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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

ECRI Institute PSO enters agreement with Tennessee Center to provide patient safety services

ECRI Institute Patient Safety Organization (PSO) today announces an agreement to provide patient safety services to the Tennessee Center for Patient Safety established by the Tennessee Hospital Association.

20 Nov 2010

Study finds significant variability in CPR quality between day and night

CPR quality is worse during in-hospital cardiac arrests occurring overnight than those that happen during the day, according to a new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study that will be presented at the American Heart Association's annual Scientific Sessions on November 14.

16 Nov 2010

Clemson scientists granted $1.2 million grant to study interaction of plutonium with soil

Environmental scientists at Clemson University have received a three-year, $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study how plutonium, a byproduct of used nuclear fuel, interacts with soil.

12 Nov 2010

Ban on potential toxic ingredients in toys needed

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' Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal.

11 Nov 2010

VaxInnate’s prototype flu vaccine named as Top 10 Infectious Diseases Projects to Watch in 2011

VaxInnate Corporation announced today that VAX125, its investigational prototype vaccine for seasonal flu, has been named one of the Top 10 Infectious Diseases Projects to Watch in 2011 by Elsevier Business Intelligence and the Windhover Conferences.

2 Nov 2010

Providers brace for health overhaul, seek to improve quality

The (Torrance, Calif.) Daily Breeze: "With health care reform on the way -- bringing with it scores of new Medi-Cal patients -- community clinics that treat mostly low-income and uninsured patients are looking at ways to transform into primary care medical hubs. South Bay Family Health Care, based in Redondo Beach, will get help doing that from Los Angeles County's only public health insurance plan, L.A. Care. The nonprofit health plan has hired a consulting firm to help 11 clinics improve their treatment model over the next two years" (Evans, 10/28).

30 Oct 2010

State Roundup: Md.'s heath info exchange; LA to cut retiree health benefits; N.Y.'s mental health building boom

The Washington Post: "A Maryland health information exchange that will allow hospitals, physicians, labs and radiology centers to share patient information within the state went live last week. Three hospitals, three radiology centers, Quest Diagnostics and the Laboratory Corp. of America are already participating in the exchange."

20 Oct 2010

PTC announces ataluren Phase 2b efficacy data at International Congress

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that final analyses of Phase 2b efficacy data suggest the investigational new drug ataluren slowed the loss of walking ability in patients with nonsense mutation dystrophinopathy, a disease continuum comprising Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (nmDBMD). These data were presented at the International Congress of the World Muscle Society in Kumamoto, Japan and will be the basis of interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and national regulatory authorities in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2010.

18 Oct 2010

Health care workforce faces strains, shifts

Kaiser Health News / NPR "Last year, half of new doctors were hired by hospitals, according to the Medical Group Management Association, a professional organization for physician practices. According to a 2009 report by the American Medical Association, one in six doctors works for a hospital, and the number is quickly growing.

14 Oct 2010

Healthcare organizations urge Congress to raise awareness on sudden cardiac arrest

In a powerful demonstration of collective standing in the health care community, more than 40 organizations gathered on Capitol Hill to issue a call to action in reducing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) deaths.

6 Oct 2010

Mass. hospital sale talks seeking to protect employee retirement plans; Conn. Gov. ask for waiver in preexisting insurance plan

Representatives of Caritas Christi Health Care, the private equity firm seeking to buy it, and the attorney general's office are working on a tentative agreement to protect the retirement plans of 13,000 employees and keep the chain's hospitals open for at least five years.

6 Oct 2010

New approach method could simplify study and treatment of human diseases

Therapeutic antibodies can be an efficient alternative when common drugs do not work anymore. However, antibodies obtained from blood of animals such as mice could not be used: The human immune system recognizes them as foreign and rejects them.

6 Oct 2010

ISTO announces completion of enrollment in NuQu Phase I clinical study for discogenic back pain

ISTO Technologies, Inc., an orthobiologics company with a cell-based platform for cartilage regeneration, announced today the completion of patient enrollment in the Phase I clinical study for NuQu™, an injectable formulation of juvenile chondrocytes designed for the treatment of discogenic back pain. The study included 15 patients enrolled at two clinical sites. All patients enrolled in the trial suffered from persistent discogenic back pain and disability despite undergoing previous traditional conservative therapy.

5 Oct 2010

Merck to pay millions over Mass. allegations of inflated wholesale rate

Bloomberg Businessweek: A Massachusetts court ordered the drug maker Merck to pay $4.6 million in damages for inflating wholesale prices for generic asthma drugs. "Massachusetts claimed the companies reported inflated wholesale acquisition-cost prices for the generics, and that MassHealth, the state component of the Medicaid program, would rely on those prices for reimbursements" (McQuillen, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Iowa Medicaid Enterprise selects Ingenix to manage Program Integrity initiative

The Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME), a unique combination of State employees and commercial vendors responsible for managing Iowa's $3 billion Medicaid program, has chosen Ingenix to manage its Program Integrity initiative to help ensure that taxpayer dollars are properly spent.

30 Sep 2010

AdvaMed fights back against increased FDA scrutiny

A report issued Wednesday by the industry's main trade association Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) "found that there were 101 of the most serious kinds of recalls of medical devices from Jan. 1, 2005 to May 1, 2010, a record that AdvaMed senior executive vice president David Nexon called 'remarkable' considering the number of devices on the market," CQ HealthBeat reports.

17 Sep 2010

Red Cross provides help and shelter from Hurricane Earl

The American Red Cross has provided help and shelter from North Carolina to New England as Hurricane Earl and its winds and rain moved up the Atlantic Coast.

6 Sep 2010

Becker News and Research

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

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

Neurologist wins trial for defamation against Utah Medicaid Fraud Control Unit

ECRI Institute PSO enters agreement with Tennessee Center to provide patient safety services

Study finds significant variability in CPR quality between day and night

Clemson scientists granted $1.2 million grant to study interaction of plutonium with soil

Ban on potential toxic ingredients in toys needed

VaxInnate’s prototype flu vaccine named as Top 10 Infectious Diseases Projects to Watch in 2011

Providers brace for health overhaul, seek to improve quality

State Roundup: Md.'s heath info exchange; LA to cut retiree health benefits; N.Y.'s mental health building boom

PTC announces ataluren Phase 2b efficacy data at International Congress

Health care workforce faces strains, shifts

Healthcare organizations urge Congress to raise awareness on sudden cardiac arrest

Mass. hospital sale talks seeking to protect employee retirement plans; Conn. Gov. ask for waiver in preexisting insurance plan

New approach method could simplify study and treatment of human diseases

ISTO announces completion of enrollment in NuQu Phase I clinical study for discogenic back pain

Merck to pay millions over Mass. allegations of inflated wholesale rate

Iowa Medicaid Enterprise selects Ingenix to manage Program Integrity initiative

AdvaMed fights back against increased FDA scrutiny

Red Cross provides help and shelter from Hurricane Earl

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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