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Medicare roundup: Payment cuts irk healthcare industry; officials mull new prostate-cancer treatment

Doctors across the United States are taking a wait-and-see approach while Congress decides whether or not to allow a scheduled 23% cut in Medicare reimbursement rates to take effect on Dec. 1.

17 Nov 2010

Researchers explore interplay between pain and anxiety

Disability from chronic pain in adolescents can be exacerbated by high levels of anxiety, according to research reported The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society.

17 Nov 2010

Officials look to 2 states for advice on setting up exchanges; other health overhaul news

Two states Massachusetts and Utah are forerunners in establishing health insurance exchanges, a key part of the health overhaul, and are likely to serve as models for other states, Politico reports.

17 Nov 2010

UMass, PolyMedix receive Phase 2 STTR contract to conduct test on antimicrobial compounds

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass), have received a Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract in the amount of $750,000.

17 Nov 2010

New safety reporting website for electronic health records launched

The Wall Street Journal: An alliance of executives from medical societies and professional liability carriers yesterday launched "EHRevent.org, a new safety reporting system for [electronic health records] EHRs. Doctors and other health-care workers can go online and report problems and mistakes they experience as they ramp up the use of digitized records.

17 Nov 2010

AVEO commences enrollment in Phase 1b combination trial of tivozanib with oral capecitabine in advanced tumors

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing cancer therapeutics, today announced that it has initiated patient enrollment in an open-label, multi-center Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating tivozanib in combination with oral capecitabine (Xeloda®) in patients with certain advanced solid tumors.

17 Nov 2010

Berwick to testify for the first time as Medicare/Medicaid chief

Medicare and Medicaid chief Donald Berwick will testify before a congressional committee Wednesday for the first time since President Barack Obama avoided the Senate confirmation process to Republican protest by using a recess appointment to install Berwick as the administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

17 Nov 2010

Changes to flexible spending accounts; High co-pays prompt abandoned prescriptions

Minnesota Public Radio: "[T]he federal health care reform law is cutting back on what [flexible spending] accounts will cover and how much workers can put into them. … These two changes are designed to raise more tax revenue to help pay for insuring another 32 million Americans beginning in 2014.

16 Nov 2010

Regional U.N. meeting explores African development

Africa has the potential to expand development with the help of international support and stability, Asha-Rose Migiro, U.N. deputy secretary general, said on Sunday at the opening of the 11th Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Next reports.

16 Nov 2010

Neurologic complications remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality after heart surgeries

Strokes, seizures and other neurological complications related to heart surgery account for "considerable morbidity and mortality," Loyola University Health System neurologists report in the November issue of the journal Hospital Practice.

16 Nov 2010

Optivia, UCSF receive SBIR grant to develop transporter-based assay system

Optivia Biotechnology Inc., a leading provider of in vitro transporter assay services, today announced that the company and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop an innovative system for characterizing the role transporter proteins play in the disposition of drugs by the liver.

16 Nov 2010

Nevada AG files antitrust lawsuit against health care merger

The Associated Press/KLAS-TV in Las Vegas: "The Nevada attorney general's office has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against a $3.1 billion health care merger it says would reduce competition for psychiatric care in Las Vegas. ... The lawsuit is aimed at a proposed merger between Universal Health Services Inc. and Psychiatric Solutions Inc."

16 Nov 2010

Republicans confront realities of health overhaul, position themselves in Congress

The Christian Science Monitor reports that the health overhaul is resting in the GOP's crosshairs. The ultimate defense to the repeal effort is the presidential veto pen. Even with a new majority in the House come January, Republicans concede that winning a repeal vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely and the two-thirds needed to override a presidential veto, well out of reach.

16 Nov 2010

UCSF, Pfizer announce partnership to accelerate translation of biomedical research

UCSF and Pfizer, Inc. have formed a new partnership to accelerate the translation of biomedical research into effective new medications and therapies for patients.

16 Nov 2010

Reuters reports on PLoS medicine series on water, sanitation

Nearly 20 percent of the world's population still defecates in the open, and action to improve hygiene, sanitation and water supply could prevent more than 2 million child deaths a year, health experts said" on Monday, following the release of a series of papers on water and sanitation published in the journal PLoS Medicine, Reuters reports.

16 Nov 2010

States seek ways to balance Medicaid budget, contemplate dropping out of program

Kaiser Health News: "As budget-weary state officials contemplate dropping out of the state-federal Medicaid program, a potentially game-changing question has arisen in Washington: Would poor people who lose Medicaid be eligible for subsidies to buy private coverage in an insurance exchange beginning in 2014? Cindy Mann, director of the federal Center for Medicaid and State Operations, last week said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was considering the question.

16 Nov 2010

Yukon receives grant under QTDP program for SmartMix delivery platform

Yukon Medical, LLC, a medical device firm located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is proud to announce it has received a grant under the 2010 Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) for their SmartMix delivery platform.

16 Nov 2010

Verastem closes $16 million Series A financing

Verastem, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by targeting cancer stem cells, today announced the closing of a $16 million Series A financing. Founding investor, Longwood Founders Fund, was joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Cardinal Partners, and MPM Capital.

16 Nov 2010

Insuring your health: Many individual health policies do not cover pregnancy

In her latest Kaiser Health News consumer column, Michelle Andrews writes: "Individual health insurance policies generally don't cover maternity care, as a recent investigation by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce reported.

16 Nov 2010

KHN column: Health care – tell us the truth before you tell us why you are right

We need more proposals like those being made by the President's deficit reduction commission, and the Medicare reform proposal authored by Republican House members Ryan, Cantor, and McCarthy. Irrespective of whether they are the best proposals, their authors started from a place where they told the truth.

16 Nov 2010

Research News and Research

Medicare roundup: Payment cuts irk healthcare industry; officials mull new prostate-cancer treatment

Researchers explore interplay between pain and anxiety

Officials look to 2 states for advice on setting up exchanges; other health overhaul news

UMass, PolyMedix receive Phase 2 STTR contract to conduct test on antimicrobial compounds

New safety reporting website for electronic health records launched

AVEO commences enrollment in Phase 1b combination trial of tivozanib with oral capecitabine in advanced tumors

Berwick to testify for the first time as Medicare/Medicaid chief

Changes to flexible spending accounts; High co-pays prompt abandoned prescriptions

Regional U.N. meeting explores African development

Neurologic complications remain an important cause of morbidity and mortality after heart surgeries

Optivia, UCSF receive SBIR grant to develop transporter-based assay system

Nevada AG files antitrust lawsuit against health care merger

Republicans confront realities of health overhaul, position themselves in Congress

UCSF, Pfizer announce partnership to accelerate translation of biomedical research

Reuters reports on PLoS medicine series on water, sanitation

States seek ways to balance Medicaid budget, contemplate dropping out of program

Yukon receives grant under QTDP program for SmartMix delivery platform

Verastem closes $16 million Series A financing

Insuring your health: Many individual health policies do not cover pregnancy

KHN column: Health care – tell us the truth before you tell us why you are right

Human iPSCs: A Full Guide to Advanced in Vitro Models and Applications eBook

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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