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Helix Medical to invest over $4M for new manufacturing facility in Costa Rica

Helix Medical, LLC, a global manufacturer for the medical device and healthcare industries, will soon begin construction on a new medical manufacturing facility in Costa Rica. Helix Medical signed a leasing agreement in The Coyol Free Trade Zone and Business Park in Alajuela, Costa Rica, just outside of San Jose. The company will invest more than $4M in the new plant that will soon employ more than 100 people.

7 Feb 2011

Roundup: N.Y., Texas, Calif. Medicaid plans spark protests; Conn. nursing homes; Fla. Medical Board

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's effort to strip lawmakers of power over the state's Medicaid program is facing a barrage of criticism in both houses and parties. Lawmakers on Wednesday described the governor's Medicaid proposal as an intrusion on their powers and said they would block it from becoming law.

4 Feb 2011

Single DNA variation linked to decreased risk of coronary disease in African-Americans

A team of scientists at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere has discovered that a single alteration in the genetic code of about a fourth of African-Americans helps protect them from coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in Americans of all races.

28 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif. wrestles with prison health costs; Texas legislator challenges GOP thinking; Mass. Gov. seeks remedy for municipal workers' health expenses

Amid California's budget crisis, the receiver put in charge of the prison health system by a federal judge has spent $82 million on blueprints for medical facilities that have been largely scrapped, more than $50,000 a month on an architectural consultant and millions hiring medical professionals — more per inmate than in many other states.

27 Jan 2011

Major changes at Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology

The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology-the monthly, peer-reviewed flagship publication of the Society of Interventional Radiology-announced several major changes for 2011-all directed at highlighting the global impact of this minimally invasive medical specialty and its lead journal.

27 Jan 2011

Research shows how pathogenic bacteria hide inside host cells

A new study into Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium which is responsible for severe chronic infections worldwide, reveals how bacteria have developed a strategy of hiding within host cells to escape the immune system as well as many antibacterial treatments. The research, published by EMBO Molecular Medicine, demonstrates how ‘phenotype switching’ enables bacteria to adapt to their environmental conditions, lie dormant inside host cells and become a reservoir for relapsing infections.

26 Jan 2011

Roundup: NY Times on mental health cuts; Wis. GOP agenda moves ahead; Minn. Medicaid expansion

Gov. Mark Dayton said during his campaign that enrolling 95,000 people in an expanded Medicaid program would be his top priority when he took office -- and he meant it. Less than three weeks after he was told by members of former Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration that it could take until October to enact the change, Dayton announced Thursday that it would be done by March 1.

21 Jan 2011

INF2 gene mutation is a major cause for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

Mutations in a gene called INF2 are by far the most common cause of a dominantly inherited condition that leads to kidney failure, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results may help with screening, prevention, and therapy.

21 Jan 2011

Roundup: Arizona Medicaid waiver?; 'Sweeping' Texas budget cuts; Wisconsin tort reform; Aspen's 'dismal' health coverage

The Legislature will meet in special session today to give Gov. Jan Brewer authority to seek a Medicaid waiver from the federal government, the first step to cutting health care for 280,000 Arizonans. Brewer and Republican lawmakers say the move is needed to balance the state budget and keep the rest of the state's Medicaid program intact.

20 Jan 2011

Roundup: Penn. and Conn. insurance issues; MD. hospital's uncompensated care; Calif. budget

Pennsylvania's subsidized health insurance for low-income working people will likely end next month, officials on Gov.-elect Tom Corbett's transition team said Tuesday, leaving more than 40,000 people with less palatable options and dashing the hopes of more than 400,000 on the waiting list.

13 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif., Conn. plan budget cuts; Md. implements health reform; Boston ambulances 'heavy up'

Following serious cuts initiated by former Gov. Schwarzenegger, [Gov. Jerry] Brown also will be cutting welfare, social services and health care for the poor (Michaels, 1/10).

11 Jan 2011

Roundup: Calif. and health reform; Conn. mental health parity; Insurance premium increases in Iowa, Fla.

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield's proposed 11 percent health insurance premium increase is excessive, two experts have concluded. The company, which insures three-quarters of Iowans who buy their own policies, already raised premiums on those plans an average of 18 percent last spring. Wellmark sparked outcries when it announced in November that it wants to raise those rates again in order to keep up with rising prices and increased use of medical care (Leys, 1/7).

7 Jan 2011

Study examines link between media consumption, eating disorders among adolescent girls in Fiji

For parents wanting to reduce the negative influence of TV on their children, the first step is normally to switch off the television set. But a new study suggests that might not be enough. It turns out indirect media exposure, i.e., having friends who watch a lot of TV, might be even more damaging to a teenager's body image.

7 Jan 2011

State roundup: Minn. Medicaid expansion, Mass. health costs, Calif. free clinic

[Gov.] Dayton is scheduled to sign an executive order that would expand Medicaid coverage in Minnesota -- a move Republicans in the Legislature oppose. Dayton's decision won't put an end to the debate (Scheck, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

Encouraging results from exon skipping gene-based therapy study for DMD

Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London have reported encouraging results in a new gene-based therapy for Duchenne Muscular dystrophy (DMD) which at present has no known cure and affects one in 3,000 young boys.

4 Jan 2011

Florida public hospitals a likely target for new governor; Two people appointed to create Calif. health exchange

Florida's government-owned hospitals will be in the political cross hairs after Tuesday's inauguration of Rick Scott, once leader of the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain. The governor-elect's transition team has recommended creation of a panel to study whether government-owned hospitals -- Miami-Dade's Jackson Health System and Broward's two hospital districts among them -- are necessary (Dorschner, 1/2).

4 Jan 2011

Harmful ingredients in toxic toys need to banned

Manufacturer recalls of toys, promotional drinking glasses, and other children's products constitute an ongoing "toxic toys crisis" that requires banning potentially harmful ingredients in these products and other changes in policy and practices. That's the conclusion of a new analysis in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

16 Dec 2010

State roundup: Minn. to add more adults to Medicaid; Mass. Gov. seeks savings in pensions and health care costs; Ariz. bishop and hospital spar over control

Minnesota can add 95,000 low-income adults to its Medicaid rolls, vastly improving their medical care, at no additional cost to the state, two officials at the state Department of Human Services told legislators Tuesday (Wolfe, 12/15).

16 Dec 2010

State roundup: New Dem Gov. and Minn. Medicaid; Fla. docs on Medicaid changes; Iowa Gov. eyes long-term care loopholes; Conn. provider rates

Over the past decade, programs that integrate Medicaid and Medicare have resulted in improved consumer satisfaction, better health outcomes and lower Medicaid costs in Arizona, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and Washington. In each case, states have had to change their Medicaid rules by attaining a waiver from the federal government (Vestal, 12/13).

13 Dec 2010

Neurologist wins trial for defamation against Utah Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

The worst abuses in government health programs may be by officials who press false charges. Threatening criminal prosecution to try to get a physician to pay monies amounts to "extortion," admitted one prosecutor in sworn testimony published in the winter 2010 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons (http://www.jpands.org/vol15no4/becker.pdf).

8 Dec 2010