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Posts from Health Reform Watch have been cited by media sources throughout the country, including The New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Kaiser Health News, The Health Care Blog, NPR's Planet Money Blog, Duke Univ. Med. Center News, American Health Line Alerts, BusinessWeek.com, Concurring Opinions, Balkinization, The New England Journal of Medicine, Harvard's Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Las Vegas Sun, Maggie Mahar, Ezra Klein, Tom Geoghegan, and the official homepage of the Office of the Democratic Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer.
Kaiser- The Commonwealth Fund
- Achieving Equity in the Health System: The Commonwealth Fund's Vulnerable Populations ProgramVulnerable populations have more difficulty obtaining health care, receive worse care, and experience poorer health outcomes than other groups. This blog post looks at the new Vulnerable Populations program, which aims to help achieve equity in the U.S. health system.
- Incorporating INTERACT II Clinical Decision Support Tools into Nursing Home Health Information TechnologyThis Commonwealth Fund–supported study examined some of the steps necessary to incorporate the the INTERACT clinical transition tools into nursing homes' health information technology systems.
- Wellness Incentives, Equity, and the Five Groups ProblemThis Commonwealth Fund–supported study explores the equity concerns associated with wellness incentives, an increasingly popular way for employers to encourage participation in prevention programs, which can both improve workers' overall health and reduce costs.
- Paying for "End-of-Life" Drugs in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom: Balancing Policy, Pragmatism, and Societal ValuesThis brief analyzes British, Australian,and German policies on coverage of "end-of-life" drugs.
- Bending the Health Care Cost Curve: New Era in American Health Care?Health care spending in 2009 and 2010 grew at the slowest rates in 50 years. This startling news was largely attributed to the shrinking economy. In a new blog post, Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis suggests that lower longer-term projections point to a shift in the health system.
- Achieving Equity in the Health System: The Commonwealth Fund's Vulnerable Populations Program
- RWJF Health Reform News
- Digital DoctoringAmong the most common reasons why people come to an emergency room are bouts of heart failure or pneumonia. Note: Viewing this article may require a subscription.
- Study: Hospitals Overpay for DevicesSome hospitals pay thousands of dollars more than others for big-ticket medical devices such as defibrillators and hip replacements, and a portion of the higher costs could be passed on to the federal Medicare program, a new government report says. Note: Viewing this article may require a subscription.
- Health Care Payers Push Back Against CostsIn a paper, “Divide et Impera: Protecting the Growth of Health Care Incomes (Costs),” published this month in the British journal Health Economics, I summarize themes touched on here and there in several earlier posts on this blog.
- Taking Another Shot At The Flu VaccineDespite nearly 20 years of recommendations that health workers get flu shots, the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that less than 64 percent of them do. Consumer and business groups met in Washington Thursday to show their support for a recommendation from the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) that hospitals re […]
- Cervical Cancer: There's An App for ThatWhen Mary Jo Payne hears about efforts to educate the public about cervical cancer, she thinks back to her own encounter with the disease at age 38.
- Digital Doctoring
- ACA Litigation Blog
- The next two weeks
- Severability briefs filed today
- United States files its brief on severability
- Severability briefs due today
- Seven-Sky distributed for February 17 conference
- Amicus briefs supporting state petitioners on the Medicaid issue
- District Court stays proceedings in Coons v. Geithner
- Amicus briefs supporting the states on Medicaid issue due today
- NY Times Health Policy
- Komen Reverses Stance on Planned Parenthood GrantsThe Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation apologized for its decision to cut grants to Planned Parenthood for cancer screening and said it would restore the funding.
- The Texas Tribune: Texans Lead Battle for Women’s HealthIn the skirmish between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood that intensified over the past week, all roads led to Texas.
- National Briefing | Health: Officials Recommend the HPV Vaccine for All BoysFederal health officials recommended on Thursday that all boys be routinely vaccinated against infection with human papillomavirus, or HPV.
- F.D.A. Approves Cystic Fibrosis DrugThe Food and Drug Administration called Kalydeco a “breakthrough therapy” because it treats the underlying cause of the genetic disease, rather than just the symptoms.
- Non-Specialists Expand Into Lucrative Cosmetic Surgery ProceduresWith declining insurance reimbursements, more doctors are expanding their practices to include things like breast augmentation and liposuction paid for out-of-pocket by patients.
- Komen Reverses Stance on Planned Parenthood Grants
- WaPo Health
- Redskin London Fletcher’s fitness regimenLet’s say your job is to take off at a sprint, get moving about 20 mph and slam yourself full speed into a brick wall — 60 times in a single afternoon. We’d give you a helmet and lots of padding to protect yourself. Because of the toll this would take on your body, we’d make you do it only once a week. And we’d reward you handsomely. Read full art […]
- Keep your New Year’s fitness resolution without hitting the gymThis is it. This is the year you finally get in shape, shed those pounds or meet that fitness pledge you made at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31. But do you have to build the new you in a hot, stuffy gym, cheek by jiggly jowl with a dozen other sweaty resolutionaries awaiting their turn on the elliptical machine? Read full article >>
- My workplace fitness resolutionI’m not saying my co-workers are fat. In fact, a fair number of them are toothpick skinny — including, unfairly, the guy who brings in his latest cupcake creation every other day. Many of them are also super-active, always running, biking and yoga-ing in their free time. Read full article >>
- Guys: Stretch now or pay laterListen up, ladies, because it’s confession time, and as you may know, this is not my gender’s forte. So let’s get this over with: Although we are bigger, stronger and faster than you are, we must acknowledge that when it comes to flexibility, most of us are pretty much outclassed. We aren’t built like you, and we don’ t bend like you do. Read full […]
- Ways to get kids to eat quinoaWhen people ask me to list my favorite healthy foods, quinoa always tops the list. And not just because the National Restaurant Association named it the hottest trend in side dishes in 2010. My boys think I like quinoa because when it was first discovered it was named “the mother grain.” Yes, I am proud to be a mother myself, but check out all the real […]
- Redskin London Fletcher’s fitness regimen
- Fierce Healthcare
- FDA commish counters industry critics on expert conflict rulesThere's been an ongoing debate in biopharma circles over the impact a shortage of drug experts is having on the FDA's panel review process. But anyone looking for theagency to welcome changes in the rules governing conflicts of interest--which have been keeping some of the experts at bay--can rule out any support from FDA Commissioner Margaret Ham […]
- Scoring winners and losers in Japan pharma M&A boutJapan's biggest pharma players have been roaming the world in recent years in a restless search for new acquisitions. They've been looking for deals to put an extra oomph into their earnings. Now The Wall Street Journal is reviewing the biggest buyers and seeingwho scored the juiciest gains, andwho harvested bitter losses. AstellasPharma, which […]
- Idenix gets good news on hep C trial, but can't compete with GileadIdenix put out the news this morning that the FDA had lifted a partial hold on its hepatitis C drug IDX184--and then watched its share price slide. In a sign of just how volatile the whole hepatitis C arena has become after back-to-back blockbuster buyouts, the key focus today is on Gilead's ($GILD) surprise acknowledgement that its new hep C favorite s […]
- AstraZeneca's R&D chief in China lays out $100M strategyOne of the hottest trends in the global R&D business in recent years has been Big Pharma's huge investment in China. Among all the emerging countries, China's massive, fast-growing economy has been a magnet for drug developers determined to tap a whole new market. Steve Yang, AstraZeneca's vice president and head of R&D for Asia and […]
- Gilead shares surge as hep C drug scores a cure for big patient populationGilead Sciences ($GILD) received its first bonus from the monster $10.8 billion deal to acquire Pharmasset ($VRUS) after CSO Norbert Bischofberger told analysts yesterday evening that PSI-7977 combined with ribavirin cured a group of genotype 1 hepatitis C patients after four weeks of therapy. The analysts already knew that the same treatment had performed w […]
- Threshold, Merck KGaA strike $525M licensing deal for promising cancer drugThe dealmakers at South San Francisco-based Threshold Pharmaceuticals ($THLD) have crafted a $525 million licensing pact with Merck KGaA covering its late-stage cancer drug TH-302. Threshold snagged a $25 million upfront, a promise of $35 million in near-term paydays and a $20 million reward if upcoming pancreatic cancer data come in positive. And the biotec […]
- U.S. funding drop threatens San Diego life sciences industryThe life sciences job juggernaut in metro San Diego expanded through the ongoing economic downturn and will produce another 6,000 jobs through 2014, according to a new report. But a big drop in government science funding and a continued decline in venture funding could threaten future growth. Ominously, grants from the National Institutes of Health to greate […]
- Is Lilly betting the farm on its high-stakes Alzheimer's gamble?Now that the patent cliff has arrived right on time for Eli Lilly ($LLY), the big question this year is whether or not its massive gamble on the Alzheimer's drug solanezumab will pay off. That's Reuters' theme as it delves into the murky science involved in trying to treat the memory-wasting ailment. And even the most optimistic projections ca […]
- AB soars on promising survival data from Phase II tumor studyShares of Paris-based AB Science shot up yesterday after the drug developer reported strong efficacy results from a midstage study of its experimental drug for gastrointestinal tumors. The treatment, masitinib, not only outperformed Sutent, it also appeared to be better tolerated. Investigators in the trial divvied up 44 Gleevec-resistant, advanced-stage pat […]
- Czechs beef up investment in biotech researchThe Czech Republic is substantially boosting its investment in biotechnology research, with plans to build a massive research center near Prague set to employ 600 people, the Prague Daily Monitor is reporting. Plans call for spending 2.4 billion crowns (more than $120 million U.S.) on the project, with the investment drawn from EU funds. It will take two yea […]
- FDA commish counters industry critics on expert conflict rules
- Boston Globe Health Blog
- MIT professor wins prestigious chemistry prizeBy Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff Robert Langer, a biomedical engineer at MIT best known for his contributions in the fields of tissue engineering and drug delivery, has been named the winner of the 2012 Priestley Medal, a prestigious prize...
- Daily check up: New York Times points to Mass. public opinion on health care mandate as a modelIn an editorial today, the Times says support for the national mandate could follow the recent trend in Mass. and grow
- Brigham and Women's performs face transplant on woman mauled by chimpJonathan Wiggs / Globe Staff Photo Steve Nash, brother of Charla Nash, who received a full face transplant at Brigham and Women's Hospital late last month, appeared at a press conference today with his wife, Kate. Charla Nash did not...
- Poll: Public supports mandatory physical educationIn a survey of 501 Mass. residents, 87 percent said the state should require 30 min. of physical activity each school day
- Immigrant health care back in courtImmigrant advocates had hoped for a quick decision, but the state plans to file a motion that would delay the process
- MIT professor wins prestigious chemistry prize
- LA Times Health Blog
- Health Affairs Blog
- What Is “Sustainable” Health Spending?As we embark upon a presidential campaign season, we can anticipate many lively debates on the topics of taxation and spending in this nation. As health spending in the Unites States accounts for 18 percent of our gross domestic product – a rate often called unsustainable – it is critical that we be clear-eyed in [...]
- Latest Wonk Review Highlights HA Blog Post On Bay State ReformAt the Colorado Health Care Insider, Louise Norris hosts the latest edition of the Health Wonk Review. Louise includes Sharon Long’s Health Affairs Blog post clarifying the facts about health reform in Massachusetts. Check out Sharon’s post and all the great posts in Louise’s Wonk Review.
- Trusting Government: A Tale Of Two Federal Advisory GroupsAmericans increasingly distrust what they perceive as poorly run and conflicted government. Yet rarely can we see far enough inside the federal apparatus to examine what works and what doesn’t, or to inspect how good and bad decisions come to pass. Comparing the behaviors of two influential federal advisory bodies provides valuable lessons about how [...]
- Passing The Torch: A Day In The Life Of An Attending PhysicianNovember 9, 2011. Time fell back three days ago, leaving me one less hour of daylight to enjoy on a gorgeous Indian summer Wednesday. I’m the attending physician on a busy family medicine inpatient service, and it’s been a long week of patient care and meetings. I rush out of the hospital somewhere near 5 pm, [...]
- Health Policy Briefs: Accountable Care OrganizationsIn April 2012 a number of accountable care organizations (ACOs) will begin their contracts with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under Medicare’s Shared Savings and Pioneer ACO programs. The latest health policy brief from Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides an overview of ACOs, their origins, and the current […]
- What Is “Sustainable” Health Spending?
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