Medical Legislation News and Research

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Obama says health reform must be done this year

The opportunity to enact health care reform legislation could be missed unless Congress passes it this year, President Obama on Thursday said to thousands of supporters in a phone call made from Air Force One, the AP/USA Today reports.

31 May 2009

Sen. Kennedy circulates draft of health reform legislation

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating an outline of health care overhaul legislation that includes a requirement that all individuals obtain coverage and requires contributions from employers, the Washington Post reports.

31 May 2009

Study finds no link between cost, quality of care

Quality of care is not linked to the cost of care, according to a study published last week on the Web site of the journal Health Affairs, CQ HealthBeat reports.

27 May 2009

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

U.S. antitrust laws could affect health care industry groups' efforts to work together to rein in health care costs, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/27).

27 May 2009

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives adding legal twist to family health care

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives - nearly unthinkable just a decade ago - are drawing new interest as everyday Americans wrestle with the time and expense of providing long-term health care, a University of Illinois legal expert says.

27 May 2009

U.S. bill would establish survey to collect health data from native Hawaiians, Pacific islanders

Madeleine Bordallo, the U.S. delegate from Guam, has introduced legislation that would fund a survey to collect health data from Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, the Pacific Daily News reports.

26 May 2009

'Homework assignment' could mean success, failure for health reform legislation

How well health care industry groups follow through on their "homework assignment" from President Obama to submit specific plans by early June on how they intend to reduce health care spending growth by $2 trillion over the next decade could determine whether current attempts to develop health care overhaul legislation are successful, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Contra Costa Times, 5/25).

26 May 2009

Vermont Legislature passes law regulating all drug/device company marketing, requiring disclosure of gifts to doctors

The Vermont Legislature has passed legislation (S 48) that bans nearly all gifts from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to health care providers, administrators and facilities in the state, the New York Times reports.

20 May 2009

New Democrat coalition proposes independent panel to oversee comparative effectiveness research

Members of the moderate New Democrat Coalition on Tuesday proposed legislation (HR 2502) that would establish a non-governmental, independent office to oversee research efforts to compare the effectiveness of medical treatments, CQ HealthBeat reports.

20 May 2009

Republicans to introduce health reform plan that would establish state health insurance exchanges, provide tax credits

Congressional Republicans are releasing two health care reform proposals -- one from conservatives and one from moderates -- as alternatives to plans by Democrats, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/19).

20 May 2009

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke (or who is otherwise known to be at risk), regardless of their blood pressure, according to the largest analysis of blood pressure trials to date, published on bmj.com today.

19 May 2009

Waits to see specialists in Boston increased to average of 50 days, study finds

The average time patients in Boston wait for an appointment to see a specialist has increased over the last five years to an average of 50 days and can be up to one year, despite the fact that the city has an "abundance" of specialists, according to a recent study, the Boston Globe reports.

19 May 2009

Sen. Olympia Snowe holds private meetings to discuss fallback public plan

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) last week held a private meeting to discuss a compromise on health care reform legislation that would include a "fallback public plan," implemented in several years if private insurers do not take steps to make coverage more affordable and accessible, CongressDaily reports.

19 May 2009

Senate Finance Committee releases policy paper describing options to pay for health overhaul

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday released a 41-page document outlining policy options for financing health care reform, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 5/18).

19 May 2009

Opinion piece examines efficacy of foreign aid

"President Obama signaled recently a major shift in the way the United States tries to help poor countries," Philip Stevens, policy director at the International Policy Network, writes in a Providence Journal opinion piece, adding, "Whereas the Bush presidency pushed to spend enormous sums on individual high-profile diseases such as AIDS, Obama says he will broaden U.S. aid to improve health more generally."

19 May 2009

Convicting HIV-positive people contributes to spread of virus, opinion piece says

The recent conviction of HIV-positive Toronto resident Johnson Aziga is "part of an upward trend," as more "charges and prosecutions for HIV transmission -- and even potential HIV exposure -- are popping up around the planet," Regan Hofmann, editor-in-chief of POZ, writes in a Dallas Morning News opinion piece.

19 May 2009

Maryland County officials create State's first suburban HIV/AIDS commission

Anne Arundel County, Md., Executive John Leopold recently appointed 20 community leaders, government officials and health workers to serve on the county's first HIV/AIDS commission, which aims to understand and develop strategies for addressing the disease, the Baltimore Sun reports.

19 May 2009

Boston Scientific launches 3rd generation platinum chromium drug-eluting stent

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the launch of the Platinum chromium Taxus Element Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System in select markets worldwide. The Taxus Element Stent features a new Platinum chromium alloy engineered specifically for coronary stent applications and represents the Company's third-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) technology.

19 May 2009

Denver Post examines efforts to establish needle-exchange programs in Colorado

The Denver Post on Friday examined efforts to establish needle-exchange programs in Colorado to reduce the risk of HIV and hepatitis C among injection drug users.

18 May 2009

Research backs the use of Tasers by police

According to new research from the United States few patients suffered ill effects which warranted them being hospitalised after police used a Taser to subdue them.

18 May 2009

Medical Legislation News and Research

Obama says health reform must be done this year

Sen. Kennedy circulates draft of health reform legislation

Study finds no link between cost, quality of care

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives adding legal twist to family health care

U.S. bill would establish survey to collect health data from native Hawaiians, Pacific islanders

'Homework assignment' could mean success, failure for health reform legislation

Vermont Legislature passes law regulating all drug/device company marketing, requiring disclosure of gifts to doctors

New Democrat coalition proposes independent panel to oversee comparative effectiveness research

Republicans to introduce health reform plan that would establish state health insurance exchanges, provide tax credits

Blood pressure lowering drugs should be offered to anyone old enough to be at risk of a heart attack or stroke

Waits to see specialists in Boston increased to average of 50 days, study finds

Sen. Olympia Snowe holds private meetings to discuss fallback public plan

Senate Finance Committee releases policy paper describing options to pay for health overhaul

Opinion piece examines efficacy of foreign aid

Convicting HIV-positive people contributes to spread of virus, opinion piece says

Maryland County officials create State's first suburban HIV/AIDS commission

Boston Scientific launches 3rd generation platinum chromium drug-eluting stent

Denver Post examines efforts to establish needle-exchange programs in Colorado

Research backs the use of Tasers by police

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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

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