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CSL Behring launches next generation HeliTrax System for Apple's devices

CSL Behring announced today the availability of the next generation HeliTrax System as part of a specially designed software platform for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad devices. This enhanced system is designed to improve therapy management for people with hemophilia A who use CSL Behring's recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII).

2 Dec 2010

Va. federal judge rejects Liberty University's challenge to health reform law

The Washington Post: "A federal judge in Virginia ruled Tuesday that the new health-care overhaul law is constitutional, dismissing a lawsuit filed by Liberty University in Lynchburg that had challenged the statute." The lawsuit argued that Congress does not have the authority to require employers to offer health insurance and "was also filed on behalf of two individuals who object to the law's requirements that all individuals purchase insurance by 2014 or face a fine."

2 Dec 2010

Republicans fight over energy and commerce gavel as they sharpen congressional agenda

Republicans are fighting over the gavel to head the Energy and Commerce committee as their agenda's outline becomes sharper in anticipation of the new session of Congress.

2 Dec 2010

States struggle with significant financial budget strains, especially in Medicaid; Others position for innovative coverage efforts

Bloomberg: "U.S. states expect 'significant challenges' balancing budgets in the next two years, after closing $230 billion in gaps since 2009, as U.S. stimulus aid drops and tax receipts recover from the recession, a study said. While state spending is set to rise for the current fiscal year compared with 2010, after two straight annual declines, governments will face renewed pressure in 2012, according to the study released today by the National Governors Association. The budget period begins in July in 46 states.

2 Dec 2010

State officials weigh in on health overhaul challenge

Legal Newsline: "In recent weeks, more than a dozen amicus briefs have been filed in the multi-state lawsuit against President Barack Obama's federal health care package. … A total of 20 states are suing the federal government to stop implementation of Obama's health care law. ... Others, including Kansas, are talking about joining the fight."

2 Dec 2010

UIC receives HHS grant to expand family medicine residency program

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine has received a $1.92 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand its family medicine residency program.

2 Dec 2010

U.S. retirees need hundreds of thousands to pay for medical expenses, report finds

Some medical costs have fallen this year thanks to new health care reform laws, but U.S. retirees will still need hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings to cover their lifetime medical expenses.

1 Dec 2010

Early eye exam can save sight and prevent a life time disability

Jennifer Hartman had no idea her child had a significant vision problem. The day after her daughter's sixth birthday, after an eye exam, she was diagnosed as being legally blind in one eye with a condition called amblyopia or lazy eye.

1 Dec 2010

Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh leads to slow-developing diseases

The well-reported arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh called the "largest mass poisoning of a population in history" by the World Health Organization and known to be responsible for a host of slow-developing diseases has now been shown to have an immediate and toxic effect on the struggling nation's economy.

1 Dec 2010

One-fifth of nonelderly Californians lack access to job-based health insurance

Most Americans receive health insurance coverage through their employer, or through an employed family member's dependent coverage. Yet having a job is no guarantee of coverage, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

1 Dec 2010

Health law causing ripples in Congress, insurance industry, among doctors

The Washington Post: "One of the most significant savings envisioned in the new health- care law - limiting payments to the private health plans that cover 11 million older Americans under Medicare - is, so far, bringing little of the turbulence that the insurance industry and many Republicans predicted. ... Early clues to the actual effects have now materialized, as elderly Americans may sign up for a health plan for 2011 during an enrollment period through the end of the year, and the warnings of swift, serious damage to the program are not borne out.

1 Dec 2010

Medicaid cuts hurt Miss. Residents, Calif. appeals federal order to reduce prison population amid health concerns

Parents across Mississippi say they are frustrated with state Medicaid officials as programs are downsized and benefits canceled.

30 Nov 2010

Today's OpEds: Transforming Cal. Safety Net; medical loss ratio; employee health benefits; nurses' role in future

It's time to prepare for the newly insured - and those left behind under reform. Estimates suggest that more than 8 million Californians may be uninsured today, and health care reform, once fully implemented in 2014, may provide coverage for the majority of those currently uninsured.

30 Nov 2010

RRIA adds ZixGateway Inbound email scanner for unsecure protected health information

Zix Corporation, the leader in email encryption services, announces that Riverside Radiology and Interventional Associates (RRIA) has enhanced its current three-year contract by adding ZixGatewayTM Inbound, an appliance that automatically scans inbound email for unsecure protected health information (PHI).

30 Nov 2010

First Edition: November 30, 2010

Today's headlines include reports on congressional action on the Medicare doc 'pay fix' as well as results from a new poll related to how the public thinks Medicare should be addressed in the context of deficit reduction.

30 Nov 2010

Genetic screening for Lynch syndrome as cost-effective as other cancer screening procedures

Myriad Genetics, Inc. today said results from a major health economics study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), found that screening for inherited gene mutations in the genes that cause a major colorectal cancer syndrome called Lynch Syndrome, is both medically and cost effective.

30 Nov 2010

State legislatures ask: Are insurers practicing medicine without a license?

A survey by the Global Healthy Living Foundation, www.ghlf.org, a non-profit patient advocacy group, shows that up to 70 percent of prescription medications are changed by health insurers, denying patients the drugs their doctors prescribe.

30 Nov 2010

BCBSNC to implement Intelimedix's Tru:Insights employer group reporting tool

Intelimedix, a business intelligence company focused on multi-relational data mining and advanced analytics for faster, more accurate decision making, is partnering with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). Representing over 3.7 million customers and handling more than $10 billion in medical claims annually, BCBSNC will initially implement Intelimedix's Tru:Insights employer group reporting tool.

30 Nov 2010

Highmark, Alliance for a Healthier Generation collaborate to expand childhood obesity benefits

Thirty-nine percent of the children living in Pennsylvania are overweight and are at greater risk of developing such chronic diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease than the generation before them. To continue its efforts to address childhood obesity, Highmark Inc. has collaborated with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to expand its obesity benefits for children in 2011.

30 Nov 2010

Texas gives disability oversight to quasi-government authorities; Colorado rural ambulance services face crisis

Texas Tribune: "For years, the state paid private providers who care for people with disabilities to help the clients decide how many services they need and how intensive they should be. But an 11th-hour change state lawmakers inserted into the budget last session stripped the private providers of this case management responsibility, giving it instead to local, quasi-governmental Mental Retardation Authorities, who administer publicly funded services to people with disabilities.

30 Nov 2010

Health Insurance News and Research

CSL Behring launches next generation HeliTrax System for Apple's devices

Va. federal judge rejects Liberty University's challenge to health reform law

Republicans fight over energy and commerce gavel as they sharpen congressional agenda

States struggle with significant financial budget strains, especially in Medicaid; Others position for innovative coverage efforts

State officials weigh in on health overhaul challenge

UIC receives HHS grant to expand family medicine residency program

U.S. retirees need hundreds of thousands to pay for medical expenses, report finds

Early eye exam can save sight and prevent a life time disability

Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Bangladesh leads to slow-developing diseases

One-fifth of nonelderly Californians lack access to job-based health insurance

Health law causing ripples in Congress, insurance industry, among doctors

Medicaid cuts hurt Miss. Residents, Calif. appeals federal order to reduce prison population amid health concerns

Today's OpEds: Transforming Cal. Safety Net; medical loss ratio; employee health benefits; nurses' role in future

RRIA adds ZixGateway Inbound email scanner for unsecure protected health information

First Edition: November 30, 2010

Genetic screening for Lynch syndrome as cost-effective as other cancer screening procedures

State legislatures ask: Are insurers practicing medicine without a license?

BCBSNC to implement Intelimedix's Tru:Insights employer group reporting tool

Highmark, Alliance for a Healthier Generation collaborate to expand childhood obesity benefits

Texas gives disability oversight to quasi-government authorities; Colorado rural ambulance services face crisis

Industry Focus eBook - Neurology/Neuroscience - 2nd edition eBook

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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