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Minnesota GOP lawmakers file brief in health care lawsuit

Republican legislators ... have filed an amicus brief supporting 26 states that are claiming that federal health care reforms signed into law last year are unconstitutional. ...

13 May 2011

Milliman study finds health costs really are increasing

[T]he latest report from the green-eyeshade experts at Milliman does include a few surprises about what is — and isn't — driving [health care] costs higher. ... Last year, health costs rose by 7.3 percent, which is the slowest rate of increase in more than a decade. By comparison, though, the Consumer Price Index rose only about 1.5 percent last year.... So what's driving the increases?

13 May 2011

Medicaid flexibility bill approved by House Energy and Commerce subcommittee

The measure, which Medicaid advocates say would "devastate the program," would repeal the maintenance of effort provision in the health law which prevents states from cutting eligibility rules before 2014. GOP backers argue it is the best way to give states more flexibility to deal with the program as they face budget shortfalls.

13 May 2011

House Energy and Commerce Committee approves malpractice legislation

The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday passed new limits on lawsuits against doctors after defeating Democratic amendments to preserve more lenient state laws.

13 May 2011

Census data: The age gap is growing, sharpening political divide

The age gap among regions in the U.S. has grown to its widest in decades. In some areas, the trend will increase pressure on already stretched budgets that provide services for the aging.

13 May 2011

First Edition: May 13, 2011

Today's headlines include details of Mitt Romney's major health care speech as well as the latest updates on the debt limit and budget talks and the outlook for Medicare's future.

13 May 2011

More than 1,100 women raped every day in the Congo, study finds

More than 1,100 women are raped every day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to a study published on Tuesday in the June issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Agence France-Presse reports.

13 May 2011

Nuvo Research acquires ZARS Pharma

Nuvo Research Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to building a portfolio of products primarily for the treatment of pain, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of ZARS Pharma, Inc.

13 May 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $2.7 million for first quarter 2011

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading developer of therapeutics that target galectin proteins to treat fibrosis and cancer, today reported its financial results for the first quarter, ended March 31, 2011.

13 May 2011

New data shows high sexual violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo

A new study based on examination of government-collected and nationally representative data from the Democratic Republic of Congo shows that levels of rape and sexual violence against women in the country are 26 times higher than official United Nations estimates.

13 May 2011

HHS dual-eligible program seeks to lower states' Medicaid costs

The centerpiece of the program, which HHS says could result in savings of billions of dollars a year, would give states access to data detailing how Medicaid populations use Medicare services.

13 May 2011

Reaxys, Syngene sign multi-year contract to enhance R&D competitiveness and productivity

Elsevier, the world's leading publisher of scientific content and online solutions announced today that Syngene, India's first contract research organization, has signed a multi-year contract that will provide unlimited access to Reaxys for all Syngene researchers.

13 May 2011

Sinovac first quarter sales increase 5.3% to $4.7 million

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today its unaudited first quarter financial results for the period ended March 31, 2011.

13 May 2011

Jamaican organizations will receive PEPFAR grants to fight HIV/AIDS stigma

Five Jamaican organizations on Tuesday signed agreements with the U.S. Ambassador's HIV Program to receive PEPFAR-funded grants totaling $58,000 for projects aimed at reducing HIV/AIDS-related stigma, the Jamaica Observer reports.

13 May 2011

Next stop for health law appeal includes two GOP-appointed judges

The next appeals court to hear challenges to the law will be the 6th Circuit Court in Cincinnati on June 1. The judges have a much different ideological make-up than the Richmond trio: While Circuit Judge Boyce Martin, Jr. was appointed by Jimmy Carter, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton is a George W. Bush appointee and District Judge James Graham was appointed by Ronald Reagan.

13 May 2011

Debt talks continue with Medicare losing prominence in discourse

But GOP plans for the 2012 federal budget set the stage for significant cuts in health discretionary spending — which are among the programs that make up the core of President Barack Obama's domestic agenda.

13 May 2011

PBS' NewsHour reports on Ukraine's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

PBS' NewsHour on Wednesday featured a story on HIV/AIDS in the Ukraine, which has Europe's highest HIV/AIDS rate, increasing fears that the epidemic could spread to neighboring countries. The story focuses on attempts to implement drug substitution therapy programs for injecting drug users and prevent the virus from moving into the general population.

13 May 2011

Zaire ebolavirus may replicate in pigs and transmit to other animals

Canadian investigators have shown that a species of ebolavirus from Zaire that is highly virulent in humans can replicate in pigs, cause disease, and be transmitted to animals previously unexposed to the virus.

13 May 2011

Federal health law pushes insurers to retool

Major U.S. health insurers, including Aetna Inc., Humana Inc. and WellPoint Inc., are retooling to become more than just health plans, in the wake of the federal health-care overhaul that is changing the rules for the industry's core business.

13 May 2011

PCR testing for B. burgdorferi bacteria in joint fluid may confirm Lyme arthritis diagnosis

New research shows that polymerase chain reaction testing for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA—the spirochetal bacteria transmitted by deer ticks—in joint fluid may confirm the diagnosis of Lyme arthritis, but is not a reliable indicator for active joint infection in patients whose arthritis persists after antibiotic therapy. Findings of this study are published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology.

13 May 2011