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New report finds low adult vaccination rates in U.S.

A new report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives, released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that more than 30 percent of adults ages 65 and older had not been immunized against pneumonia in 36 states as of 2008.

5 Feb 2010

TGen completes strategic alliance and affiliation agreement with VARI

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) today announced the completion of a strategic alliance and affiliation agreement with the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) that will maximize the research capabilities of both non-profit institutes.

5 Feb 2010

Opinions: G8 and maternal, child mortality; rebuilding Haiti

In a National Post opinion piece, Canadian Member of Parliament Keith Martin, "who chaired the drafting committee at the 2009 G8 International Parliamentarians' Conference in Rome, which put together a plan of action to reduce maternal and infant mortality," welcomes the recent announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that maternal and child mortality will be a focus of the G8 summit this summer.

5 Feb 2010

Anthem Blue Cross introduces DailyMed Pharmacy program for Medi-Cal members

Imagine having to face the daily struggle of taking six or more different medications a day to manage a chronic health condition; add to this the worry of missing or taking a dose incorrectly. For Anthem Blue Cross (Anthem) Medi-Cal members, that daily struggle will now be simplified to help increase medication adherence and reduce medication errors.

5 Feb 2010

Attempt by Idaho lawmakers to opt out of federal health care reform could prove disastrous for the state

An attempt by Idaho lawmakers to opt out of federal health care reform could prove disastrous for the state -- resulting in the loss of over a billion federal dollars for Idaho and thousands of jobs in the state.

5 Feb 2010

San Antonio Methodist Hospital upgrades to Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system

AMERICAN SHARED HOSPITAL SERVICES, a leading provider of turnkey technology solutions for advanced radiosurgical and radiation therapy services, announced today that it has entered into a contract to supply a Leksell Gamma Knife® PerfexionTM system to Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. This new Perfexion system, the eighth placed by AMS to date, will replace an existing Gamma Knife supplied by AMS and is expected to begin treating patients later this year.

5 Feb 2010

ARUP Laboratories adds three downstream cost calculators to its Suite of Utilization Management Services

ARUP Laboratories announced the release of three groundbreaking tools, downstream cost calculators, to its Suite of Utilization Management Services.

5 Feb 2010

LDDI releases biomonitoring report on environmental neurotoxins in health affected community

The Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) today released the first-ever biomonitoring report identifying toxic chemical pollution in people from the learning and developmental disability community.

5 Feb 2010

Landrieu speaks on the Senate floor to defend so-called 'Louisiana purchase'

USA Today's On Politics: Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., took to the Senate floor Thursday "to defend the so-called 'Louisiana purchase.'" Describing the deal as a "'bipartisan effort,'" she said she made no apologies for leading the push to cut a deal "to get Louisiana $300 million in extra Medicaid funds inserted into the health care bill" (Kiely, 2/4).

5 Feb 2010

Survey: 60 percent of Americans doubt health reform will pass this year

While a growing segment of people are becoming more optimistic that a health care overhaul will pass this year, they're still largely outnumbered by people who think reform won't happen, The New York Times reports.

5 Feb 2010

With health reform stalled, Medicare coverage for some therapies subject to caps

Stalled health care reform efforts have created several unresolved issues, some of which related to Medicare and Medicaid.

5 Feb 2010

WORLD Symposium: Protalix Biotherapeutics to present data on taliglucerase alfa Phase III Gaucher disease trial

Protalix Biotherapeutics, Inc. today announced that data from its pivotal Phase III trial of taliglucerase alfa in patients with Gaucher disease will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Lysosomal Disease Network: WORLD Symposium 2010, February 10-12, 2010 in Miami, Florida.

5 Feb 2010

Virginia AG works to increase outpatient treatment for mentally ill; Iowa hospitals oppose Medicare fraud bill

News outlets report on health care developments in Virginia, the District of Columbia, California, Iowa, Maryland, Maine and Michigan.

5 Feb 2010

House to move forward to end antitrust exemption for health insurers

"House Democratic leaders are moving forward with Plan B for passing health care reform by introducing a stand-alone measure to strip the antitrust exemption for health insurance companies — a popular piece of their stalled health care reform package," Roll Call reports. "Freshmen Reps. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) and Betsy Markey (D-Colo.) will file legislation on Friday aimed at barring the insurance industry from fixing prices and setting their own markets without being investigated.

4 Feb 2010

Allergan acquires Serica Technologies

Morningside Technology Ventures, Prism VentureWorks, and Ivy Capital Partners are pleased to announce the acquisition of their portfolio company, Serica Technologies, Inc. by Allergan, Inc. Serica is a growth-stage medical device company focused on the development of biodegradable silk-based scaffolds for use in tissue regeneration in numerous therapeutic areas. Following the acquisition, Serica became a wholly owned subsidiary of Allergan.

4 Feb 2010

Health spending consumes more of U.S. economy, will tip toward government

A new report by federal actuaries shows government programs will pay for more than half of all U.S. health care spending by 2012, and that total spending on health grew as a share of the economy by 1.1 percent last year to 17.3 percent, the largest leap ever, the Los Angeles Times reports.

4 Feb 2010

Obama tries to bridge Democratic divide on health reform

Speaking with Senate Democrats Wednesday, President Obama "suggested that Republicans could be enlisted to play at least some role in negotiating a final bill, The Washington Post reports.

4 Feb 2010

VA hospitals urged to accomodate growing number of female veterans

NPR: "The traditionally male-dominated environment often doesn't recognize that women veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced the same psychological, physical and emotional trauma as male veterans." Jill Feldman, manager of the Women Veterans Health Care Program at the Milwaukee VA, says the hospital is working to change a culture that has traditionally been more masculine.

4 Feb 2010

Medicaid cuts, past and proposed, a concern to businesses and patient advocates

Kansas Health Institute: "The Kansas Hospital Association will throw its lobbying clout behind a proposed increase in the state tobacco tax to restore a cut in the Medicaid rates paid to providers" (McLean, 2/3).

4 Feb 2010

CIGNA reports net income of $330M for fourth quarter 2009

CIGNA Corporation today reported shareholders’ net income of $330 million, or $1.19 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with a shareholders’ net loss of $209 million, or $0.77 per share, for the same period last year.

4 Feb 2010