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Consumer-directed health plans surge, get boost from health law

The concept is also central to Republican-backed market-based reforms. Also in the news, media outlets analyze what's a stake as the Supreme Court considers challenges to the health law, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reiterates the administration's confidence that the law will be upheld.

21 Apr 2012

CTI first quarter net loss decreases 66% to $17.4 million

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today reported financial results and recent accomplishments for the first quarter of 2012.

21 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Health law's legal peril; Barney Frank's misdiagnosis

Health-care reform, the impossible dream that seemed to become a reality in 2010, is now in mortal danger. Republicans want to repeal it even though the federal law is patterned after a Massachusetts law that their apparent presidential nominee signed in 2006. They can't do that, of course, unless they sweep the next election. So the clear and present danger comes from the Supreme Court, where a majority of justices seemed to snarl at the law in open session last month. Health-care reform is clearly in legal peril.

21 Apr 2012

Penn researchers continue efforts to differentiate Alzheimer's from FTLD

Teasing out the exact type or types of dementia someone suffers from is no easy task; neurodegenerative brain diseases share common pathology and often co-occur. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania are continuing efforts to differentiate diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) from frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), as FTLD is often clinically difficult to distinguish from atypical presentations of AD.

21 Apr 2012

Evaluating priority setting for health

"When facing a limited budget as most low- and middle-income countries are how can countries best sort multiple priorities into effective, sustainable policies?" Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), and Kate McQueston, a program coordinator at CGD, ask in the CGD's "Global Health Policy" blog.

21 Apr 2012

Additional hypertension screening could lead to significant reductions in CVD deaths

A 25 per cent increase in high blood pressure screening in 19 developing countries would reduce the number of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and deaths that occur each year by up to 3 per cent in these countries.

21 Apr 2012

Arizona OKs contraception bill, moves close to defunding Planned Parenthood

Arizona legislators gave final approval to a bill allowing employers to opt out of covering contraception in their health plans while moving one step closer to barring Planned Parenthood from public funding in a separate bill. Debates over contraception and abortion also dominate state capitols in Texas, Nebraska and Minnesota.

21 Apr 2012

PhotoVoltaic Solar Cells announces name change to MetaStat

MetaStat, Inc., a life science company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary clinical diagnostic tests that predict the probability of cancer metastasis, as well as companion therapeutics to prevent systemic metastasis, today announced that it has changed its name from PhotoVoltaic Solar Cells, Inc. to MetaStat, Inc. effective April 9, 2012.

21 Apr 2012

Health costs up nearly 6%; Medicare trustees solvency report due Monday

The cost of health care rose nearly 6 percent in the last year, according to a key indicator. In the meantime, Medicare's trustees will release its forecast on the solvency of the program on Monday.

21 Apr 2012

ACP offers recommendations to ensure Medicare beneficiaries

A dozen recommendations to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to high-quality, coordinated care were provided today by the American College of Physicians (ACP). The new policy paper, Reforming Medicare in the Age of Deficit Reduction, was released at Internal Medicine 2012, ACP's annual scientific meeting.

21 Apr 2012

Dems express regrets, grievances over health law push

Some prominent Democrats wish for a political do-over as they criticize the White House for focusing on the health law instead of the economy during President Barack Obama's first term.

21 Apr 2012

Alcohol use in Bollywood films directly influences drinking habits of India's adolescents

Alcohol use in Bollywood movies is directly influencing the drinking habits of India's adolescents, according to a new study presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology in Dubai.

21 Apr 2012

State highlights: Ill. Gov. proposes $1.35B cuts to Medicaid

News outlets report on health care policy issues in California, D.C., Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota and South Carolina.

21 Apr 2012

AADR acknowledges review that examines link between ASVD and periodontal disease

Today, the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) acknowledged the very comprehensive review of the literature undertaken by the American Heart Association (AHA) on the relationship between periodontal disease and heart disease.

21 Apr 2012

VA plans big boost in mental health staff

The Department of Veterans Affairs will increase its corps of mental health professionals to try to cope with the increased demand from vets of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

21 Apr 2012

Scripps Florida scientist to develop new tests for aging and stress-associated diseases

A scientist from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded just over $1 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop a range of new tests that could lead to new treatments for a number of stress-associated and degenerative disorders of advancing age.

21 Apr 2012

Kala-azar disease 'still raging' in remote areas of South Sudan, VOA reports

"In newly independent South Sudan, deadly kala-azar disease is still raging in some of the most remote areas lacking basic health services," VOA News reports.

21 Apr 2012

23andMe, Khan Academy partner to celebrate DNA Day

To celebrate DNA Day, Khan Academy, the world's online classroom, and 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company, are working together to promote the importance of genetics education. 23andMe's Genetics 101 and Human Prehistory 101 video series are now available on KhanAcademy.org.

21 Apr 2012

Physician group touts 'high-value' care

News reports indicate that the American College of Physicians, which is focusing this message on treatment choices for diabetes and back pain, sees this idea as a way for patients to get the most out of their their health care dollars.

21 Apr 2012

Study pinpoints mechanism by which spindle checkpoint proteins bind chromosomes

The development of more effective cancer drugs could be a step nearer thanks to the discovery, by scientists at Warwick Medical School, of how an inbuilt 'security check' operates to guarantee cells divide with the correct number of chromosomes.

21 Apr 2012