Health and Human Services News and Research

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Health reform implementation issues: Emergency room costs, consumer websites and small business questions

Kaiser Health News: The new health reform law guarantees insurance companies must cover emergency care for their beneficiaries at hospitals in- or out-of-network at the same rate. "The law also bars health plans from requiring prior authorization for emergency services. And it mandates that plans follow the 'prudent layperson' rule.

14 May 2010

Minnesota lawmakers debate budget, Medicaid expansion

More budget talks were expected Thursday as Minnesota's legislative session hurtled toward a midnight Sunday deadline with no deal on a $3 billion deficit. The Democratic-controlled Legislature defied another veto threat from Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty late Wednesday and sent him a health and welfare package he opposes.

14 May 2010

Federal officials say crackdown on Medicare fraud recovers $2.5 billion

The Associated Press: "The government says it recovered $2.5 billion in overpayments for the Medicare trust fund last year as the Obama administration focused attention on fraud enforcement efforts in the health care industry. Investigators have new tools this year to help crack down on health care fraud, with the Justice Department and the Health and Human Services Department working cooperatively to police companies.

14 May 2010

HHS, DOJ officials to release new report on fraud prevention, enforcement efforts at press conference

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Attorney General Eric Holder will discuss the Obama Administration's efforts to fight fraud using new tools provided by the Affordable Care Act at a press conference on Thursday, May 13, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. HHS and DOJ officials will also release a new report on fraud prevention and enforcement efforts.

13 May 2010

Study reveals increase in treatment admissions for drug abuse

From 1998 to 2008 there were marked changes in some patterns of substance use treatment admissions according to a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Although the concurrent abuse of both alcohol and drugs has remained widespread, the proportion of treatment admissions for the co-abuse of these substances has declined gradually yet significantly during this period - from 44 percent to 38 percent.

13 May 2010

Seriously mentally ill are three times more likely to be imprisoned than hospitalized, report finds

USA Today: "On average, a seriously mentally ill person in the USA is three times more likely to be incarcerated than hospitalized, a report concludes today. In no state was a seriously mentally ill person — someone with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, for example — less likely to be incarcerated than hospitalized, the report by the National Sheriffs' Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center found.

13 May 2010

With campaign season taking off, White House offers Democrats help on selling health law

White House officials prepared a plan Tuesday to help Democrats sell the health reform law during the midterm election season that will focus on early deliverables to win over a skeptical public.

13 May 2010

Small businesses look for wellness grants in health reform law

Provisions in the new health reform law offer aid and cash to small businesses that encourage employees to be fitter and healthier, but the plans aren't without their own controversy, CNN Money reports.

13 May 2010

Blog Watch: The question of 'real benefits'

Kaiser Health News listens to the chatter in the blogsophere regarding recent events. "During his weekend address, President Barack Obama said that health reform is already delivering "real benefits" to the American people.

12 May 2010

MRSA Survivors Network to raise awareness on MRSA infections

More Americans die annually from invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections than from HIV/AIDS, H1N1 influenza and Parkinson's disease, yet the United States and many other countries' health officials continue to ignore the global crisis.

12 May 2010

Regenstrief Institute framework evaluates costs, effort and value of health internet

As the United States moves toward the goal of a secure nationwide health information network, a new study from the Regenstrief Institute provides a framework for evaluating the costs, effort and value of what is sometimes referred to as the health internet.

12 May 2010

PharmAthene first-quarter revenue decreases to $3.1 million

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, today reported financial and operational results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

12 May 2010

Sebelius heralds early successes of health law

"In a letter to leaders of Congress, the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, reported on Monday that the Obama administration is moving quickly to carry out the expansive new health care law, particularly provisions that she referred to as 'early insurance market reforms,'" The New York Times reports.

12 May 2010

Adult patients with sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems: Study

Sickle cell disease may affect brain function in adults who have few or mild complications of the inherited blood disease, according to results of the first study to examine cognitive functioning in adults with sickle cell disease.

12 May 2010

Obama administration issues rules for young adults on parents' insurance plans

The Obama administration Monday issued rules to allow children as old as age 26 to remain on their parents' health insurance plans, but such changes will likely increase the cost of insurance for families next year.

12 May 2010

Scancell signs worldwide licensing agreement with NIH for TRP-2 and gp100 melanoma antigens

Scancell Holdings Plc,, the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, is pleased to announce it has signed a worldwide non-exclusive licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health ('NIH'), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for use of the melanoma antigens TRP-2 and gp100, key components of Scancell's lead ImmunoBody® vaccine for melanoma, SCIB1.

11 May 2010

New combination therapy may help treat anti-estrogen resistant ER+ breast cancer

A study by researchers from the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) identifies a potential new combination therapy to "rescue" treatment sensitivity to fulvestrant in estrogen receptor positive breast cancers.

11 May 2010

UM School of Public Health to provide prevention research expertise on health disparities and workforce shortage

More than a dozen academic institutions and other partners, including the University of Maryland, are banding together to meet Maryland's growing need for health professionals in medically under-served urban and rural communities, and provide a working model for other states committed to expanding and diversifying their health workforce.

11 May 2010

Rhetoric heats up between insurers and lawmakers

Politico: "Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) is scolding the nations' health insurance companies for 'gaming' the new health care law and is pushing the administration and states to impose stringent controls under the law on industry expenditures for non-medical purposes. Saying the industry had turned its focus from opposing the law to influencing its implementation, Rockefeller said he was 'extremely concerned that the health insurance industry is mounting an all-out effort to weaken' the law.

11 May 2010

CVS calls on FDA to suspend use of contaminated rotavirus vaccines

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) convened a panel of experts to review recent findings that rotavirus vaccines given to infants in the U.S., Rotateq, produced by Merck Pharmaceuticals and Rotarix produced by GlaxoSmithKline, are contaminated with DNA from pig viruses PCV1 and PCV2. On March 22nd the FDA Commissioner asked doctors to suspend use of the Rotarix vaccine due to the contamination. Upon additional testing, Rotateq was also found to be contaminated.

10 May 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

Health reform implementation issues: Emergency room costs, consumer websites and small business questions

Minnesota lawmakers debate budget, Medicaid expansion

Federal officials say crackdown on Medicare fraud recovers $2.5 billion

HHS, DOJ officials to release new report on fraud prevention, enforcement efforts at press conference

Study reveals increase in treatment admissions for drug abuse

Seriously mentally ill are three times more likely to be imprisoned than hospitalized, report finds

With campaign season taking off, White House offers Democrats help on selling health law

Small businesses look for wellness grants in health reform law

Blog Watch: The question of 'real benefits'

MRSA Survivors Network to raise awareness on MRSA infections

Regenstrief Institute framework evaluates costs, effort and value of health internet

PharmAthene first-quarter revenue decreases to $3.1 million

Sebelius heralds early successes of health law

Adult patients with sickle cell disease may develop cognitive problems: Study

Obama administration issues rules for young adults on parents' insurance plans

Scancell signs worldwide licensing agreement with NIH for TRP-2 and gp100 melanoma antigens

New combination therapy may help treat anti-estrogen resistant ER+ breast cancer

UM School of Public Health to provide prevention research expertise on health disparities and workforce shortage

Rhetoric heats up between insurers and lawmakers

CVS calls on FDA to suspend use of contaminated rotavirus vaccines

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