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Lawmakers try to weed out fraud and waste

Lawmakers target Medicare and Medicaid fraud to generate greater savings in health care reform while doctors worry about efforts to cut waste.

29 Oct 2009

Gen-Probe receives FDA emergency use authorization for its Prodesse ProFlu-ST test

Gen-Probe Incorporated today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an EUA (emergency use authorization) for its test, the Prodesse ProFlu-ST(TM), to be used in CLIA high complexity laboratories for the diagnosis of 2009 H1N1 influenza virus infection, aided by an algorithm that relies on seasonal influenza A/H1 virus and seasonal influenza A/H3 virus results, from a single sample in individuals who are diagnosed with influenza A by currently available FDA-cleared or authorized devices.

29 Oct 2009

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals reports fiscal 2009 third-quarter results

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced financial results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009 and provided a corporate update regarding clinical programs and potential emergency use of intravenous (i.v.) peramivir.

29 Oct 2009

NIEHS supports research to study the potential effects of BPA on human health

Researchers studying the health effects of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) gathered in North Carolina to launch an integrated research initiative to produce data that will allow for a comprehensive assessment of its possible human health effects.

29 Oct 2009

Biomoda to launch multisite Phase III clinical trials of CyPath assay

Medical diagnostics company Biomoda, Inc. is taking preliminary steps to launch multisite Phase III clinical trials of its in-vitro diagnostic for early-stage lung cancer, trademarked under the name CyPath®.

29 Oct 2009

GE Healthcare to provide surveillance data for H1N1 and seasonal influenza activity throughout the U.S.

GE Healthcare, one of the leading providers of healthcare information technology, today announced its selection by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide extensive surveillance data for H1N1 and seasonal influenza activity throughout the United States.

29 Oct 2009

Statement regarding the need to eliminate waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid submitted

Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, on behalf of the American Association for Homecare's more than 4,000 member locations serving Medicare beneficiaries in every state in the nation, we appreciate the opportunity to submit this statement to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary regarding the need to eliminate waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid.

29 Oct 2009

House Democrats prepare for Thursday release of health bill

The Associated Press: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is making plans to release on Thursday afternoon the House version of sweeping health reform legislation, depending on the outcome of a Wednesday afternoon meeting with House leaders.

28 Oct 2009

NIGMS accelerates induced pluripotent stem cells study with Recovery Act funds

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the National Institutes of Health, is using $5.4 million of Recovery Act funds to accelerate basic studies of induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells, abbreviated iPS, are reprogrammed from skin or other easily obtained adult cells and appear to be similar to stem cells derived from embryos.

28 Oct 2009

Obama seeks health reform support from small businesses

Roll Call: "The White House is aggressively courting the small-business community, believing that some on GOP-friendly Main Street can be enlisted in the fight for health care reform and that assistance to mom-and-pop shops is vital to chipping away at the unemployment rate. ... White House officials were on the phone to the [U.S. Chamber of Commerce] and the GOP-leaning National Federation of Independent Business on Friday asking them to provide a group of small-business owners for Obama to talk with at the White House on Thursday."

28 Oct 2009

CDC says U.S. H1N1 vaccine supplies on the rise; Senators question government's handling of H1N1 vaccination program

Supplies of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine are steadily increasing in the U.S. and should soon be more widely accessible in the next two weeks, the CDC said on Tuesday, CQ HealthBeat reports. During a press briefing, CDC Director Thomas Frieden said that 22.4 million vaccine doses are now available for states to order (Norman, 10/27). "We're beginning to get to significant increases in the availability," Frieden said.

28 Oct 2009

CDC: H1N1 vaccine supplies on the rise

"More than 22 million doses of swine flu vaccine are available now, and most Americans should soon find it easier to get their dose, U.S. health officials said Tuesday, " according to The Associated Press/The Washington Post.

28 Oct 2009

FDA approves the 100th antiretroviral drug in association with PEPFAR

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today marked the recent approval of the 100th antiretroviral drug in association with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), aimed at the prevention, treatment, and care of people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS worldwide.

28 Oct 2009

HHS selects Smiths Medical to supply safety hypodermic syringes

Smiths Medical announced today that it has been selected for a contract award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for safety hypodermic syringes that could reach $10 million. The award is part of the government’s national flu pandemic preparedness efforts.

28 Oct 2009

Precision Antibody to develop antibodies for NCI's Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer

Precision Antibody(TM) has been selected as the antibody developer for a component of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)'s Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer (CPTC), which is focused on improving the number and standardizing the quality of monoclonal antibody reagents available for clinical cancer proteomics research.

28 Oct 2009

Medicare payment issues worry doctors

The issue of Medicare payment cuts to doctors still looms, causing some physicians to shun Medicare patients and others to push for greater reform. Many worry that doctors may boycott the program if the planned 21 percent cut in payment rates goes through in 2010 while others complain about low Medicare reimbursement rates for certain procedures and geographic areas.

27 Oct 2009

H1N1 overwhelms hospitals; Sebelius addresses flu vaccine shortage

Hospitals across the country are overwhelmed "as waves of flu patients arrive at their doors, doubling their emergency room volume," USA Today reports. "Just as significant is the effect on intensive care units: A relatively small number of flu patients are requiring intensive care, but some are so ill they will need round-the-clock care for weeks.

27 Oct 2009

NIH awards The Tufts CTSI and Tufts University four supplemental grants

The Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Tufts University today announced they are the recipients of four supplemental grant awards from the National Institutes of Health. These new awards, totaling approximately $1.73 million, are supplements to the original Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) grant, UL1 RR025752 that Tufts University received in 2008 from the National Center for Research Resources.

27 Oct 2009

Climate change and public health: only fives states have published public health response plans, says study

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a new report today that finds only five states have published a strategic climate change plan that includes a public health response. This includes planning for health challenges and emergencies expected to develop from natural disasters, pollution, and infectious diseases as temperatures and sea levels rise.

27 Oct 2009

Kansas to introduce constitutional amendment to protect individual rights to purchase health insurance

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation's largest individual membership association of state legislators, congratulates Kansas Representatives Peggy Mast and Brenda Landwehr and Kansas Senator Mary Pilcher Cook for announcing their intent to introduce a constitutional amendment to protect the right of individuals to make their own health care choices. Kansas now becomes the 19th state where legislators have introduced, or will introduce, legislation modeled after ALEC's Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act.

27 Oct 2009

Health and Human Services News and Research

Lawmakers try to weed out fraud and waste

Gen-Probe receives FDA emergency use authorization for its Prodesse ProFlu-ST test

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals reports fiscal 2009 third-quarter results

NIEHS supports research to study the potential effects of BPA on human health

Biomoda to launch multisite Phase III clinical trials of CyPath assay

GE Healthcare to provide surveillance data for H1N1 and seasonal influenza activity throughout the U.S.

Statement regarding the need to eliminate waste and fraud in Medicare and Medicaid submitted

House Democrats prepare for Thursday release of health bill

NIGMS accelerates induced pluripotent stem cells study with Recovery Act funds

Obama seeks health reform support from small businesses

CDC says U.S. H1N1 vaccine supplies on the rise; Senators question government's handling of H1N1 vaccination program

CDC: H1N1 vaccine supplies on the rise

FDA approves the 100th antiretroviral drug in association with PEPFAR

HHS selects Smiths Medical to supply safety hypodermic syringes

Precision Antibody to develop antibodies for NCI's Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer

Medicare payment issues worry doctors

H1N1 overwhelms hospitals; Sebelius addresses flu vaccine shortage

NIH awards The Tufts CTSI and Tufts University four supplemental grants

Climate change and public health: only fives states have published public health response plans, says study

Kansas to introduce constitutional amendment to protect individual rights to purchase health insurance

Event guide: 6th Operationalize Expanded Access Programs Summit East eBook

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