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MedPAC suggests recouping overpayments to hospitals

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission suggested Thursday that Congress should adjust what it pays hospitals for inpatient care in 2011 to recoup overpayments that have come from changes in documentation and coding used by Medicare, according to a report on Modern Healthcare.

10 Dec 2009

AFP examines insecticide resistance's effect on malaria fight in Nigeria

Agence France-Presse examines the increase in insecticide-resistant mosquitoes in Nigeria - "the latest threat to combating malaria" in the country. "Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, contributes more than a quarter of the one million malaria deaths in Africa, according to official statistics," AFP writes.

10 Dec 2009

Michigan goes smoke-free

The Michigan Legislature today delivered a historic victory for health and the public's right to breathe clean air by passing legislation to make almost all workplaces, including all restaurants and bars, smoke-free. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she will sign the bill, which will make Michigan the 27th state to pass a strong smoke-free law that includes all restaurants and bars.

10 Dec 2009

Abbott submits SIMCOR sNDA for two new dosage strengths

Abbott has submitted a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for two new dosage strengths of SIMCOR®, a cholesterol medication. SIMCOR is a fixed-dose combination of niacin extended-release and simvastatin.

10 Dec 2009

Fewer Massachusetts taxpayers penalized for lacking health insurance

The Boston Globe: "Fewer Massachusetts taxpayers were penalized for lacking required health insurance last year than were fined in 2007, the state said yesterday in a report reflecting the second year that residents had to report on their tax returns whether they were covered under the state's near-universal-coverage mandate.

10 Dec 2009

Key Democratic Senators aren't yet committing to health bill

Some of the key players in the health care debate are featured in news articles today.

10 Dec 2009

UnitedHealth Group invests $5.4M in The Help Group’s tax-exempt revenue bonds

The Help Group received $5,395,000 in capital that will support development of its newest campus serving Los Angeles-area children, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders.

10 Dec 2009

Many questions remain on Medicare expansion proposal

The proposal to expand Medicare to include people aged 55 and older as part of an alternative to creating the public option may have expanded support for the Senate version of the overhaul bill, the Los Angeles Times reports.

10 Dec 2009

Medicare Advantage plans waste billions, report finds

Health insurance companies that offer private alternative Medicare plans, called Medicare Advantage, put billions of dollars toward profits and marketing rather than patient care, according to a report released Wednesday by House Democrats.

10 Dec 2009

Ford may use stocks to pay for retiree health fund

"The Labor Department said Wednesday that it would let the Ford Motor Company use stock instead of cash to pay some of the $13.1 billion that it owed to a new retiree health care fund, pending a period of public comment," The New York Times reports.

10 Dec 2009

Hospitals, insurers oppose health bill compromise on Medicare buy-in

Groups representing doctors and hospitals are coming out against the inclusion of a Medicare "buy-in" in the Senate health bill, The Washington Post reports. The groups joined Republicans in arguing "that a plan by liberal Democrats to allow uninsured individuals as young as 55 to buy into Medicare would be financially untenable and would jeopardize access to health-care services for millions of Americans."

10 Dec 2009

Biomoda, Christiana Care Health System partner in study of CyPath lung cancer diagnostic test

Cancer diagnostics company Biomoda, Inc. today announced that The Helen F. Graham Cancer Center associated with Christiana Care Health System, a screening site for the International Early Lung Cancer Program (I-ELCAP), will recruit a cohort of patients diagnosed with lung cancer to participate in the final stage of the Phase II pilot study of the investigational CyPath® assay, an early-stage diagnostic test for lung cancer.

10 Dec 2009

Senate Democrats express 'guarded optimism,' wariness on public option compromise

The New York Times: "Senate Democrats said on Wednesday that they were not sure exactly what was in a deal that the majority leader said would surmount a disagreement over a proposed government-run health plan. But they voiced guarded optimism that it would ultimately help them pass major health care legislation."

10 Dec 2009

Today's opinions and editorials: Public option, Catholic Bishops, nurses, Medicare

If we are to move forward, we must do a better job of providing policymakers, health care leaders and the public with the evidence showing the link between nursing care and patient safety. Any health care reform legislation must support the role of nurses in building a better system that provides the highest standard of care that is not only safer but is also likely to save money (Mary Nailer and Mark Paly, 12/10).

10 Dec 2009

Experts begin calculating Senate health bill impact on consumers

The Washington Post: "While confusion reigned on Capitol Hill on Wednesday over the prospects and details of a Senate deal to replace a government-run insurance plan with other measures, it is not too soon to ask what the proposal would mean for regular people."

10 Dec 2009

Drug importation takes center stage on Senate floor

Debate on a proposal that would make it easier to bring prescription drugs into the country from abroad is taking center stage on the Senate floor as part of the health care reform debate.

10 Dec 2009

InNexus Biotechnology, XERIS Pharmaceuticals collaborate in development of novel antibody delivery system

InNexus Biotechnology Inc. and XERIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today a research collaboration in which the companies will pursue development of a potential subcutaneous delivery of InNexus’ Dynamic Cross Linking (DXL™) antibodies using XERIS’ proprietary formulation-injection technologies.

10 Dec 2009

DMC recommends Emisphere Technologies' to proceed with oral calcitonin trial for OP and OA

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. today announced that an independent Data Monitoring Committee (“DMC”) informed Novartis and its partner Nordic Bioscience about their recommendation to proceed with the Osteoporosis (“OP”) Phase 3 Study 2303 and the Osteoarthritis (“OA”) Phase 3 Study 2301 exploring the safety and efficacy of an oral formulation of salmon calcitonin to treat patients with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis of the knee.

10 Dec 2009

New brain metastases treatment guidelines

New treatment guidelines for patients with brain metastases are now available from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS).

10 Dec 2009

Nexstim's Navigated Brain Stimulation System receives FDA clearance

Nexstim Oy, a medical device company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the Navigated Brian Stimulation System for use in the assessment of the primary motor cortex for pre-procedural planning.

10 Dec 2009