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Massachusetts Senate race tightens over health care reform

The Washington Post explores the dynamics of the campaign for the seat formerly held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. "With polls showing the race a dead heat — a Suffolk University survey released Thursday night had (Republican Scott) Brown up by 4 points (over Democrat Martha Coakley), at the edge of the margin of error — national Democratic organizations are scrambling to hold on to the 60th Senate vote crucial to the health-care overhaul being negotiated in Washington and to every other initiative of President Obama" (Vick, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

New study indicates a decline in biomedical research; Autism Speaks urges government to increase research funding

As the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports on the actual decline in U.S. biomedical research funding, Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, again called on the federal government to immediately step up its efforts - and dramatically increase research funding - to address the growing national autism public health crisis.

18 Jan 2010

Multiple issues still on the table in House-Senate health bill negotiations

Reports explored contentious policies in the House and Senate versions of the health-overhaul legislation that are part of the final negotiations.

18 Jan 2010

FTC wants to ban 'pay-to-delay' settlements related to generic drugs

The Associated Press/USA Today: "The Federal Trade Commission says patent settlements between drugmakers that cost U.S. consumers billions each year are on the rise. The agency reported Wednesday that the number of lucrative settlements between brand-name and generic drug companies rose to 19 last year from 16 in 2008 and 14 the year before."

18 Jan 2010

Democrats appear to reach deal on 'Cadillac' tax

The New York Times is reporting that Democratic congressional leaders and President Barack Obama "have reached a tentative deal on a proposed excise tax on high-cost, employer-sponsored insurance plans to be included in the final version of major health care legislation, according to officials familiar with the talks." Details of the compromise were not available.

18 Jan 2010

Nelson asks Reid to cancel Nebraska Medicaid deal

"Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) on Friday asked that a deal he secured for his state on Medicaid funding be removed from the health care reform bill, a move that follows weeks of unrelenting political blowback."

18 Jan 2010

MediSens Wireless to begin its wireless body-monitoring system clinical trials following FDA approval

MediSens Wireless, a startup company in UCLA's on-campus technology incubator at the California NanoSystems Institute, has obtained approval under federal Food and Drug Administration guidelines to begin clinical trials on its novel wireless body-monitoring system, which assesses muscle and neuromotor functions in the upper extremities.

18 Jan 2010

Obama announces $100M in aid for Haitian earthquake recovery

At the White House on Thursday, President Barack Obama "promised $100 million along with more American troops for the relief effort in Haiti, vowing that the United States would stand with the impoverished nation as it grappled with the devastation of its capital city," the New York Times reports.

18 Jan 2010

Obama reportedly supportive of House bid to include national exchanges in health bill

The White House wants to include a national health-insurance exchange in the health bill, which would give House Democrats one of their top remaining demands, according to an official involved in the discussions.

18 Jan 2010

Nevada governor considers dropping out of Medicaid

State governors and other lawmakers continue to worry that an expansion of Medicaid could put their budgets in crisis.

18 Jan 2010

Dems back at the negotiating table with final health bill deal 'very close'

MarketWatch: After health negotiations stretched until the wee hours of the morning Friday, "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said [later that morning] ... congressional Democrats are 'very close' to reaching final agreement on legislation." He said he hoped that "within the next 24, 48, 72 hours" such agreement would be reached. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders are expected to return to the White House today for more negotiations. This would "mark the third straight day of talks between Obama and Democrats over the health bill. Obama is anxious to sign a bill and move on to other issues including job creation" (Schroeder, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

States threaten lawsuit over Nebraska's Medicaid deal in Senate health bill

Several news outlets report on a possible lawsuit against the Medicaid compromise for Nebraska that Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., brokered with Senate leaders.

18 Jan 2010

State budgets in straits as health programs sap resources

States are grappling with budget crises and lost revenues that have affected health programs.

18 Jan 2010

Democrats endure political anxieties as health talks continue

"President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats stand within days if not hours of striking final deals on historic health care legislation after key labor unions won concessions and pledged their support," The Associated Press reports. "Dozens of issues still needed to be finalized to reconcile bills passed separately by the House and Senate, but several lawmakers said that in the wake of the deal on the insurance plan tax, they felt a logjam had been broken" (Werner, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

NewCardio awarded core patent concerning its CardioBip ECG telemonitoring solution

NewCardio, Inc., a cardiac diagnostic technology provider, announced today that on January 12, 2010, it received notice of allowance for U.S. patent 7,647,093, titled "Apparatus and method for cordless recording and telecommunication transmission of three special ECG leads and their processing," from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

17 Jan 2010

Democratic leaders debate health reform at the White House

President Obama was meeting Wednesday afternoon with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in an effort to produce a compromise between House and Senate legislation, underscoring "their desire to strike a quick deal."

17 Jan 2010

As budgets squeeze, states seek more federal help with Medicaid responsibilities

New York Gov. David Paterson is trying to build a coalition of states to seek a "federal takeover of health care costs for the elderly poor who receive benefits under both Medicare and Medicaid," to help ease the burden on state budgets, The Associated Press reports.

17 Jan 2010

Unions, Democratic leaders and White House reach agreement on 'Cadillac' health insurance plans

Los Angeles Times: "The White House and labor leaders agreed Thursday on a formula to tax high-cost insurance plans, removing one of the last obstacles to President Obama's healthcare overhaul, officials said." Organized labor had staunchly opposed the proposed "Cadillac" tax, but as part of the agreement, "reached after an intense round of negotiations this week, union leaders dropped their opposition ... in exchange for concessions to limit its scope."

17 Jan 2010

Aid begins flowing into Haiti, up to 3m may be affected

"Aid started flowing into Haiti Wednesday in the wake of the earthquake that slammed the impoverished nation late Tuesday afternoon," CNN reports. "One of two [U.S] military cargo planes carrying a 30-man assessment team arrived at Port-au-Prince airport Wednesday evening to assess Haiti's needs."

17 Jan 2010

Veterans Affairs hires five new Federal Recovery Coordinators

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the hiring of five new Federal Recovery Coordinators, bringing to 20 the number of professionals coordinating care for the most seriously injured service members.

14 Jan 2010