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Catalyst Health Solutions second-quarter 2010 net income up 21%

Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc., a pharmacy benefit management company, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2010. The Company reported quarterly net income of $19.5 million, up 21% compared to $16.2 million in the prior year. Earnings per diluted share increased by $0.07 to $0.44 from $0.37. Revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, grew by 24% to $890.1 million from $717.6 million in the prior year.

5 Aug 2010

Andy Griffith Medicare ad prompts showdown with GOP

Veteran television star Andy Griffith appeared in a new commercial for Medicare that promotes health law changes the administration says should help seniors, such as free wellness visits and lower drug costs, U.S. News & World Report writes. "The commercial, launched on the 45th anniversary of Medicare last week, is part of a public education campaign about changes to Medicare benefits. Retirees' knowledge about the health reform law's impact on Medicare remains mixed.

5 Aug 2010

USN-DAAT to collect unused, expired prescription and OTC drugs from public

Following the overwhelming success of Southern Nevada's first Operation Medicine Cabinet event in February, University of Southern Nevada's Drug Abuse Awareness team and a coalition of local organizations have come together for a second event to collect unused and expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs from the public.

4 Aug 2010

Savient second-quarter net loss decreases to $5.0 million

Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010. The net loss for the second quarter of 2010 was $5.0 million, or $0.07 per basic and diluted share, on total revenues of $1.0 million, compared with a net loss of $54.8 million, or $0.92 per basic and diluted share on total revenues of $0.7 million for the second quarter of 2009.

4 Aug 2010

Contrave added to diet and exercise regimen can induce significant weight loss

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. announced the online publication of results from its COR-BMOD trial of Contrave (naltrexone SR/bupropion SR) in the journal Obesity. The COR-BMOD trial evaluated intensive behavior modification plus Contrave32 (32mg naltrexone sustained release (SR)/360mg bupropion SR) compared to BMOD plus placebo, in 793 overweight or obese patients.

4 Aug 2010

Tips for caregivers to better manage their loved one's health care

According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, more than 65 million people in the United States serve as informal caregivers, typically for family members. This equates to more than one out of every four people serving as unpaid caregivers.

2 Aug 2010

Humana second quarter consolidated revenues rises 10% to $8.65 billion

Humana Inc. today reported diluted earnings per common share (EPS) for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 (2Q10) of $2.00, above management's guidance of $1.65 to $1.70. The 2Q10 results compared to EPS of $1.67 for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 (2Q09). For the six months ended June 30, 2010 (1H10) the company reported $3.52 in EPS compared to $2.89 for the six months ended June 30, 2009 (1H09).

2 Aug 2010

Speaker Pelosi issues statement to mark 45th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today to mark the 45th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid being signed into law. To mark the anniversary, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a new ad featuring Andy Griffith discussing the Affordable Care Act:

31 Jul 2010

Medical Mutual of Ohio to provide online applications for High Risk Pool health insurance program

Beginning Sunday, August 1, Medical Mutual of Ohio will provide online applications and enrollment information for the state of Ohio's temporary High Risk Pool health insurance program.

30 Jul 2010

New health reform law to benefit 30 million women: Commonwealth Fund report

Thirty million women will benefit from the new health reform law over the next decade, either through new or strengthened insurance coverage, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. In the first analysis of its kind, the authors report that the law will stabilize and reverse the growing exposure to health costs that women now experience by subsidizing health insurance for up to 15 million currently uninsured women, and strengthening existing coverage for 14.5 million women who are considered underinsured-those who have health coverage that does not adequately protect them from high medical expenses.

30 Jul 2010

Amgen second-quarter total revenue increases 2% to $3,804 million

Amgen reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.38 for the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 7 percent compared to $1.29 for the second quarter of 2009. Adjusted net income increased 1 percent to $1,326 million for the second quarter of 2010 compared to $1,311 million for the second quarter of 2009.

30 Jul 2010

Orexigen's Contrave COR-I trial results published online in journal Lancet

Orexigen® Therapeutics, Inc. announced that results from its COR-I trial of Contrave® were published online today in the journal Lancet. COR-I was the largest of the four, 56-week, Phase 3 trials supporting the New Drug Application for Contrave, currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Results show that patients taking Contrave were two to three times more likely to lose at least 5% or 10% of their body weight compared to those taking placebo, on both an intent-to-treat (ITT) and completers basis.

30 Jul 2010

HealthSpring reports net income of $55.8M for second-quarter 2010

HealthSpring, Inc. today announced its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

29 Jul 2010

Online pharmacy services Pharmahelper.com, QC Supply, and Kerr Drug earn NABP e-Advertiser Approval

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) has named Pharmahelper.com, QC Supply, and Kerr Drug as the first online pharmacy services to be approved through the Association's new e-Advertiser Approval(CM) Program now required by Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo!. As such, these entities offer reliable and trustworthy resources for patients seeking to purchase medications safely online.

29 Jul 2010

WellCare Health Plans awarded URAC accreditation

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a Full Health Plan Accreditation for its HealthEase of Florida and WellCare of Florida subsidiaries by URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. URAC's Health Plan Accreditation standards include key quality benchmarks for network management, provider credentialing, utilization management, quality management and improvement and consumer protection.

29 Jul 2010

FDA approves Cuvposa Oral Solution for chronic severe drooling in children

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Cuvposa (glycopyrrolate) Oral Solution to treat chronic severe drooling caused by neurologic disorders in children ages 3 years to 16 years.

29 Jul 2010

Anti-fraud efforts backed by AARP; Seniors cautioned about rebate cons

AARP on Tuesday "threw its influence" behind a number of plans to reduce Medicare fraud, including the bipartisan Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act, which would increase penalties on nabbed fraudsters and supply more claims data to enforcers, The Hill reports. Separate legislation, "the Fighting Fraud with Innovative Technology Act, would bolster Medicare's claims screening process before payments are sent out" (Lillis, 7/27).

29 Jul 2010

CVS Caremark second-quarter net revenues decrease $864 million to $24.0 billion

CVS Caremark Corporation, today announced revenues, operating profit, and net income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2010.

28 Jul 2010

Abortion, other issues continue to stoke the politics surrounding health reform

Politico reports that "the issues of health care and abortion" are making the campaign tough for some Democrats. Among the vulnerable Democrats are Reps. Kathleen Dahlkemper, D-Pa.; Steve Driehaus, D-Ohio; and Indiana Reps. Joe Donnelly and Brad Ellsworth, who is running for Senate. "'We are going to do everything we can to point out that Democrats who said they were pro-life caved on the big one,' said Marilyn Musgrave, a former Colorado congresswoman.

28 Jul 2010

Millennium Laboratories urges for increase in physician reimbursement for POC urine drug screening

Millennium Laboratories, Inc., a national, research-based medication monitoring company specifically focused on clinicians who treat chronic pain, strongly advocated for an increase in physician reimbursement for point-of-care urine drug screening at the Annual Clinical Laboratory Public Meeting of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on July 22, 2010.

27 Jul 2010