Health and Human Services News and Research

RSS

First Edition: April 18, 2011

Today's headlines include a report about President Barack Obama's plan to rally support for his deficit reduction plan and to block GOP changes to Medicare and other social programs.

18 Apr 2011

CMS offers cash to aid states in care coordination for 'dual eligibles'

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services announced four initiatives Thursday that are designed to assist cash-strapped states with funding and flexibility issues.

16 Apr 2011

New book on women's health and diabetes care

"If there is anything that this disease has done to improve my life, it taught me at a young age how to take care of myself." - Nikki Peterson, 24 years old, diabetes for 14 years.

16 Apr 2011

LCA-NE calls on entire delegation to show support for lung cancer community

Today, Lung Cancer Alliance-New England thanked Senator John Kerry (D-MA) for being an original sponsor of the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act (S. 752), authorizing legislation that establishes a multi-agency, comprehensive research program addressing all aspects of lung cancer, and called on the entire delegation of Massachusetts to show their support for the lung cancer community.

16 Apr 2011

Research roundup: Oral health; details of Medicare's IPAB

Trends And Variation In End-Of-Life Care For Medicare Beneficiaries With Severe Chronic Illness - This report explores the shifts in the use of medical resources to treat Medicare beneficiaries at the end of life between 2003 and 2007.

16 Apr 2011

NIH researchers survey landscape of melanoma genome

A team led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health is the first to systematically survey the landscape of the melanoma genome, the DNA code of the deadliest form of skin cancer. The researchers have made surprising new discoveries using whole-exome sequencing, an approach that decodes the 1-2 percent of the genome that contains protein-coding genes.

16 Apr 2011

Camp, Hatch allege misuse of Medicare advantage bonus payments

The GOP lawmakers allege that the administration's use of certain bonus payments that are available through a demonstration program are for political gain.

16 Apr 2011

Roundup: Medicaid bill headed for Florida Senate floor; Texas nursing home funding vulnerable in state budget

The Texas Legislature is faced with a budget challenge that has pitted the Republican majority's desire to cut government spending against a vulnerable target: nursing homes.

16 Apr 2011

Novocure receives FDA approval for NovoTTF-100A System to treat GBM

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the NovoTTF-100A System, a new device to treat adults with glioblastoma multiforme that recurs or progresses after receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

15 Apr 2011

Genentech receives FDA approval for Actemra to treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Actemra, given alone or in combination with methotrexate, for the treatment of active systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis in children ages 2 years and older.

15 Apr 2011

Chamberlain introduces new N2N Scholarship Program for nurses

The cost of a college education and the stress of making the transition from high school to college are two common areas of concern among high school students as they near graduation. Chamberlain College of Nursing is looking to ease these concerns through its new Navigate to Nursing Scholarship Program.

15 Apr 2011

House votes to slash health law's public health fund

Almost entirely along party-lines, the House voted to repeal a provision of the health law that establishes a trust fund to support prevention and public health activities. Opponents of the trust fund said it was a "slush fund" for the HHS secretary, but the White House responded by threatening a veto.

15 Apr 2011

State roundup: Pa. may put half of adultBasic members on Medicaid

Regulators in charge of the Massachusetts health insurance law are expected to approve new contracts today that will save the state $80 million, in part by offering a narrower choice of hospitals, physicians, and specialists to thousands of patients insured through the state-subsidized Commonwealth Care program.

15 Apr 2011

Neurovasx receives FDA approval for cPAX Aneurysm Treatment System

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the cPAX Aneurysm Treatment System for surgery on brain aneurysms that are difficult to manage because of their size and shape.

15 Apr 2011

Obama’s next target - medical error reduction for patient safety

Finally serious efforts are being made to ensure patient safety. The Obama administration announced this Tuesday an aggressive approach called ‘The 'Partnership for Patients Program’ to reduce medical errors, partnering with private insurers, business leaders, hospitals and patient advocates to tackle a problem that kills thousands of Americans every year.

12 Apr 2011

NIAID finding to accelerate Chlamydia infection study

WHAT: In a new study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, scientists describe successfully mutating specific genes of Chlamydia bacteria, which cause the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States as well as a type of blindness common in developing nations.

12 Apr 2011

CMS, AAPC partner to conduct 'Code-A-Thon' webinar for health care providers

AAPC is collaborating with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to plan and conduct an AAPC-sponsored ICD-10 "Code-A-Thon" webinar on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

12 Apr 2011

Medicaid news: Govs split on block grants; Kansas begins 'makeover'

Even as states try to move forward with a Medicaid makeovers, transforming this state-federal program into a block grant comes with complications.

12 Apr 2011

Short-term budget deal details take shape

As the dust settles from last-minute budget negotiations to avert a government shutdown, specific outlines of the final agreement are taking shape -- including how proposals fared for spending cuts to health law programs as well as to Planned Parenthood, and other controversial measures.

12 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 11, 2011

In today's headlines, as details emerge regarding the last-minute budget deal for current-year spending, President Barak Obama is poised to lay out a new long-term budget vision which will include everything from Medicare and Medicaid to tax hikes for the wealthy.

11 Apr 2011