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President Bush appoints Dole, Shalala to lead panel examining veterans' care

President Bush during a speech before the American Legion on Tuesday named former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala as co-chairs of a commission that will examine the care that wounded veterans receive after they return from war, both at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and at other military hospitals across the nation, the Washington Post reports

8 Mar 2007

Democrats, Republicans disagree on funding for SCHIP reauthorization

As Congress begins considering reauthorization of SCHIP, Republican and Democratic lawmakers continue to disagree about funding levels and enrollment eligibility, the Washington Post reports.

5 Mar 2007

HHS Secretary proposes creating local health care collaborative to provide cost, quality reports of health care providers

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt on Wednesday at a breakfast with reporters announced a new proposal to establish local collaboratives to provide public reports on the cost and quality of health care providers as part of an effort to increase health care transparency, CQ HealthBeat reports.

4 Mar 2007

Legislation introduced to help improve heart disease, stroke prevention efforts among women

A group of female lawmakers -- including Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Reps. Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.) and Lois Capps (D-Calif.) -- earlier this month introduced legislation (S 573, HR 1014) that aims to improve heart disease education among women, bolster gender-specific research and increase women's access to heart disease screening, CQ HealthBeat reports.

28 Feb 2007

Georgia House Committee approves bill to require doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

The Georgia House Health and Human Services Committee recently voted unanimously to approve a bill (HB 429) that would require doctors in the state to offer pregnant women an HIV test, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

27 Feb 2007

Georgia House Committee approves bill that would require doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

27 Feb 2007

Governors criticize provisions on SCHIP in fiscal year 2008 budget request from President Bush

A bipartisan group of governors at the National Governors Association winter meeting on Sunday asked Congress to provide $765 million in supplemental funds for SCHIP, the Bergen Record reports (Jackson, Bergen Record, 2/26).

27 Feb 2007

Federal agencies sued over medical Marijuana statements

The Oakland, Calif.-based advocacy group Americans for Safe Access on Wednesday filed suit in Oakland federal court against HHS and FDA over statements the organizations have made about medical marijuana, citing several studies that found the drug might benefit HIV-positive people, the Los Angeles Times reports.

25 Feb 2007

Health care IT adviser resigns over lack of progress on privacy

Paul Feldman, chair of the privacy and security workgroup of the American Health Information Community, on Wednesday announced his resignation because the workgroup "has not made substantial progress towards the development of comprehensive privacy and security policies that must be at the core of a nationwide health information network," CQ HealthBeat reports.

25 Feb 2007

Medical marijuana advocates take HHS to court

Using the latest research to support their claims, advocates for the medical use of marijuana are heading to court.

25 Feb 2007

Lawsuit filed against federal government over medical cannabis misinformation

The patients advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California demanding that the federal government cease issuing misinformation on medical cannabis and correct the information it has released.

21 Feb 2007

Bush Administration has no overall strategy to protect patient privacy in electronic health records

The Bush administration has no overall strategy to ensure patient privacy as it promotes expanded use of electronic health records among insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, the New York Times reports.

21 Feb 2007

Health Corps response to hurricanes inadequate

The more than 2,100 officers in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who were deployed to the Gulf Coast to respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005 lacked adequate training, and the federal response to the hurricanes did not include an adequate number of nurses, dentists and mental health professionals, according to a report recently compiled by the HHS Office of Inspector General, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

21 Feb 2007

Teens spending more time in front of the computer and less time being physically active

As they grow older, teenagers are spending more time in front of the computer and television and less time participating in physical activities, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

19 Feb 2007

Thimerosal to be discussed at Wednesday's CDC meeting

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet this week at the CDC in Atlanta. Thimerosal, a controversial mercury-based vaccine preservative, is scheduled to be discussed Wednesday morning at 10:55 am.

19 Feb 2007

Bush spending bill allocates $1.3 billion increase to fund international HIV/AIDS, TB programs

President Bush on Thursday signed a $463.5 billion spending resolution (HJ Res 20) for fiscal year 2007 that includes a $1.3 billion increase for international HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programs.

19 Feb 2007

States to spend $13 million in 2007 to dissuade women from abortion

States in 2007 have budgeted about $13 million in public funds to subsidize family planning services and pregnancy centers in an attempt to dissuade women from seeking abortions, the Los Angeles Times reports.

13 Feb 2007

Actions taken on HPV vaccine proposals in Alabama, Louisiana, Utah, Washington

The following highlights recent news of state actions on human papillomavirus vaccine proposals. Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases.

13 Feb 2007

Formularies needed to reduce medication prices under Medicare prescription drug benefit

A bill passed last month by the House that would require the HHS secretary to negotiate prices directly with pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare prescription drug benefit "would have very little effect" on prices "because it forbids Medicare from excluding drugs from coverage...

13 Feb 2007

Most of Medicare and Medicaid savings in Bush's budget proposal come from reducing growth in Medicare provider payments

The "lion's share" of the Medicare and Medicaid savings over five years proposed in President Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget proposal comes from limits on annual inflation adjustments for reimbursements to hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers for Medicare, amounting to $39.5 billion, CQ HealthBeat reports.

7 Feb 2007

Health and Human Services News and Research

President Bush appoints Dole, Shalala to lead panel examining veterans' care

Democrats, Republicans disagree on funding for SCHIP reauthorization

HHS Secretary proposes creating local health care collaborative to provide cost, quality reports of health care providers

Legislation introduced to help improve heart disease, stroke prevention efforts among women

Georgia House Committee approves bill to require doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

Georgia House Committee approves bill that would require doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

Governors criticize provisions on SCHIP in fiscal year 2008 budget request from President Bush

Federal agencies sued over medical Marijuana statements

Health care IT adviser resigns over lack of progress on privacy

Medical marijuana advocates take HHS to court

Lawsuit filed against federal government over medical cannabis misinformation

Bush Administration has no overall strategy to protect patient privacy in electronic health records

Health Corps response to hurricanes inadequate

Teens spending more time in front of the computer and less time being physically active

Thimerosal to be discussed at Wednesday's CDC meeting

Bush spending bill allocates $1.3 billion increase to fund international HIV/AIDS, TB programs

States to spend $13 million in 2007 to dissuade women from abortion

Actions taken on HPV vaccine proposals in Alabama, Louisiana, Utah, Washington

Formularies needed to reduce medication prices under Medicare prescription drug benefit

Most of Medicare and Medicaid savings in Bush's budget proposal come from reducing growth in Medicare provider payments

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