Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

First study to evaluate treatment based on molecular profiling of advanced pancreatic cancer

The feasibility of selecting treatment based on individual molecular characteristics was demonstrated in a first-of-its kind pancreatic cancer clinical trial reported today by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare.

4 Apr 2012

Obama confident the health law will be upheld

In his first public comments about the law since last week's Supreme Court oral arguments, President Barack Obama not only defended the measure and maintained confidence that it would not be overturned, but he also offered warnings against judicial activism.

4 Apr 2012

Health law action at the high court takes a political toll

Findings from a new poll indicate that the public felt less favorable about both the health law and the Supreme Court after last week's oral arguments.

4 Apr 2012

New County Health Rankings released

Researchers found distinct regional patterns: They reported that excessive drinking rates were highest in the Northern states, while rates of teen births, sexually transmitted infections and children in poverty were highest in the South.

4 Apr 2012

Ryan budget plan draws tough talk from Obama while insurers keep their distance

President Barack Obama offers sharp critcism of the GOP budget plan, which passed the House on a near-party-line vote last week and which has been embraced by GOP presidential hopefuls. Although the plan, written by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., would greatly expand the role of private insurers in Medicare, the insurance industry has been mostly silent as well.

4 Apr 2012

Infections in older adults may increase risk of hospitalization for dangerous blood clots

Research shows older adults who get infections of any kind - such as urinary, skin, or respiratory tract infections - are nearly three times more likely to be hospitalized for a dangerous blood clot in their deep veins or lungs, University of Michigan Health System research shows.

4 Apr 2012

Study: Obesity adds more to health care costs than smoking

Obesity adds more to health care costs than smoking does, reports a study in the March Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

4 Apr 2012

Blues insurers win antitrust case in Mich., see profits increase 20% in Minn.; HMO profit caps mean Minn. will get $8M back from another insurer

Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Michigan won a hospital pricing antitrust case. In Minnesota, nonprofit insurer UCare prepares to return $8 million to the state while Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota's profit rose 20 percent in 2011.

4 Apr 2012

Mylan introduces Mesna Injection

Mylan Inc. today announced that its Mylan Institutional business has launched Mesna Injection, 100 mg/mL, packaged in 1,000 mg/10mL multiple-dose vials.

4 Apr 2012

Dohmen announces acquisition of BioSoteria

CEO Cynthia (Dohmen) LaConte announced today that the Dohmen Company has acquired BioSoteria, a leading provider of drug safety and risk management services to the biopharmaceutical industry.

4 Apr 2012

IOM releases new report on public health dimensions of epilepsies

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) on March 30th released its new report on the public health dimensions of the epilepsies, the first authoritative independent appraisal of epilepsy and its management in the United States.

3 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 3, 2012

In today's health policy headlines, President Barack Obama's expresses confidence that the health law will stand.

3 Apr 2012

Ensign subsidiary acquires Zion's Way Home Health and Hospice

The Ensign Group, Inc., announced today that an Ensign subsidiary has acquired Zion's Way Home Health and Hospice, a well-regarded home health and hospice agency based in St. George, Utah, with branch offices in the cities of Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona. The acquisition was effective as of April 1, 2012.

3 Apr 2012

Supreme Court's health law ruling: If that falls, what's next?

News outlets offer analysis about how the high court's decision could play out -- both in terms of policy and politics.

3 Apr 2012

Health insurers continue to rally after high court hearings

Certain segments of the health care marketplace appeared to be optimistic about signals from the court's consideration of the individual mandate and the sweeping health law.

3 Apr 2012

Supreme Court justices emerge as possible players in upcoming presidential election

Also in the news, President Obama talks about the health law while on the campaign trail, Vice President Joe Biden takes on GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and health law supporters begin to embrace the term "Obamacare."

3 Apr 2012

Views on the Supreme Court review: No matter what the decision, reform will go on; The case threatens the court's legacy

Listening to the lawyers talking nonstop last week about health care gave me a headache, so I decided to consult one of the nation's top doctors. He offered a real-world diagnosis of what's happening in health care - and a reminder of how much it's changing, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides about Obamacare. My medical guru is Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, chief executive of Cleveland Clinic, a $6 billion network that's one of the biggest and best providers in the country.

3 Apr 2012

NutraGene introduces first ever commercial type 2 diabetes genetic test

With the launch of the country's first ever commercial genetic test for type 2 diabetes, Indians will now have access to clinically relevant and cost effective genetic risk assessment services. NutraGene, a Delhi based genomics company that launched the tests believes that its type 2 diabetes genetic test will provide physicians an effective tool in assessing the risk of diabetes in the Indian population and will help in implementing personalized prevention and management strategies.

3 Apr 2012

Health reform means ER use jumps in Colo.; Calif. insurance premiums rise; Ore. waits to see who wants in on coordinated care

Even people who just got health insurance use the emergency departments to access their care, according to a new study by University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers. It's not just people who lost insurance or people living long without it, the researchers note -- any change in health insurance status, whether positive or negative, tends to send people to the ER because they don't know where else to go.

3 Apr 2012

Perspectives on the health law: Santorum offers his plan for health freedom; Cardinal Dolan's meeting with Obama; Dems' and GOP's 'misconception'

As the Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we Americans need to remember that we have the freedom to make choices for ourselves. We, not our government, choose the food to eat, the clothes to wear, the ideas to believe. "ObamaCare" is the opposite of freedom. Under ObamaCare, the government, not the individual, has freedom. We can do better.

3 Apr 2012