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BMC researchers receive grants to study effectiveness of integrative medicine in underserved patients

Two Boston Medical Center (BMC) researchers have each been awarded grants from the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) to study the effectiveness of integrative medicine in underserved patients.

4 Oct 2010

Consumers should pay attention to changes in health plans during enrollment season

As enrollment packets for insurance benefits begin to land on workers' desks or arrive in the mail, pay attention. This is not the year to simply renew last year's choices without studying the options. The first baby steps of the nation's health care overhaul have taken effect.

4 Oct 2010

UTHealth receives funds for teen pregnancy prevention program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $15 million of its $155-million total package to a team led by Susan Tortolero, Ph.D., director of the UTHealth Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research.

3 Oct 2010

Record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, straining state budgets

Associated Press: "A record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, as the recession wiped out jobs and workplace health coverage. A report released Thursday by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation found that enrollment in the safety-net medical insurance program jumped to more than 48 million — a record 15.7 percent share of the U.S. population.

1 Oct 2010

Selling insurance across state lines: Still a partisan fight

Kaiser Health News staff writers Phil Galewitz and Lexie Verdon report: "When Republican House leaders recently unveiled their 'Pledge To America,' they revived an idea long popular with conservatives: legislation that would allow consumers to buy health insurance across state lines so that residents of a state with expensive health plans could find cheaper options elsewhere" (Galewitz and Verdon, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Bloomberg analysis finds 'doughnut hole' deal to cost drugmakers less than 1% of profits

News outlets report how closing the Medicare 'Doughnut Hole' affects drugmakers and seniors.

1 Oct 2010

Insurer jumps ship, but is the health law to blame?

The New York Times: The Principal Financial Group of Iowa will stop selling health insurance plans - which currently cover about 840,000 people who get coverage from employers - as provisions of the health overhaul take effect. "Principal's decision closely tracks moves by other insurers that have indicated in recent weeks that they plan to drop out of certain segments of the market, like the business of selling child-only policies.

1 Oct 2010

Bipartisan deficit commission unlikely to make big Medicare changes

National Journal: "For all of the attention surrounding President Obama's bipartisan commission on deficit reduction, the country's biggest cost centers — health care in general and Medicare specifically — will likely remain unscathed when the panel offers its recommendations in December.

1 Oct 2010

Health insurance prices, restrictions now on federal consumer website

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jessica Marcy talked with Todd Park, the chief technology officer of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Karen Pollitz, who heads the consumer support division at HHS Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, about the detailed health plan cost and benefits information unveiled today on Healthcare.gov.

1 Oct 2010

Political cartoon: 'Don't Worry'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Don't Worry" by Chip Bok.

1 Oct 2010

Med schools say doctor shortage to worsen under new health law

The new health law will worsen the physician shortage as newly insured patients seek care, according to a new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

1 Oct 2010

Merck to pay millions over Mass. allegations of inflated wholesale rate

Bloomberg Businessweek: A Massachusetts court ordered the drug maker Merck to pay $4.6 million in damages for inflating wholesale prices for generic asthma drugs. "Massachusetts claimed the companies reported inflated wholesale acquisition-cost prices for the generics, and that MassHealth, the state component of the Medicaid program, would rely on those prices for reimbursements" (McQuillen, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Today's OpEds: Sebelius' tough talk; Changing the malpractice system; Different perspectives on the health overhaul

The problem is, quite simply, the centerpiece of the entire health care overhaul -- guaranteed coverage for so-called "preexisting" conditions. As long as both parties insist on this, the national discussion over real health care reform is going nowhere (Jason Lewis, 9/30).

1 Oct 2010

Vibrant joins Bike MS NYC to raise money for National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Vibrant will participate in Bike MS NYC on Sunday, October 3 to increase awareness of Multiple Sclerosis and to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The race, hosted by the Southern NY Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, will include nearly 6,000 cyclists across two Bike MS NYC locations.

1 Oct 2010

After McDonald's flap, White House says it will exercise 'discretion' on medical loss ratios

The Wall Street Journal: The Obama administration said Thursday that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will "exercise her discretion" in enforcing the medical loss ratio requirement of the health law. The comment comes after a report in The Journal Thursday that "McDonald's warned federal regulators it could drop its health-insurance plan for nearly 30,000 restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the health overhaul.

1 Oct 2010

CVS/pharmacy's fundraising campaign raises $4.1 million for ALS research

In just 21 days, CVS/pharmacy's ninth annual in-store fundraising campaign to support the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) brought in $4.1 million. The funds raised by the campaign will be donated to the Boston-based ALS Therapy Alliance (ATA) to support the funding of new clinical research aimed at developing new therapies for ALS patients and focused on the ultimate goal of finding a cure for ALS.

1 Oct 2010

BUSM to create Center for Health Insurance Reform, Cardiovascular Outcomes and Disparities

Boston Medical Center (BMC) has been awarded a four year, $5.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for investigators from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) to create the Center for Health Insurance Reform, Cardiovascular Outcomes and Disparities.

1 Oct 2010

GSA urges treatment of sepsis as a medical emergency

The Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) is urging healthcare providers, patients and policymakers worldwide to treat sepsis as a medical emergency. "Tens of millions of people die from sepsis each year, making it the likely leading cause of death worldwide. Sepsis kills regardless of age, ethnicity, location and access to care," said Konrad Reinhart, M.D., Chairman of the GSA and director of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital of the Friedrich Schiller, University of Jena, Germany.

1 Oct 2010

Healthy respect for flu this season

Flu season officially begins Friday, Oct. 1, and unlike last year's season when shortages lead to rationing, there will be plenty of vaccine on hand for everyone who wants a flu shot.

1 Oct 2010

CDC awards ACS and GWCI $4.25 million to establish National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the GW Cancer Institute (GWCI) were recently awarded $4.25 million by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to establish a National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center. Work on the project will begin on September 30.

1 Oct 2010

Healthcare News

BMC researchers receive grants to study effectiveness of integrative medicine in underserved patients

Consumers should pay attention to changes in health plans during enrollment season

UTHealth receives funds for teen pregnancy prevention program

Record number of Americans signed up for Medicaid last year, straining state budgets

Selling insurance across state lines: Still a partisan fight

Bloomberg analysis finds 'doughnut hole' deal to cost drugmakers less than 1% of profits

Insurer jumps ship, but is the health law to blame?

Bipartisan deficit commission unlikely to make big Medicare changes

Health insurance prices, restrictions now on federal consumer website

Political cartoon: 'Don't Worry'

Med schools say doctor shortage to worsen under new health law

Merck to pay millions over Mass. allegations of inflated wholesale rate

Today's OpEds: Sebelius' tough talk; Changing the malpractice system; Different perspectives on the health overhaul

Vibrant joins Bike MS NYC to raise money for National Multiple Sclerosis Society

After McDonald's flap, White House says it will exercise 'discretion' on medical loss ratios

CVS/pharmacy's fundraising campaign raises $4.1 million for ALS research

BUSM to create Center for Health Insurance Reform, Cardiovascular Outcomes and Disparities

GSA urges treatment of sepsis as a medical emergency

Healthy respect for flu this season

CDC awards ACS and GWCI $4.25 million to establish National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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