AAMC Joins Hospitals in Opposing Cuts to HOPDs
The AAMC joined eight other hospital associations—including the American Hospital Association (AHA)—on a Feb. 1 letter to Congress opposing the House-passed cuts to hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), reductions in Medicare “bad debt” payments, and the rebasing of Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments included in H.R. 3630. The letter supports efforts to address the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, but states that SGR reform should not be funded “by further cutting resources for the hospital services upon which America’s seniors depend.”
Louisiana rolls out new Medicaid managed care program
Louisiana's Medicaid program on Wednesday started providing health care through private managed care networks in nine parishes around New Orleans, the first step in a sweeping revamp of the program that provides care to the poor. Nearly 246,000 Medicaid recipients, mostly children, across southeast Louisiana were switched to the managed care networks in this first phase of the insurance-based model, called Bayou Health
Addicts’ Vulnerability to Drugs Linked to Family Ties in Study
The brains of addicts and their healthy siblings are different than those of unrelated, healthy volunteers, a study has found, suggesting vulnerability to drug dependency may be partly inherited. The aberrations were found in brain scans on 150 subjects. They exist in areas thought to govern self-control and habit- formation, the researchers said. Having a family member with an addiction raised the odds of becoming dependent about eightfold, said Karen Ersche, a researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and the study’s lead author.
Malaria deaths hugely underestimated - Lancet study
The research, published in the British medical journal the Lancet, suggests 1.24 million people died from the mosquito-borne disease in 2010.This compares to a World Health Organisation (WHO) estimate for 2010 of 655,000 deaths.But both the new study and the WHO indicate global death rates are now falling.The research was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
tPA OK for 'Wake-Up' Strokes
Patients who wake up with stroke symptoms that weren't present when they fell asleep can safely receive thrombolytic treatment with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), even though the stroke onset time is unknown, a British study suggested.
Severe, Rapid Memory Loss Could Herald Stroke
Severe, rapid memory loss may be linked to, and might possibly predict, a future fatal stroke, Harvard researchers report.
Steven Greenberg, MD, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, moderated the press briefing here and commented on the study. "The accepted dogma in many circles is that memory loss has nothing to do with blood vessels, and that 'it's all Alzheimer's disease,' but that dogma has been turned on its head in the past 10 years," he told reporters here.
Ursodeoxycholic Acid in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure
Endothelial dysfunction is commonly observed in patients with CHF, and it contributes to the limitation in exercise capacity that accompanies this condition. Bacterial lipopolysaccharide may trigger proinflammatory cytokine release and promote further endothelial dysfunction. UDCA, a bile acid used in the treatment of cholestatic liver disease, has anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective properties and may contribute to the formation of mixed micelles around lipopolysaccharide. These properties may help to improve peripheral blood flow in patients with CHF. This study sought to assess the effects of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) on endothelial function and inflammatory markers in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and found that UDCA is well tolerated in patients with CHF and improves peripheral blood flow and is associated with improved markers of liver function.
Sen. Feinstein backs health insurance rate controls
A high-stakes ballot measure to give state regulators the power to approve health insurance rates in California has landed a heavyweight supporter: U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.One of California's most respected politicians, Feinstein has come forward as the chief spokeswoman and No. 1 booster of a proposed initiative to regulate hikes in health premiums. "I am proud to tell you that I was the first person to sign a new ballot initiative petition that will reform the health insurance industry in California,
Medical device industry would provide nearly $600 million to FDA for implant reviews
The Food and Drug Administration has agreed to work toward more predictable, transparent reviews of new medical implants in return for a 100 percent increase in user fees from manufacturers, under a preliminary agreement. The pact with the medical device industry announced Wednesday is expected to provide $595 million in user fees to the FDA over five years, allowing the agency to hire 200 new scientists. That amount essentially doubles the $295 million industry paid over the last five years of the arrangement.
Device Makers Said to Double FDA Fees to Produce Faster Reviews
Medical device makers will double the fees they pay U.S. regulators to get their products reviewed over the next five years, to $595 million, in a deal designed to secure faster and more predictable evaluations, say two people with knowledge of the talks. The pact with the Food and Drug Administration, which must be authorized by Congress, replaces one that cost Medtronic Inc., Johnson & Johnson and other device makers $295 million over the last five years, and expires on Sept. 30.
Bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy versus total thyroidectomy for Graves' disease
The extent of thyroid resection in Graves' disease remains controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term results of bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy (BST) compared with total thyroidectomy (TT) in patients with Graves' disease and mild active ophthalmopathy. Overall it was shown that TT for Graves' disease prevented recurrent hyperthyroidism but did not prevent the progression of ophthalmopathy compared with BST.
