Health and Human Services News and Research

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Pulse oximetry can identify newborns with congenital heart disease

About 1 in every 120 babies are born with congenital heart disease (CHD), of which about 25 percent is critical, requiring special care early in life. CHD is responsible for more deaths in the first year of life than any other birth defect, but often outcomes can be improved with early detection.

22 Aug 2011

States grow anxious for federal exchange guidance

State policymakers are growing increasingly anxious in the face of administration signals that key guidance on federal exchanges may not be coming until late 2011 or early 2012 — if they're coming at all. The administration appears to have decided that it does not need to issue a rule outlining the operation of a federal fallback exchange, according to sources familiar with the administration's thinking.

20 Aug 2011

Report: Major gains in effort to enroll children in public health care programs

The report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services found that the number of children eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program fell. Meanwhile, HHS also awarded $40 million in grants for more outreach.

20 Aug 2011

Seattle Genetics receives FDA approval for Adcetris to treat Hodgkin lymphoma, ALCL

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Adcetris to treat Hodgkin lymphoma and a rare lymphoma known as systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

20 Aug 2011

New rules would help consumers comparison shop for health plans

The proposed regulations, issued Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services, are designed to make sure insurers and employers provide consumers with "plain English" information about health insurance coverage to empower them to make informed choices.

19 Aug 2011

Seven research teams across the U.S. to develop new drugs for nervous system disorders

The National Institutes of Health has made awards to investigators across the United States for an ambitious set of projects seeking to develop new drugs for disorders of the nervous system.

19 Aug 2011

HHS announces $40M in grants to identify and enroll eligible children for Medicaid, CHIP

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced $40 million in grants for efforts to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

19 Aug 2011

NIH/NINDS awards AMRI to develop pre-clinical drug candidate for spinal muscular atrophy

AMRI today announced it received a federal contract award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to provide chemistry and other drug discovery technologies in support of NINDS' Medicinal Chemistry for Neurotherapeutics Program (MCNP), part of the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network.

19 Aug 2011

More kids being diagnosed with ADHD

A new study revealed that number of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder or ADHD has risen sharply over the last decade.

18 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 18, 2011

"The SSI program for children is rapidly expanding, with the biggest increase among kids with mental, behavioral and learning disorders, including ADHD, speech delays, autism, and bipolar disorder. But as it pulls in children like Hulston, the program is sparking criticism in Congress.

18 Aug 2011

SuccessEHS to offer updated software licensing option

SuccessEHS announced today that it will offer an updated licensing option designed in conjunction with its Success Architecture. SuccessEHS's "Success Architecture" minimizes risk with an industry-leading technical framework and helps lay the foundation for clients' success.

18 Aug 2011

SAMHSA-funded project to develop a Prescriber's Clinical Support System

Medical professionals will gain access to free clinical support in the use of opioid medications through a new grant announced by SAMHSA today. SAMHSA awarded $1.5 million to the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry to develop a Prescriber's Clinical Support System.

18 Aug 2011

Conference to expand awareness about benefits of human tissue research

When you have blood taken for a test or have tissue removed for a biopsy, it may be used for medical research. While there are clear benefits to such research, medical and health care professionals need to be aware of cultural and confidentiality concerns on the part of patients.

18 Aug 2011

Philadelphia program promotes health services and insurance across cultural barriers

Promotoras — volunteer "health promoters" … carry messages of health and wellness to their peers, mostly Spanish-speaking Mexicans in South Philadelphia. As the minority group least likely to have a primary-care doctor and with nearly half living beneath the poverty line, Latinos, especially recent immigrants, have challenged doctors for decades.

18 Aug 2011

Tobacco giants sue FDA over ‘shock tactic’ cigarette pack images

The FDA ruled that by Oct. 22, 2012, every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States will carry one of nine graphic, full color, graphic warnings reminding people of just how horrible smoking is for their health. The image might be a pair of healthy lungs next to a pair of blackened and diseased lungs or a man smoking out of a hole in his throat or a mouth with sores on the lips and teeth all yellowed and decayed.

18 Aug 2011

States move forward with creating health exchanges

In Minnesota, though, party-based challenges are emerging to Gov. Dayton's exchange plan. Also, Politico reports that, even though the health law allows for a federal exchange as a fallback plan if states don't develop their own, no funding exists for these federal activities. On the other hand, the law provides almost unlimited resources to support states' efforts.

18 Aug 2011

Skin infection admissions are now the seventh-most-common reason for hospitalizations

The number of children hospitalized for skin and soft-tissue infections, most due to community-acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), has more than doubled since 2000, a study by researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere has found.

18 Aug 2011

Roundup: Rx discounts for Medicaid programs are increasing; deadline extended for Mich. Medigap verifications

Governors have complained repeatedly in recent months that spiraling Medicaid costs are crushing their budgets. But there's good news on at least one line item in the $370 billion program — prescription drug discounts are getting more generous. According to a new report from the Inspector General of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, discounts under the federal-state Medicaid program have been growing since 2006, adding up to a 45 percent rebate for most brand name drugs by 2009.

18 Aug 2011

Zelboraf receives FDA approval for treatment of metastatic melanoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zelboraf (vemurafenib), a drug to treat patients with late-stage (metastatic) or unresectable (cannot be removed by surgery) melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer.

17 Aug 2011

Worries in Neb. about exchange deadlines; federal grant for Conn.

Nebraska officials raised concerns Monday about the state's ability to meet upcoming federal health care reform deadlines. At a briefing for state lawmakers, the officials said they face challenges with the amount of work to be done and the lack of answers on key matters.

17 Aug 2011

Health and Human Services News and Research

Pulse oximetry can identify newborns with congenital heart disease

States grow anxious for federal exchange guidance

Report: Major gains in effort to enroll children in public health care programs

Seattle Genetics receives FDA approval for Adcetris to treat Hodgkin lymphoma, ALCL

New rules would help consumers comparison shop for health plans

Seven research teams across the U.S. to develop new drugs for nervous system disorders

HHS announces $40M in grants to identify and enroll eligible children for Medicaid, CHIP

NIH/NINDS awards AMRI to develop pre-clinical drug candidate for spinal muscular atrophy

More kids being diagnosed with ADHD

First Edition: August 18, 2011

SuccessEHS to offer updated software licensing option

SAMHSA-funded project to develop a Prescriber's Clinical Support System

Conference to expand awareness about benefits of human tissue research

Philadelphia program promotes health services and insurance across cultural barriers

Tobacco giants sue FDA over ‘shock tactic’ cigarette pack images

States move forward with creating health exchanges

Skin infection admissions are now the seventh-most-common reason for hospitalizations

Roundup: Rx discounts for Medicaid programs are increasing; deadline extended for Mich. Medigap verifications

Zelboraf receives FDA approval for treatment of metastatic melanoma

Worries in Neb. about exchange deadlines; federal grant for Conn.

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