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SAMHSA survey: Underage drinking rates reach more than 27.6% in the past month

More than a quarter of youth aged 12-20 (27.6 percent) drank alcohol in the past month, according to a survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The study shows that the underage drinking rates were as high as 40 percent in some states such as North Dakota and Vermont.

27 Mar 2010

ACF, FNS join forces to help communities provide children with nutritious meals during summer

In an effort to address childhood hunger and its impact on child development, health and learning, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, are notifying states that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can be used to assist families through the Summer Food Service Program.

27 Mar 2010

Antiviral treatment may lead to drug-resistant H1N1 virus: NIAID

Two people with compromised immune systems who became ill with 2009 H1N1 influenza developed drug-resistant strains of virus after less than two weeks on therapy, report doctors from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

27 Mar 2010

Methuselah Foundation, Silverstone Solutions partner to create online NewOrgan Registry

Methuselah Foundation, a medical non-profit dedicated to extending healthy human life, today announced that it has made an investment in Silverstone Solutions, Inc., a San Francisco-based innovator in life science computing.

27 Mar 2010

Federal agencies' complicated task: Implementing health reform provisions

NPR: "The health care bill President Barack Obama signed this week is more than 2,400 pages long. Still, it doesn't contain many of the details about how it will work and how it will be enforced. The responsibility for explaining the bill falls to workers in the trenches at government agencies. Some of the nitty-gritty details that are missing include defining many of the terms used in the measure, and spelling out exactly how individuals would prove they have health insurance."

27 Mar 2010

IHCIA made permanent as part of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

The Indian Health Care Improvement Act, the cornerstone legal authority for the provision of health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives, was made permanent when President Obama signed the bill on March 23, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

27 Mar 2010

Administration officials' key health reform roles

The Hill: "Passing major healthcare reform legislation into law was worth taking a political beating, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Thursday… 'As [President Obama] said repeatedly, which is a sign, he was willing to spend, quote, unquote, 'the political capital' to get something done that was materially and politically, policy wise, important for the American people,' Emanuel told CNN in an interview, his first since the law passed, to air Thursday evening. 'And if you asked them, today, even -- or a week ago, pre- the bill, was it worth the political capital spent, he would say, yes'" (Fabian, 3/25).

27 Mar 2010

NCMHD announces $3.8M grant for research on minority recruitment in cancer clinical trials

The University of Minnesota Medical School today announced the details of a $3.8 million grant by the National Institutes of Health's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities for research focused on minority recruitment and retention in cancer clinical trials.

26 Mar 2010

Substance abuse treatment services: Routine on-site infectious disease screening necessary

Fewer than half of all substance abuse treatment facilities surveyed nationwide reported that they conduct on-site infectious disease screening, according to a new study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

26 Mar 2010

First Edition: March 26, 2010

Today's early morning highlights includes reports on congressional passage of the final piece of the health overhaul legislation, President Barack Obama's trip to Iowa to tout the law's benefits and some concerns raised by big business.

26 Mar 2010

Ingen Technologies set to expand into government and export markets

Ingen Technologies, Inc., the leading manufacturer of in-line oxygen flow meters for respiratory medical devices, which helps companies similar to McKesson Corporation and Amedisys Inc. achieve substantial cost-savings by reducing support costs for in-home oxygen patients, recently announced that the company is set to expand into government and export markets.

26 Mar 2010

Obama requests $2.8B in emergency funds for Haiti

President Barack Obama sent a letter (.pdf) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Wednesday asking the Congress "for $2.8 billion in emergency funds to provide for costs associated with relief and reconstruction for Haiti, after its devastating earthquake on January 12," Reuters reports.

26 Mar 2010

White House scrambles to fix health bill language on covering sick kids

The White House is seeking to nail down a provision in the new law it says bars insurers from denying coverage to sick kids starting this year.

26 Mar 2010

IMDx 2009 Influenza A H1N1 Real-Time RT-PCR Assay granted EUA from FDA

IMDx announced today that its IMDx 2009 Influenza A H1N1 Real-Time RT-PCR Assay has been granted Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

26 Mar 2010

Medicare Roundup: Changes from health reform, payments for HIV patients

USA Today: "Perhaps the biggest factor in whether your Medicare costs will rise or fall depends on your Medicare plan. There are two: a traditional Medicare plan run by the federal government and Medicare Advantage, which is run by private insurance companies. Medicare Advantage costs more than the traditional plan, but provides more generous benefits.

26 Mar 2010

National public service campaign launched to highlight underage drinking problems

Officials from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Ad Council will unveil a national public service campaign designed to urge parents to speak with their children about underage drinking in order to delay the onset of and ultimately reduce underage drinking.

25 Mar 2010

MIMA pays $12M to resolve Medicare fraud case

In a settlement concluded late yesterday, Melbourne International Medicine Associates (MIMA) of Brevard County, Florida, will pay $12 million to resolve a whistleblower lawsuit alleging hidden schemes to defraud Medicare and other federal programs in connection with radiation cancer treatment.

25 Mar 2010

Majority of Americans blame insurers and drug makers for rising health-care costs

Forty-four percent of U.S. adults are "extremely worried" or "very worried" about paying for rising health-care costs. And the top reasons cited for those rising costs are profits generated by drug companies and health insurance companies.

25 Mar 2010

Committee recommends inclusion of genetic diseases in newborn screening program

The experts who make recommendations for genetic disease screening in newborns face a challenging task: To make conclusions based on the most authoritative available evidence, while considering gaps in the research on such rare conditions, as well as their human impact. An overview of the steps followed by the expert panels tasked with making these recommendations is presented in a special section of the current issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

25 Mar 2010

AHF to protest against Merck's pricing of Isentress

AIDS Healthcare Foundation will host a protest Wednesday morning, March 24th at 10:30am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, one of the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the Barclays Capital Global Healthcare Conference.

24 Mar 2010