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White House scrambles to fix health bill language on covering sick kids

The White House is seeking to nail down a provision in the new law it says bars insurers from denying coverage to sick kids starting this year.

26 Mar 2010

IMDx 2009 Influenza A H1N1 Real-Time RT-PCR Assay granted EUA from FDA

IMDx announced today that its IMDx 2009 Influenza A H1N1 Real-Time RT-PCR Assay has been granted Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

26 Mar 2010

Medicare Roundup: Changes from health reform, payments for HIV patients

USA Today: "Perhaps the biggest factor in whether your Medicare costs will rise or fall depends on your Medicare plan. There are two: a traditional Medicare plan run by the federal government and Medicare Advantage, which is run by private insurance companies. Medicare Advantage costs more than the traditional plan, but provides more generous benefits.

26 Mar 2010

National public service campaign launched to highlight underage drinking problems

Officials from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Ad Council will unveil a national public service campaign designed to urge parents to speak with their children about underage drinking in order to delay the onset of and ultimately reduce underage drinking.

25 Mar 2010

MIMA pays $12M to resolve Medicare fraud case

In a settlement concluded late yesterday, Melbourne International Medicine Associates (MIMA) of Brevard County, Florida, will pay $12 million to resolve a whistleblower lawsuit alleging hidden schemes to defraud Medicare and other federal programs in connection with radiation cancer treatment.

25 Mar 2010

Majority of Americans blame insurers and drug makers for rising health-care costs

Forty-four percent of U.S. adults are "extremely worried" or "very worried" about paying for rising health-care costs. And the top reasons cited for those rising costs are profits generated by drug companies and health insurance companies.

25 Mar 2010

Committee recommends inclusion of genetic diseases in newborn screening program

The experts who make recommendations for genetic disease screening in newborns face a challenging task: To make conclusions based on the most authoritative available evidence, while considering gaps in the research on such rare conditions, as well as their human impact. An overview of the steps followed by the expert panels tasked with making these recommendations is presented in a special section of the current issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of The American College of Medical Genetics.

25 Mar 2010

AHF to protest against Merck's pricing of Isentress

AIDS Healthcare Foundation will host a protest Wednesday morning, March 24th at 10:30am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, one of the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the Barclays Capital Global Healthcare Conference.

24 Mar 2010

Many factors are involved when making medical decisions for hospitalized patients

Living wills and surrogate decision makers account for only a portion of the many factors weighed by physicians when making medical decisions for hospitalized patients lacking the capability to make their own decisions, according to a recently published study.

24 Mar 2010

State roundup: Arizona repeals CHIP program, Conn. insurance pool, Minnesota boosted by health bill

The Associated Press: "A controversial decision by Arizona lawmakers to eliminate a health insurance program for poor children puts it at risk of losing billions of dollars in federal Medicaid funding under the historic health care bill approved by Congress. Arizona last week became the first state to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program, removing an estimated 38,000 kids from the rolls starting in June in a budget-cutting move by Gov. Jan Brewer and the Republican-led Legislature. ... Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, told Brewer and House Speaker Kirk Adams in separate letters that eliminating the state's KidsCare program on June 15 would violate a 'maintenance of effort' requirement of the Senate health care overhaul bill approved by Congress" (Davenport, 3/22).

24 Mar 2010

SAMHSA study shows how psychiatric drugs prescribed for medical conditions

A new study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration outlines the conditions that physicians around the country reported treating with psychiatric drugs such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety drugs.

23 Mar 2010

Passage of health insurance reforms should spur action to ensure quality maternal care

Now that health insurance reform legislation has passed, President Obama and Congress must urgently turn their attention to ensuring quality maternal care for every American woman to reduce rising deaths and complications during pregnancy and childbirth, Amnesty International said today.

23 Mar 2010

How the health bill would affect you

Kaiser Health News has a Q & A for consumers, detailing who would have to get health insurance, what programs are available to help them afford it and how the legislation would affect seniors and young adults (Galewitz, 3/21).

23 Mar 2010

Ingen Technologies achieves ISO 13485 Certification

Ingen Technologies, Inc., a leading manufacturer of respiratory medical devices, recently announced today that the company is officially ISO 13485 Certified.

22 Mar 2010

HHS announces 'Communities Putting Prevention to Work' grantee recipients: TFAH commends initiative

Trust for America's Health commends today's announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of Communities Putting Prevention to Work grantee recipients. The landmark $327 million initiative will provide funding for a comprehensive, coordinated approach to community-based prevention activities that address physical activity, nutrition, obesity, and tobacco use.

22 Mar 2010

First patient dosed in NCI-sponsored Phase 1/2 trial of belinostat

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a primary focus in oncology and hematology, and TopoTarget A/S, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a National Cancer Institute -sponsored Phase 1/2 trial of belinostat in combination with cisplatin, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide in the first line treatment of advanced or recurrent thymic malignancies.

22 Mar 2010

PharmAthene suspends work on SparVax research and development contract with BARDA

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company specializing in the development and commercialization of medical countermeasures against chemical and biological threats, announced today that pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations and pending a ruling in a protest recently filed by a competitor the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), has suspended work under the modification the Company announced on February 23, 2010 to its existing contract with BARDA for the research and development of SparVax™. June 11, 2010 is the deadline to rule on the protest.

22 Mar 2010

FDA to have greater tobacco and cigarette control

Starting Tuesday, June 22 the Food and Drug Administration will have far greater control over how tobacco and cigarettes are marketed, distributed and sold. The announcement on Thursday, March 18 was made by Kathleen Sebelius, the US Health and Human Services Secretary.

22 Mar 2010

HHS awards more than $372M to 44 communities to support public health efforts

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced awards of more than $372 million to 44 communities, to support public health efforts to reduce obesity and smoking, increase physical activity and improve nutrition.

20 Mar 2010

Defrauding Medicare: Hamilton, N.J. hospital to pay $6.35M for settling allegations

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, a New Jersey-based hospital, has agreed to pay $6.35 million to settle allegations that the hospital defrauded Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. Two lawsuits filed against the Hamilton, N.J., facility alleged that the hospital fraudulently inflated its charges to Medicare patients to obtain larger reimbursements from the federal health care program.

20 Mar 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

White House scrambles to fix health bill language on covering sick kids

IMDx 2009 Influenza A H1N1 Real-Time RT-PCR Assay granted EUA from FDA

Medicare Roundup: Changes from health reform, payments for HIV patients

National public service campaign launched to highlight underage drinking problems

MIMA pays $12M to resolve Medicare fraud case

Majority of Americans blame insurers and drug makers for rising health-care costs

Committee recommends inclusion of genetic diseases in newborn screening program

AHF to protest against Merck's pricing of Isentress

Many factors are involved when making medical decisions for hospitalized patients

State roundup: Arizona repeals CHIP program, Conn. insurance pool, Minnesota boosted by health bill

SAMHSA study shows how psychiatric drugs prescribed for medical conditions

Passage of health insurance reforms should spur action to ensure quality maternal care

How the health bill would affect you

Ingen Technologies achieves ISO 13485 Certification

HHS announces 'Communities Putting Prevention to Work' grantee recipients: TFAH commends initiative

First patient dosed in NCI-sponsored Phase 1/2 trial of belinostat

PharmAthene suspends work on SparVax research and development contract with BARDA

FDA to have greater tobacco and cigarette control

HHS awards more than $372M to 44 communities to support public health efforts

Defrauding Medicare: Hamilton, N.J. hospital to pay $6.35M for settling allegations

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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