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Six hospitals to pay $8 million to Medicare to settle allegations of false claims

Six hospitals in Indiana and Alabama have agreed to pay the United States more than $8 million to settle allegations that the health care facilities submitted false claims to Medicare, the Department of Justice announced today.

3 Oct 2009

JBAIDS approved by the military for H1N1 virus detection tests

Idaho Technology’s Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System (JBAIDS) has been approved by the military to run tests for the H1N1 virus. Deployed across the globe, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, by all four branches of the military, the JBAIDS instrument will be used to test military personnel and their families for Influenza A, swine flu A and H1 swine flu in less than an hour.

3 Oct 2009

New regulations of HHS help protect individual's genetic information

Individuals’ genetic information will have greater protections through new regulations issued today by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury.

3 Oct 2009

Data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States available online

Incidence and prevalence data for end-stage kidney disease in the United States will be available online from the U.S. Renal Data System a year earlier than usual, announces the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the data will be updated online every three months and will show quarterly counts of patients at www.usrds.org/qtr/qrt_report_table_new.html.

3 Oct 2009

Interim results of Sanofi Pasteur's Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine clinical trials announced

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, announced today an interim analysis of data from clinical trials of the U.S. licensed Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine in adults 18 years through 64 years of age and over the age of 65 years.

3 Oct 2009

Researchers screen decades-old frozen infant stool samples to detect norovirus

A search through decades-old frozen infant stool samples has yielded rich dividends for scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

3 Oct 2009

$1 million grant to expand health insurance coverage to uninsured children

The Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey, an affiliate of the New Jersey Hospital Association, has been awarded a grant of nearly $1 million under a federal program aimed at expanding health insurance coverage to uninsured children.

3 Oct 2009

Update from BioCryst Pharmaceuticals regarding antiviral peramivir

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: BCRX) today announced that the Office of the Secretary, Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has issued "HHS Secretary's Declaration for the Use of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act for the Influenza Antiviral Peramivir."

3 Oct 2009

HHS awards $2.1 million grant to Albert Einstein College to expand HCOE

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a three-year, $2.1 million grant to expand and enrich its Hispanic Center of Excellence (HCOE).

3 Oct 2009

NIH awards Titan $7.6M grant for Probuphine clinical development

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a Research and Research Infrastructure Grand Opportunities grant to the company through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 (ARRA). The two year grant for Probuphine clinical development is expected to provide approximately $7.6 million, with the first year award of approximately $ 5.6 million now made available to Titan by the NIH.

3 Oct 2009

Doctors battle proposed penalties for heavy use of tests

"Doctors are trying to remove a provision in the Senate's latest health bill that would cut Medicare payments to those who administer the most tests and treatments," The Wall Street Journal reports. "The proposal -- aimed at reducing waste -- is one of several proposals in the bill by the Senate Finance Committee that could change how doctors are evaluated and paid."

3 Oct 2009

Advanced Liquid Logic awarded an NIAID contract to develop a rapid HIV diagnostic device

Advanced Liquid Logic announced today that it has received a large, four-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, for the development of a rapid, point-of-care, diagnostic device for the detection of HIV in low resource settings.

3 Oct 2009

Cleveland and Mayo Clinic CEOs raise concerns about Congressional reform proposals

The chief executives of the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, both held up as models for health reform, voiced concerns about the health care proposals moving forward in Congress.

3 Oct 2009

Democrats shoot down Republican abortion amendment, others pass

Members of the Senate Finance Committee wrangled Wednesday over proposed amendments to tighten abortion restrictions to the panel's health reform bill, with Democrats ultimately defeating the effort.

1 Oct 2009

UMDNJ's University Hospital agrees to pay $8.3M to settle allegations

The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has agreed to pay the government $8.3 million to settle allegations that it illegally paid kickbacks to cardiologists and caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, the Justice Department announced today.

1 Oct 2009

Six Indiana and Alabama hospitals settle whistleblower lawsuit

Three hospitals in Indiana and three hospitals in Alabama have agreed to pay the federal government a total of $8.3 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit that alleged the hospitals deliberately overcharged Medicare for routine, minimally-invasive back surgery.

1 Oct 2009

Rush University receives grants to study how epigenomic changes define cognitive decline

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Rush University Medical Center approximately $5.5 million in grants to study how epigenetic changes - chemical modifications to genes that result from diet, aging, stress, or environmental exposures - define and contribute to memory formation and cognitive decline. Results from the studies could profoundly alter the way the medical community understands, diagnoses, and treats Alzheimer's disease, according to the researchers.

1 Oct 2009

Treatment of gestational diabetes benefits both infant and mother

A National Institutes of Health network study provided the first conclusive evidence that treating pregnant women who have even the mildest form of gestational diabetes can reduce the risk of common birth complications among infants, as well as blood pressure disorders among mothers.

1 Oct 2009

HHS awards $46 million to 84 grantees under SCF program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today awarded $46 million to 84 grantees under a new program, the Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF), created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The purpose of the grants is to improve the ability of nonprofit organizations to promote the economic recovery of people with low incomes.

1 Oct 2009

HMS announces the acquisition of IntegriGuard

HMS today announced that it has acquired the business of IntegriGuard LLC, an ISO-certified and URAC-accredited organization devoted to the prevention and detection of fraud, waste, and abuse in the healthcare system. The company is based in Omaha, Nebraska and will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp.

1 Oct 2009