Health and Human Services News and Research

RSS

Administration's waivers of health law raise questions about 'mini-med' plans

The White House on Thursday defended granting waivers to some employers from a key provision of the new health care law, saying it was the best way to keep people insured until the law fully takes effect.

11 Oct 2010

HHS, PEPFAR to invest $130 million to transform African medical education

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to invest $130 million over five years to transform African medical education and dramatically increase the number of practicing health care workers.

8 Oct 2010

Biologists determine three-dimensional structure of molecule involved in HIV, cancer

In a technical tour de force, structural biologists funded by the National Institutes of Health have determined the three-dimensional structure of a molecule involved in HIV infection and in many forms of cancer. The high-resolution structure sheds light on how the molecule functions and could point to ways to control its activity, potentially locking out HIV and stalling cancer's spread.

8 Oct 2010

ABMS awarded HHS contract to align meaningful use of HIT, ABMS MOC program

The American Board of Medical Specialties announced today a contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to align the meaningful use of health information technology and the ABMS Maintenance of Certification program, which was created by ABMS and its 24 Member Boards to promote lifelong learning and self assessment for physician specialists. The contract was awarded by the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for HIT.

8 Oct 2010

HHS official: Medical loss ratio rules will allow 'flexibility'

A senior health official has promised insurers "discretion" - especially for "smaller" and "newer" plans - in pending regulation that will require them to spend at least 80 percent of premium dollars on health services, Insurance News Net reports.

8 Oct 2010

NIAID announces three new contracts to fund research on dengue, anthrax vaccines

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced three new contracts to fund research on vaccines to protect against emerging infectious diseases and biological threats that could be used in a terror attack. Each project focuses on simple and efficient vaccine delivery approaches that could be deployed quickly. The total funding for the three contracts could reach $68 million, depending on the successful completion of defined project milestones.

8 Oct 2010

AHRQ awards $1.2M grant to evaluate effectiveness of primary care transformation efforts

The Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has awarded a $1.2 million grant to Michigan State University to evaluate the effectiveness of primary care transformation efforts at Priority Health and Independent Health, a New York plan.

8 Oct 2010

Senate Dems criticize 'excessive' Medigap price hikes; Acos examined

Top Senate Democrats on Wednesday called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to protect seniors in Medigap plans from excessive rate hikes.

8 Oct 2010

University of Colorado receives $6.3 million for umbilical cord blood bank

The University of Colorado Cord Blood Bank, a component of ClinImmune Labs and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has been awarded $6.3 million to collect and bank umbilical cord blood, with an emphasis on donors from minority groups.

8 Oct 2010

SAMHSA awards grants to improve mental health services

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the award of 19 grants totaling 1.3 million for the first year and $3.9 million for up to three years to support consumer organizations in their work to improve mental health services for persons living with serious mental illnesses.

7 Oct 2010

HHS partners with PEPFAR to invest $130M for African medical education

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief with a plan to invest $130 million over five years to transform African medical education and dramatically increase the number of health care workers.

7 Oct 2010

Immune reaction to dystrophin may contribute to muscle disease: Study

An immune reaction to dystrophin, the muscle protein that is defective in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, may pose a new challenge to strengthening muscles of patients with this disease, suggests a new study appearing in the October 7, 2010, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

7 Oct 2010

Indoor tanning beds can cause skin cancer

Back to school means new classes, clothes and schedules, including a heavy calendar of social events. Unfortunately, many young adults, particularly young women, head to indoor tanning salons in preparation for high school and college dances in the fall.

7 Oct 2010

ACF grants $4.5 million to domestic violence prevention organizations

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the award of $4.5 million in Family Violence Prevention and Services Act grants geared toward domestic violence victims and organizations.

7 Oct 2010

Feds agree to waive minimum health insurance requirement for 30 companies while 3 GOP congressmen begin probe of health law costs

The federal government has issued a waiver for 30 companies so that they do not have to abide by a provision of the new federal health law that would have required the companies to provide a minimum of $750,000 in health insurance coverage for covered employees, Bloomberg reports.

7 Oct 2010

GE Centricity Advance version 10.1 certified as Complete EHR

GE Healthcare is pleased to announce that GE Centricity Advance version 10.1 is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on October 1, 2010 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable eligible provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

6 Oct 2010

Group Health gets $2 million to study value-based insurance

The effectiveness of Total Health, a unique benefits program for Group Health Cooperative employees, is the subject of a four-year study that the federal Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently funded. It's part of a trend to integrate care, insurance, and wellness programs and base them on research findings. The goal is to help people stay healthier and control health care costs.

6 Oct 2010

Health overhaul implementation updates: States fret, Sebelius hits The Hill

In a congressional appearance Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asked lawmakers to move beyond politics and focus on successfully reforming American health care.

6 Oct 2010

UCLA-led consortium receives $9.9M to compare wireless and telephone management after hospitalizations

A UCLA-led consortium of five University of California medical schools, plus Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, has received $9.9 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to research the use of wireless and telephone care management to reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.

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