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State roundup: Federal judge rejects Calif. request to end oversight of prison health care; States push prescription drug databases; Medicare drug benefit at issue in Utah Senate race

A federal judge rejected a request by California prison officials Wednesday to regain control of inmate health care, which has been under court-supervised receivership for six years, and said the state must first show it can provide adequate medical treatment. ... The current receiver, Clark Kelso, has reported improvements in the prisons' medical staff and facilities, and said a "turnaround plan" he proposed for the system in 2008 is about 80 percent complete.

1 Jun 2012

First Edition: May 31, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about various health-related measures currently on the move in Congress.

31 May 2012

U.S. House poised for a series of health-related votes

Included on the list is a bill to repeal the health law's medical device tax and another to repeal the OTC ban. The device-tax issue has already emerged as a hot topic in many congressional races.

31 May 2012

Specialty doctor groups ask feds to delay managed care move for dual eligibles

Several organizations have asked the federal government to slow down implementation of a health law provision that would move people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid into managed care.

30 May 2012

Seniors increasingly cared for in multi-generational homes

NPR examines how families are living under the same roof to care for senior relatives -- and also, to get by.

30 May 2012

Patients with history of skin infection more likely to develop surgical site infections

Johns Hopkins scientists have engineered cells that behave like AND and OR Boolean logic gates, producing an output based on one or more unique inputs. This feat, published in the May issue of Nature Chemical Biology, could eventually help researchers create computers that use cells as tiny circuits.

30 May 2012

State roundup: The effects of proposed Calif. budget cuts; Fewer free vaccinations in Texas

Low-income children in rural California communities are in jeopardy of losing their doctors and health care plans under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal, state lawmakers, doctors and health advocates say. The governor is proposing to transfer nearly 900,000 children enrolled in Healthy Families, the state's Children's Health Insurance Program, to Medi-Cal – a program aimed at serving the state's poorest families, seniors and disabled residents.

30 May 2012

House plans vote on amended FDA user fee reauthorization bill, hears from docs on Medicare payment fix

The GOP-led House will vote on an amended version of the FDA reauthorization bill, and medical officials are urging action on Medicare payments.

30 May 2012

Health law opinions: 'Improvised explosive' device tax; Iowa legislators force role for brokers on insurance exchanges

"Taxmageddon" isn't only about the half-trillion-dollar blow to the economy that arrives in 2013 on the end of the Bush-Obama tax rates. Several of the Affordable Care Act's worst tax increases kick in too, such as the new excise tax on medical devices. The 2.3 percent levy applies to the sale of everything from cardiac defibrillators to artificial joints to MRI scanners. The device tax is supposed to raise $28.5 billion from 2013 to 2022, and it is especially harmful because it applies to gross sales, not profits.

30 May 2012

Towers Watson acquires Extend Health

Towers Watson, a leading global professional services company, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Extend Health, Inc., which operates the largest private Medicare exchange in the United States.

30 May 2012

Watson, Endo and Teikoku Seiyaku enter settlement agreement to resolve Lidoderm patent litigation

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has entered into an agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Teikoku Seiyaku Co., Ltd to settle all outstanding patent litigation related to Watson's generic version of Lidoderm.

29 May 2012

Intensive wellness program addresses multiple aspects of diabetes care

An integrated wellness team approach to diabetes care is helping patients lower their prescription costs and improve their condition, according to research presented today at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists' (AACE) 21st Annual Scientific & Clinical Congress in Philadelphia.

28 May 2012

Nearly half of Iraq, Afghan war vets seek medical compensation benefits

America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told The Associated Press.

28 May 2012

Research roundup: Do mandatory screening laws affect disparities?; Mass. health law, 6 years later

Since Massachusetts passed its own expansive health law, the state's uninsured rate has dropped and access to care has dramatically improved. But as this brief notes, two major issues remain. Massachusetts will have to find ways to contain health care costs -- now under discussion in the state legislature -- as well as align itself with the federal health law. In the process, other states "can draw on some of the state's early successes and challenges"

25 May 2012

Viewpoints: Bill could make universal health care possible via states; The need to change how physicians are paid

Universal coverage, Medicare for all, single payer -- call it what you will. It's clear that conservative forces are determined to prevent such a system from ever being introduced at the national level. So it's up to the states.

25 May 2012

FDA reauthorization bill sails through Senate

Showing unusual bipartisan spirit, the Senate passed a massive FDA user-fee reauthorization bill Thursday designed to prevent drug shortages and speed federal approval of medicines, including lower-cost generic versions.

25 May 2012

While GOP pledges austerity, Democrats rebuff efforts to restructure Medicare, Medicaid

Health care continues to play a major role this political season. News outlets look at the parties' differences on spending, Sen. Baucus' early reelection calculations and a protest against Rep. Steve King.

25 May 2012

Dueling student loan bills stall in Senate

Neither measure reached the 60-vote threshold needed to delay an interest rate increase for 7.4 million students with college loans. Republicans want to pay for it by abolishing a preventive health program in the health care law; Democrats proposed raising Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes on high-income owners of some privately held companies.

25 May 2012

Auditors find Medicare lax in collecting overpayments; New members named to Medpac

Federal auditors say Medicare failed to collect about 80 percent of the more than $400 million that were identified as overpayments, Modern Healthcare reports.

25 May 2012

New ad touts Obama's commitment to Medicare

President Barack Obama's campaign rolled out ads pitched to seniors and veterans Wednesday. Meanwhile, Politico analyzes Mitt Romney's decision to emphasize his record as a businessman rather than as Massachusetts governor when he helped pass that state's health reform law.

25 May 2012

Medicare News and Research

State roundup: Federal judge rejects Calif. request to end oversight of prison health care; States push prescription drug databases; Medicare drug benefit at issue in Utah Senate race

First Edition: May 31, 2012

U.S. House poised for a series of health-related votes

Specialty doctor groups ask feds to delay managed care move for dual eligibles

Seniors increasingly cared for in multi-generational homes

Patients with history of skin infection more likely to develop surgical site infections

State roundup: The effects of proposed Calif. budget cuts; Fewer free vaccinations in Texas

House plans vote on amended FDA user fee reauthorization bill, hears from docs on Medicare payment fix

Health law opinions: 'Improvised explosive' device tax; Iowa legislators force role for brokers on insurance exchanges

Towers Watson acquires Extend Health

Watson, Endo and Teikoku Seiyaku enter settlement agreement to resolve Lidoderm patent litigation

Intensive wellness program addresses multiple aspects of diabetes care

Nearly half of Iraq, Afghan war vets seek medical compensation benefits

Research roundup: Do mandatory screening laws affect disparities?; Mass. health law, 6 years later

Viewpoints: Bill could make universal health care possible via states; The need to change how physicians are paid

FDA reauthorization bill sails through Senate

While GOP pledges austerity, Democrats rebuff efforts to restructure Medicare, Medicaid

Dueling student loan bills stall in Senate

Auditors find Medicare lax in collecting overpayments; New members named to Medpac

New ad touts Obama's commitment to Medicare

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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