Health and Human Services News and Research

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First Edition: June 6, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver reports: "Short on cash and time, officials in California and at least a dozen other states have turned to philanthropies to help pay for the extra work required under the federal health law".

6 Jun 2011

IOM, HHS to host Health Data Initiative Forum on June 9

range of new "apps" and other technologies harnessing health data to improve people's and communities' well-being will be demonstrated at the Health Data Initiative Forum, hosted by the Institute of Medicine and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on Thursday, June 9.

4 Jun 2011

Alcohol dependency increases as severity of mental illness increases: SAMHSA report

A new report shows that alcohol dependence is four times more likely to occur among adults with mental illness than among adults with no mental illness (9.6-percent versus 2.2-percent).

4 Jun 2011

BGU recognizes Donna E. Shalala with honorary doctoral degree

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev awarded an honorary doctoral degree to former Clinton cabinet member and University of Miami President, Donna E. Shalala on Monday evening.

4 Jun 2011

Scientists demonstrate why B cells exposed to chronic HIV shut down, how they can be reactivated

Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have demonstrated why certain immune cells chronically exposed to HIV shut down, and how they can be reactivated.

4 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Debating the best ways to 'fix' Medicare; ACO rule; states 'punishing' women?

The truth is, there is no perfect plan — we all know that. We also know that the only way this works is through a bipartisan effort where everyone prods their own sacred cows into the cattle chute, and everyone gives up something they like to protect the country they love. ... Members of both parties and both houses must publicly support the work of the Gang of Six. This is the time for heroes.

4 Jun 2011

Technology, expert training and real-time feedback improves Hepatitis C outcomes

Widely-available technology, expert training and real-time feedback helped ensure that patients treated for Hepatitis C in local communities did as well as patients treated at a university-based medical center, results of a new study funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality show. The study is published in the June 2 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and in the June 9 print edition.

3 Jun 2011

Telethermographic device is not approved for screening breast cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned women not to substitute breast thermography for mammography to screen for breast cancer.

3 Jun 2011

Medicaid no longer paying for hospital mistakes

Left a sponge inside the patient? Transfused the wrong blood type? Don't look for the federal government to pay for fixing the mistake. Medicaid will no longer pay hospitals or doctors for certain preventable illnesses and injuries, such as operating on the wrong body part, the Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday.

3 Jun 2011

HHS says Indiana cannot cut Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood

The Obama administration prohibited the State of Indiana on Wednesday from carrying out a new state law that cuts off money for Planned Parenthood clinics providing health care to low-income women on Medicaid. The state law penalized Planned Parenthood because some of its clinics also perform abortions.

3 Jun 2011

HHS Secretary joins St. Paul’s Regions Hospital to highlight Partnership for Patients

On Thursday, June 2, 2011, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will join hospital officials, doctors, patients, and other key health care advocates at Regions Hospital to highlight the Partnership for Patients.

3 Jun 2011

Angiotensin receptor blockers do not increase risk of cancer: FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that a group of medications used to control high blood pressure, called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), do not increase the risk of developing cancer in patients using the medications.

3 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 2, 2011

Today's health policy headlines cover a gamut of develoments, including reports about the latest Medicare dust up in the ongoing budget negotiations and about oral arguments in the latest round of appellate court action related to health law legal challenges.

2 Jun 2011

HHS to reduce rates for high-risk insurance pools

The Obama administration on Tuesday took steps in the 18 states where the federal government runs high-risk insurance pools to make coverage more affordable to people with pre-existing conditions.

2 Jun 2011

Disappointment abounds regarding ACO regs

In this pair of articles, Modern Healthcare reports on the American Hospital Association's criticism of the antitrust approach included in the accountable care organization regulations recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as on the negative reaction expressed by a Cleveland Clinic executive.

2 Jun 2011

New study identifies odor molecules that disrupt CO2-sensing machinery of mosquitoes

Female blood-feeding mosquitoes, some species of which can transmit deadly diseases such as malaria and dengue to humans, largely find their human blood meals by detecting carbon dioxide emitted when people exhale.

2 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: More on Medicare's 'hard choices'; elderly and anti-psychotics; Calif. insurance rate hikes

Unless we make hard decisions now, in less than a decade every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt. ... I admire Congressman Paul Ryan's honest attempt to save Medicare.

2 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 1, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports: "Trying to spur enrollment in a key new benefit of the 2010 health law, the Obama administration announced today it is slashing premiums for new high-risk insurance plans and no longer requiring applicants to submit a rejection letter from private insurers".

1 Jun 2011

HHS announces new steps to decrease premiums and help insure more Americans

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced new steps to reduce premiums and make it easier for Americans to enroll in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan. Premiums for the Federally-administered Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan will drop as much as 40 percent in 18 States, and eligibility standards will be eased in 23 States and the District of Columbia to ensure more Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable health insurance.

1 Jun 2011

Scientists find no link between XMRV retrovirus and human disease

Delineation of the origin of the retrovirus known as XMRV from the genomes of laboratory mice indicates that the virus is unlikely to be responsible for either prostate cancer or chronic fatigue syndrome in humans, as has been widely published.

1 Jun 2011

Health and Human Services News and Research

First Edition: June 6, 2011

IOM, HHS to host Health Data Initiative Forum on June 9

Alcohol dependency increases as severity of mental illness increases: SAMHSA report

BGU recognizes Donna E. Shalala with honorary doctoral degree

Scientists demonstrate why B cells exposed to chronic HIV shut down, how they can be reactivated

Viewpoints: Debating the best ways to 'fix' Medicare; ACO rule; states 'punishing' women?

Technology, expert training and real-time feedback improves Hepatitis C outcomes

Telethermographic device is not approved for screening breast cancer

Medicaid no longer paying for hospital mistakes

HHS says Indiana cannot cut Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood

HHS Secretary joins St. Paul’s Regions Hospital to highlight Partnership for Patients

Angiotensin receptor blockers do not increase risk of cancer: FDA

First Edition: June 2, 2011

HHS to reduce rates for high-risk insurance pools

Disappointment abounds regarding ACO regs

New study identifies odor molecules that disrupt CO2-sensing machinery of mosquitoes

Viewpoints: More on Medicare's 'hard choices'; elderly and anti-psychotics; Calif. insurance rate hikes

First Edition: June 1, 2011

HHS announces new steps to decrease premiums and help insure more Americans

Scientists find no link between XMRV retrovirus and human disease

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