a fabric tube used to repair a dangerously large aortic aneurysm, a bulge in the large blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart.

22 Nov 2011

Super committee still at loggerheads on deficit, agreement still elusive

With just days remaining to overcome the impasse, deficit panel members appear to be making no progress toward an agreement to reach the 10-year savings target. Still, meetings and discussions continued regarding possible tax increases and cuts in the growth of programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

19 Nov 2011

Combo hormone therapy increases risk of breast cancer in women with new-onset tenderness

The debate about using menopausal hormone therapies to relieve symptoms in post-menopausal women has been ongoing. Is the combination therapy of estrogen and progestin better or worse than just giving women estrogen alone? In women who still have a uterus (those who have not had a hysterectomy), progestin counteracts the increased risk of uterus cancer when estrogen is given alone, but at the expense of an increase in breast cancer risk compared to estrogen alone.

19 Nov 2011

Health and Human Services News and Research

Peer-mediated interventions may provide greater social benefits for children with ASD

States opposing health law are among those receiving federal grants for exchanges

Ranbaxy receives FDA approval for first generic version of cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor

Medicare to pay for obesity counseling sessions

Physician practices, pharmacies face barriers to e-prescribing despite benefits

HHS rejects two MLR waiver requests

HHS approves Ariz. Medicaid cut; La. officials find common ground on Medicaid needs

First Edition: November 29, 2011

Federal funding, Medicare plan specifics draw campaign-trail reports

Funds for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria dry up

NIH-led study advances HIV vaccine research

Insurance commissioners back brokers on health law standard

FDA takes legal action against dietary supplement manufacturer in Pennsylvania

Transcept receives FDA approval for Intermezzo to treat insomnia

New report: Sharp rise in number of energy drink-related ED visits from 2005-2009

Study reveals specific functional deficit in inner ear mechanotransduction channels

CRF to sponsor Women's Heart Health Summit

FDA allows marketing of Aptus EndoStapling System to treat AAA

Super committee still at loggerheads on deficit, agreement still elusive

Combo hormone therapy increases risk of breast cancer in women with new-onset tenderness

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