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CMS says it won't review billings despite IG report that it overpays doctors

The move comes even as a report points at $6.7 billion in overspending in Medicare. The HHS inspector general also says that the program paid $457 million in 2012 to detect drugs after a sharp increase in prescription drug abuse.

31 May 2014

State highlights: Complaint says Fla. plans tried to keep out AIDS patients; Ill. restores some Medicaid services; Fla. Gov. to sue feds

Four Florida insurance companies offering Affordable Care Act policies are discriminating against people with HIV or AIDS, according to two health-rights organizations that plan to file a formal complaint with the federal government Thursday.

30 May 2014

Viewpoints: Michelle Obama and school lunches; more about the VA health system 'scandal'; context and caution on Medicare's physician data release

When we began our Let's Move! initiative four years ago, we set one simple but ambitious goal: to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in a generation so that kids born today will grow up healthy.

30 May 2014

State regulators seek to impose controls on new painkiller

Several outlets look at prescription drug issues, including how to handle Zohydro -- a powerful painkiller approved by the FDA in March, and ethical questions raised by new "smart pills."

28 May 2014

State highlights: New abortion restrictions in Louisiana; aging gracefully in the Gopher State

A bill that could result in the shuttering of up to four of Louisiana's five abortion clinics overwhelmingly received full passage from the Louisiana Legislature Wednesday (May 21), and Gov. Bobby Jindal has indicated he will sign it into law. The legislation is, in part, based on a similar measure passed in Texas last year and led to the closing of several abortion clinics in that state. In its last legislative hurdle, the House concurred an amendment on Wednesday (May 21) that was added to the bill on the Senate side (Lane, 5/22).

23 May 2014

First Edition: May 22, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of the Senate Finance Committee vote to recommend Sylvia Mathews Burwell to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

22 May 2014

How the health law played on a big day for primary elections

Six states voted for candidates Tuesday to run for congressional and Senate seats. Some viewed these contests as important to watch because they highlighted face-offs between the GOP establishment and its tea party wing.

22 May 2014

First Edition: May 21, 2014

Today's headlines include status reports on the health exchanges in Nevada and Oregon.

21 May 2014

State highlights: Calif. bill on keeping small biz health plans; Colo. rating area plan approved

A selection of health policy stories from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington state and Massachusetts.

21 May 2014

NIDA guides target both teens and parents with up-to-date science-based facts on marijuana

Two updated booklets about marijuana for teens and their parents will help families sort out marijuana myths from science-based facts. The revamped tools come from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

21 May 2014

U.S. urges daily pill for those at risk of AIDS

The recommendation could transform AIDS prevention from reliance on condoms to a regimen that relies on an antiretroviral drug. Meanwhile, a report analyzes the costs and benefits of treating prison inmates for hepatitis C and a study finds that nearly half of American adults take prescriptions.

16 May 2014

Study: Wider use of medications may help reduce substance abuse, related hospital admissions

A comparatively new form of a medication for alcohol and opioid dependence that's injected once a month instead of taken orally once a day appears to be significantly more effective than some other medications - because more patients actually continue the prescribed regimen.

15 May 2014

Eagle Pharmaceuticals total revenue increases by $2.5 million for Q2 2014

Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2014. This marks the first period for which Eagle is reporting financial results as a public company.

14 May 2014

Parent disapproval linked to lower rate of drug misuse among teens

Parents' attitudes toward substance use may help to explain observed racial/ethnic variations in prescription drug misuse among teens, reports a study in the May Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

13 May 2014

Abeona Therapeutics obtains FDA Orphan Drug Designations for Sanfilippo Syndrome therapies

Abeona Therapeutics, a start-up company created around intellectual property licensed from Nationwide Children's Hospital to develop treatments for Sanfilippo Syndrome Types A and B, has been granted Orphan Drug Designations for its lead investigational therapies by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Orphan Products Development.

12 May 2014

Salix Pharmaceuticals' total net product revenue increases 90% to $384.4 million in Q1 2014

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014, and other business updates.

9 May 2014

Drugmakers realign to reduce costs

Meanwhile, their trade group warns that the patient cost-sharing requirements in some health law plans could restrict prescription drug access.

9 May 2014

Kindred's consolidated revenues increase 2% to $1.30 billion in Q1 2014

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today announced its operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.

7 May 2014

Humana reports EPS of $2.35 in Q1 2014; confirms EPS guidance for FY14

Humana Inc. today reported diluted earnings per common share (EPS) for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 (1Q14) of $2.35, compared to diluted earnings per common share (EPS) of $2.95 for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (1Q13).

7 May 2014

Research roundup: Compounding pharmacies; marketplace details; changes in insurance coverage

Outraged over a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak traced back to Framingham, Massachusetts-based drug compounder New England Compounding Center (NECC) that left sixty-four people dead and more than 700 sickened, Congress passed the Compounding Quality Act .

5 May 2014

Prescription Drug News and Research

CMS says it won't review billings despite IG report that it overpays doctors

State highlights: Complaint says Fla. plans tried to keep out AIDS patients; Ill. restores some Medicaid services; Fla. Gov. to sue feds

Viewpoints: Michelle Obama and school lunches; more about the VA health system 'scandal'; context and caution on Medicare's physician data release

State regulators seek to impose controls on new painkiller

State highlights: New abortion restrictions in Louisiana; aging gracefully in the Gopher State

First Edition: May 22, 2014

How the health law played on a big day for primary elections

First Edition: May 21, 2014

State highlights: Calif. bill on keeping small biz health plans; Colo. rating area plan approved

NIDA guides target both teens and parents with up-to-date science-based facts on marijuana

U.S. urges daily pill for those at risk of AIDS

Study: Wider use of medications may help reduce substance abuse, related hospital admissions

Eagle Pharmaceuticals total revenue increases by $2.5 million for Q2 2014

Parent disapproval linked to lower rate of drug misuse among teens

Abeona Therapeutics obtains FDA Orphan Drug Designations for Sanfilippo Syndrome therapies

Salix Pharmaceuticals' total net product revenue increases 90% to $384.4 million in Q1 2014

Drugmakers realign to reduce costs

Kindred's consolidated revenues increase 2% to $1.30 billion in Q1 2014

Humana reports EPS of $2.35 in Q1 2014; confirms EPS guidance for FY14

Research roundup: Compounding pharmacies; marketplace details; changes in insurance coverage

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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