Becker News and Research

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Longer looks: Treating Down syndrome?; mentally ill, meds & trials

Politicians want to lower spending, or at least they say they do. But in all the to-and-fro over raising the debt ceiling, little sensible has been said about lowering spending in the long term. Nothing illuminates this more clearly than health care.

5 Aug 2011

Conn. and Calif. lower premiums in high-risk pools

The state has received federal approval to set a flat premium for its Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, allowing anyone who qualifies to get coverage for $381 a month, the governor's office announced Tuesday.

4 Aug 2011

Hopkins stem cell research to examine how gene variants cause blood clotting disorders

4 Aug 2011

Scientists look to create blood platelets from stem cells to study genetics of blood clotting disorders

Johns Hopkins scientists have launched a pioneering research program to create, for the first time, human platelet cells from stem cells in order to study inherited blood clotting abnormalities ranging from clots that cause heart attacks and stroke to bleeding disorders. The study is funded by a $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of a nationwide initiative to examine how genetic variations cause heart, lung and blood diseases.

2 Aug 2011

Roundup: Calif.'s health-budget cuts; new med school for rural docs; community health centers packed

Faced with years of recession-driven budget shortfalls, state lawmakers have made deep cuts to health and social services. The reductions, including a round that took effect this month, translate into sizable state savings but are sharply scaling back the safety net for California's most vulnerable residents: the elderly, the disabled and the poor.

2 Aug 2011

States struggle with exchange planning; more guidance from feds coming soon

States that didn't create an insurance exchange this year say they're now facing a time crunch that requires them to push the entire process forward at once. Governors in 10 states have signed laws authorizing an exchange — the new insurance marketplaces created by health care reform.

29 Jul 2011

State roundup: Cuomo's N.Y. home health reform spurs complaints

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's effort to overhaul New York state's $6 billion home health-care industry is coming under scrutiny from patient advocates and other industry players who say the administration is bowing to the interests of large, politically connected providers.

28 Jul 2011

Positive results from phase Ib/IIa trial of novel molecular technique for Duchenne muscular dystrophy

A molecular technique originally developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has taken one step closer to becoming a treatment for the devastating genetic disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

27 Jul 2011

Wolters Kluwer announces divestment of Pharma business

Wolters Kluwer, a market leader in the professional health content and clinical decision support market, today announced a plan to divest its Pharma-related business. The company is well-positioned to benefit from healthcare reform trends globally to support the Health division's growth strategy.

27 Jul 2011

State news: Florida effort could cost consumers $60 million in rebates

The JMH Health Plan, the insurance wing of the Jackson Health System, has become a huge money-loser that must be fixed quickly, board members were told Thursday. So far this year, the plan has lost $30.4 million — almost half of the $71.7 million that Jackson Health System has lost for the entire fiscal year.

22 Jul 2011

Conn., Calif. facing adult day care, respite center closures

Facing enormous budget constraints, lawmakers in California have sought to find a way to keep day-care services for adults to help keep them out of nursing homes. Conn. residents face a similar situation because the state is slated to close respite centers that help families get a break from caregiving.

21 Jul 2011

State roundup: Maine, Minn. GOP want insurance changes

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) told an enthusiastic crowd at the Heritage Foundation on Monday that his Republican administration thinks "taking off the shackles" from insurers is the way to keep healthcare costs low for rural residents.

20 Jul 2011

SAS expands Global Certification Program offerings

SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services and the de facto industry standard for clinical data analysis and reporting in the life sciences/pharmaceutical industry, today expanded its Global Certification Program offerings with the introduction of a new credential - SAS Certified Clinical Trials Programmer using SAS9.

14 Jul 2011

Apax Partners, CPPIB and PSP Investments to acquire KCI for $68.50 per share

Kinetic Concepts, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which a consortium comprised of funds advised by Apax Partners, together with controlled affiliates of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, will acquire KCI for $68.50 per share in cash in a transaction valued at $6.3 billion.

13 Jul 2011

African-Americans with glaucoma have higher oxygen levels than Caucasians

Measuring oxygen during eye surgery, investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a reason that may explain why African-Americans have a higher risk of glaucoma than Caucasians.

12 Jul 2011

State roundup: Recurring SustiNet rumors in Conn.

The tentative concession deal negotiated between Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration and state employee unions is dead. But suspicions it was linked the SustiNet plan to create state-run insurance live on, complicating chances of striking a new deal to avert up to 6,500 layoffs. ... One simple, incontrovertible fact is that there is no SustiNet coverage plan into which state employees can be enticed or forced. But from there, the picture gets fuzzy.

11 Jul 2011

As officials prepare for debt talks Sunday, Obama says they can meet the challenge

President Barack Obama said Saturday that despite broad differences, he and Republicans agree on "some of the big things," including that the end goal of the deficit talks is to solve the country's fiscal woes. "We agree that after a decade of racking up deficits and debt, we finally need to get our fiscal house in order. We agree that to do that, both sides are going to have to step outside their comfort zones and make some political sacrifices," Mr. Obama said in his weekly radio address to the nation.

11 Jul 2011

Rate review issue faces key vote in Calif.; veto in Conn.

A bill that would allow state officials to reject rate increases proposed by health insurers is under intense lobbying pressure as it faces a key committee vote this week. Groups representing insurers, doctors and hospitals are trying to have the California bill weakened or killed, although for different reasons.

7 Jul 2011

Sodium intake during pregnancy alters kidney development in offspring

A new animal study from Europe has drawn an association between pregnant mothers' sodium intake and their newborn's kidney development.

7 Jul 2011

State roundup: Minn. officials looking at health cuts to avert shutdown

With just two days to negotiate an agreement with Republican lawmakers before a potential government shutdown, Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leaders are trying to find additional cuts in health and human services spending, the fastest-growing part of state government.

30 Jun 2011