Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Impasse over health law leads to federal government shutdown

The long-running battle to defund or derail the health law came to a head Monday when Congress failed to approve a short-term spending measure to continue funding the government. For an entrenched group of House Republicans, Obamacare is the sticking point. But a new round of polls finds public opinion doesn't support their strategy.

2 Oct 2013

HHS warns of early hiccups as it premieres insurance website

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking the public and press to be patient as the law unfolds.

2 Oct 2013

Genetic study helps identify obese diabetes patients who are at risk of developing NAFLD

A groundbreaking study of nearly 2,300 extremely obese diabetes patients, led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, has identified genes associated with unhealthy liver function.

2 Oct 2013

For President Obama: A day combining shutdown and the exchanges' launch

President Barack Obama is due to lead officials spotlighting the opening day sign-up on Tuesday for his landmark healthcare program even as staunch Republican opposition to the plan shut down government operations. Obama is scheduled to meet and pose for pictures in the Oval Office with a group of people who stand to benefit from the healthcare law's provisions, while an interview with Vice President Joe Biden promoting the plan will air on 450 college radio stations in critical states, the administration said (Felsenthal, 10/1).

2 Oct 2013

Data from Boehringer Ingelheim's HCV clinical program accepted for presentation at The Liver Meeting

New data from Boehringer Ingelheim's hepatitis C virus clinical development program have been accepted for presentation at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, also known as The Liver Meeting®, taking place November 1-5 in Washington, D.C.

1 Oct 2013

Precise value of EXACT in COPD uncertain

EXACT is effective in assessing exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the outpatient setting, a study shows.

1 Oct 2013

FDA Approves Takeda-Lundbeck Drug For Major Depressive Disorder

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1 Oct 2013

50 states, 50 views of health exchanges

Media outlets across the country spotlight the opening of federal and state-run websites that are designed to be a portal into new insurance marketplaces where those without group coverage can compare and purchase plans. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes a fund created by the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics to pay the premiums of those who would have been eligible for expanded Medicaid had the state opted into that health law program. The Texas Tribune spotlights potential problems as a result of state restrictions on the navigators who are supposed to act as consumer guides.

1 Oct 2013

FDA Approves Takeda-Lundbeck Drug For Major Depressive Disorder

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1 Oct 2013

Canada should start screening 'Baby Boomers' for hepatitis C virus infection, say liver specialists

Canada should begin screening 'Baby Boomers' for the hepatitis C virus infection, since this age group is likely the largest group to have the illness, and most don't know they have it, say a group of liver specialists in the Toronto Western Hospital Francis Family Liver Clinic. Unlike many other chronic viral infections, early treatment makes hepatitis C curable.

1 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 1, 2013

Today's headlines detail how the federal government has been shutdown as a result of the ongoing congressional battle over the health law. Still, even as House and Senate lawmakers were unable to overcome this issue to reach a deal to provide funding to continue government operations, Oct. 1 is still the official launch of the overhaul's online insurance marketplaces.

1 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Health law rollout brings excitement and concerns; new disparities likely in states turning their back on the law; is the coverage affordable?

The United States is embarking on a truly historic journey toward near-universal health care coverage this week. Starting Tuesday, the federal government will make it possible for millions of uninsured Americans who can't get health insurance, or can't afford it, to obtain coverage with the aid of government subsidies. It is a striking example of what government can do to help people in trouble (9/28).

1 Oct 2013

MiMedx Group enters into distribution agreement with Medtronic and SpinalGraft Technologies

MiMedx Group, Inc., an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of patent protected regenerative biomaterials and bioimplants processed from human amniotic membrane, announced today that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Medtronic, Inc. and SpinalGraft Technologies, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medtronic.

From Medtronic 1 Oct 2013

University of Sydney to host series of medicine lectures on back pain

On any given day in Australia, one quarter of the population is suffering back pain, and nearly 80 per cent of adult Australians will experience back pain some time during their lives.

1 Oct 2013

For consumers shopping for insurance on new health exchanges, a lot will be determined by where they live

People who live in states where officials were less enthusiastic about the health law's new online marketplaces will likely have to look harder to find information about them. Meanwhile, coverage costs will vary widely, not just from state to state, but sometimes between cities and regions within the same state.

1 Oct 2013

Navigating the health law's new insurance options

In some states, the task of helping consumers find their way through the health law's new online insurance marketplace has fallen to "navigators." In general, though, news outlets report on the strategies and public outreach efforts underway in locations across the country.

1 Oct 2013

Concerns about technical snags on marketplace opening day

Advocates and foes of health law acknowledge that technical glitches could create some problems.

1 Oct 2013

FDA approves Brintellix drug to treat depressive disorder in adults

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Brintellix (vortioxetine) to treat adults with major depressive disorder.

1 Oct 2013

Huntsman investigator receives $1.5M to focus on c-KIT gene's role in melanoma

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator Matt VanBrocklin, Ph.D., more than $1.5 million over the next five years to continue studying the role of a gene called c-KIT in the origin and growth of melanoma, a devastating and sometimes deadly skin cancer.

1 Oct 2013

New AARP survey takes harder look at issues facing caregivers in NYC

Across New York state, over 4 million people are providing unpaid care for a relative or spouse who is ill, frail or elderly. The value of this care is over $32 billion dollars. In New York City the group is at a breaking point, stressed out and financially strained with a looming demographic shift adding another problem, today's caregivers may not have someone to care for them.

30 Sep 2013