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New diagnostic tool proves cost-effective in identifying rare genetic disorders

Mutations in a single gene can cause several types of developmental brain abnormalities that experts have traditionally considered different disorders. With support from the National Institutes of Health, researchers found those mutations through whole exome sequencing - a new gene scanning technology that cuts the cost and time of searching for rare mutations.

23 Aug 2010

Sebelius turns political tables on GOP governors on Medicaid; Program's expansion will help homeless

Kaiser Health News: "Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this week sent a letter to all of America's governors telling them that if they want to continue receiving the enhanced Medicaid funds that Congress approved last week that they have to ask for the money. ... The higher matching rate was originally slated to expire at the end of 2010, but lawmakers interrupted their August recess to approve an extension of enhanced funds, albeit at a lower rate, through June 2011.

21 Aug 2010

Sebelius to governors: Extra Medicaid money comes with a string attached

Kaiser Health News staff writer Andrew Villegas reports: "In this political climate, if you want help, you have to ask for it.

21 Aug 2010

BIO applauds release of HHS Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise Review

Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood released the following statement on the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise Review released yesterday by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

21 Aug 2010

HHS Secretary releases review of new federal approach to medical countermeasures

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released an examination of the federal government's system to produce medications, vaccines, equipment and supplies needed for a health emergency, known as medical countermeasures. The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasure Enterprise Review: Transforming the Enterprise to Meet Long Range National Needs reviews the process and makes recommendations for a better approach.

21 Aug 2010

Cardinal DiNardo calls for support on 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act'

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called on members of the House of Representatives to support the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" (H.R. 5939), introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) at the end of July.

21 Aug 2010

Reform law causing students, insurers to examine college health plans

Colleges are saying the new health law could keep them from offering low-cost, limited benefit student health insurance plans, "and they're seeking federal authority to continue offering them," Kaiser Health News reports. "Without a number of changes, it may be impossible 'to continue to offer student health plans,' says an Aug. 12 letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from the American Council on Education and signed by 12 other trade associations representing colleges."

21 Aug 2010

Assurant health cutting jobs ahead of health reform implementation

Milwaukee-based Insurer Assurant Inc. is cutting its workforce in various locations around America ahead of health care reform implementation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that 130 jobs in Milwaukee and Plymouth, Minn., will be cut. "The company, which sells health insurance for individuals and small employers as well as short-term policies, faces an onslaught of new federal health care reform regulations, including the requirement that it spend 80% of premiums on medical care.

21 Aug 2010

State Roundup: Hospital safety, infant mortality, immigration and more

Officials in Oregon say hospitals accidentally killed 32 patients; in Texas, as the immigration debate simmers, the government is tallying illegal immigrants' health costs.

21 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 20, 2010

Today's headlines include articles on health insurance for college students, new plans to overhaul the government's bioterror and flu preparations, changes in store for health care for the homeless and a look at the new high risk insurance plans.

20 Aug 2010

Obama Administration struggles to soothe health reform concerns; Insurance Commissioners issue rules

The Associated Press reports that the new health reform law "hasn't helped Americans feel any more secure about their own medical care." That's according to a survey, to be released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which says "consumer confidence spiked in April after Obama signed landmark legislation to expand coverage and start trying to control costs.

20 Aug 2010

HealthPartners receives grant to study primary care clinics' transformation to health care homes

The HealthPartners Research Foundation has received an US Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant to study the transformation of traditional primary care clinics in Minnesota to "health care homes," also known as "medical homes."

20 Aug 2010

Bavarian Nordic comments on Obama Administration's revised strategy for medical countermeasures

Bavarian Nordic A/S -- a leading industrial biotechnology company and long-term collaborator with the U.S. Government on the development of vaccines for the protection against biological threats, today commented on the Obama Administration's revised strategy for development, procurement and stockpiling of medical countermeasures.

20 Aug 2010

NIAID's renewed 'Centers for Countermeasures Against Radiation' program to support research at 7 institutions

A major research effort to develop medical products to diagnose, prevent and treat the short- and long-term consequences of radiation exposure after a radiological or nuclear terrorist attack has been renewed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

20 Aug 2010

Pennsylvania receives over $2 million federal grant for development of home visiting programs

A new federal grant will strengthen Pennsylvania's work to improve the health and developmental outcomes of at-risk children through quality home visiting programs, Public Welfare Secretary Harriet Dichter said today.

20 Aug 2010

AHF commends Sen. Bill Nelson for urging Senate colleagues to address funding shortfall in ADAP

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today commended United States Senator Bill Nelson (D, FL) for pressing colleagues in the Senate Democratic Leadership to address a funding crisis wreaking havoc with the lives of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS who are dependent on the nation's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a Federal/State program that pays for lifesaving AIDS drugs for low-income Americans.

20 Aug 2010

SAMHSA provides guidance for NREPP program submission

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today provided guidance for those interested in submitting programs and practices to its National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices (NREPP).

20 Aug 2010

General Physics to provide AAR/IP to gauge overall response to H1N1 outbreak

Global performance improvement solutions provider General Physics Corporation, a subsidiary of GP Strategies Corporation, has been selected by the Maryland Department of Public Health and Mental Hygiene to provide an After Action Report/Improvement Plan for the 2009 response to the H1N1 virus. GP will collect data from public health entities in order to gauge the overall response to the H1N1 outbreak and lessons learned, for DHMH to evaluate and consider for future pandemic response.

19 Aug 2010

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

Exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides before birth can increase susceptibility to attention disorders such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to new research published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). The new study is part of a growing body of research indicating that exposure to OP pesticides can adversely affect brain development.

19 Aug 2010

CLASS Act has potential to transform long-term care financing to insurance-based system: PPAR

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act - a largely overlooked component of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - has the potential to transform long-term care financing in the United States from a welfare-based to an insurance-based system, according to the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report.

18 Aug 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

New diagnostic tool proves cost-effective in identifying rare genetic disorders

Sebelius turns political tables on GOP governors on Medicaid; Program's expansion will help homeless

Sebelius to governors: Extra Medicaid money comes with a string attached

BIO applauds release of HHS Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise Review

HHS Secretary releases review of new federal approach to medical countermeasures

Cardinal DiNardo calls for support on 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act'

Reform law causing students, insurers to examine college health plans

Assurant health cutting jobs ahead of health reform implementation

State Roundup: Hospital safety, infant mortality, immigration and more

First Edition: August 20, 2010

Obama Administration struggles to soothe health reform concerns; Insurance Commissioners issue rules

HealthPartners receives grant to study primary care clinics' transformation to health care homes

Bavarian Nordic comments on Obama Administration's revised strategy for medical countermeasures

NIAID's renewed 'Centers for Countermeasures Against Radiation' program to support research at 7 institutions

Pennsylvania receives over $2 million federal grant for development of home visiting programs

AHF commends Sen. Bill Nelson for urging Senate colleagues to address funding shortfall in ADAP

SAMHSA provides guidance for NREPP program submission

General Physics to provide AAR/IP to gauge overall response to H1N1 outbreak

Prenatal pesticide exposure increases susceptibility to ADHD in children

CLASS Act has potential to transform long-term care financing to insurance-based system: PPAR

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