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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.
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Kaiser- The Commonwealth Fund
- Measuring the Success of Medical Homes: Recommendations from the PCMH Evaluators' CollaborativeThere is an urgent need for rigorous data to strengthen the evidence base of the medical home model. In an effort to harness and share lessons from the many disparate medical home pilots and evaluations under way, The Commonwealth Fund established the Patient-Centered Medical Home Evaluators’ Collaborative in 2009.
- Achieving Better Quality of Care for Low-Income Populations: The Roles of Health Insurance and the Medical Home in Reducing Health InequitiesA new analysis of the Commonwealth Fund 2010 Biennial Health Insurance Survey demonstrates that when low-income adults have both health insurance and a medical home, they are less likely to report cost-related access problems, more likely to be up-to-date with preventive screenings, and report greater satisfaction with the quality of their care.
- Recommended Core Measures for Evaluating the Patient-Centered Medical Home: Cost, Utilization, and Clinical QualityThis Commonwealth Fund data brief describes how more than 70 researchers came together as part of the Patient-Centered Medical Home Evaluators’ Collaborative to identify a set of standardized measures to assess patient-centered medical homes.
- The World Health Report 2008—Primary Healthcare: How Wide Is the Gap Between Its Agenda and Implementation in 12 High-Income Health Systems?The authors of this Commonwealth Fund-supported study report on how the policy reforms set forth by the World Health Organization in 2008 are being implemented in 12 wealthy health systems.
- Guidelines International Network: Toward International Standards for Clinical Practice GuidelinesThe authors of this Commonwealth Fund-supported study identified some steps that can be taken by the Guidelines International Network to ensure that guideline development processes "are both rigorous and feasible even for modestly funded groups to implement."
- Measuring the Success of Medical Homes: Recommendations from the PCMH Evaluators' Collaborative
- RWJF Health Reform News
- GOP Shies Away from Offering Healthcare Reform AlternativeRepublicans might not offer a comprehensive plan to replace President Obama’s healthcare law if the Supreme Court strikes it down this summer.
- Study: Privately Insured Kids Get More Care in EDEmergency departments are required to treat everyone who comes through the doors, but that doesn’t mean they treat everyone the same way.
- Obesity, a New Kind of SmokeThe war on smoking can help guide the nation’s fight against obesity. Trash food can be the cigarette.
- Have California Schools Cracked the Code on Obesity?When it comes to nutrition policy, we know about a lot of things that don’t work: Soda taxes and proximity to healthy foods, for example, have relatively shaky support in the public health literature.
- Type 2 Diabetes in Kids not Child’s PlayIf ever we needed a wake-up call on the state of American children’s health, consider the growing proliferation of Type 2 diabetes in our youth, as detailed in a study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
- GOP Shies Away from Offering Healthcare Reform Alternative
- ACA Litigation Blog
- NY Times Health Policy
- Catholics File Suits on Contraceptive CoverageForty-three groups are challenging the Obama administration’s rule that employees receive health insurance coverage for contraception.
- A Long View on Health Care: Think Like an InvestorA conversation with the economist Dana Goldman, who believes that prevention should drive health care reimbursement.
- Army to Review Its Psychiatric Evaluation ProcessCongress put pressure on the military after hearing complaints about reversed diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder.
- F.D.A. Panel Backs Easier Home H.I.V. TestAn advisory body recommended that the Food and Drug Administration approve the OraQuick test, which uses a mouth swab to give a result in 20 minutes.
- Romney Medicare Plan Draws Stark Contrast With Obama’sMitt Romney says President Obama has no workable plan to prevent Medicare from going bankrupt, and that he is offering “a dramatic change in perspective and philosophy.”
- Catholics File Suits on Contraceptive Coverage
- WaPo Health
- President’s Council on Fitness backs Wii, Kinect and other video gamesWe called it “the devil’s machine” in my house, and the Faustian bargain we struck over that first Nintendo 64 would have impressed Lucifer himself. We bought it for my son when he was perhaps 7; it provided countless hours of contentment for him and an equal measure of downtime for Mom and Dad. Read full article >>
- The struggles of D.C. area yoga studiosThe deal with yoga in Washington is getting kind of complicated. If it’s a bargain you’re after, that’s not hard to find, especially with DC Yoga Week starting Sunday. Now in its seventh year, the event is eight days of free and $5 classes at 24 studios across the area. (This year, Maryland and Virginia studios are taking part, too.) And any other wee […]
- Spin/yoga classes find balance of body and mindIt seems as though we are always struggling for balance in our lives. Work or play? Spend or save? Eat that doughnut or save those calories? The same is true for our fitness regimens. Everyone from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to your physician wants you to mix cardiovascular workouts with strength training, stretching and balance drills. […]
- Alternative bachelorette parties: trapeze, ballet barre, ropes course and moreThe morning after 25-year-old Nicki Bonebrake’s bachelorette party two weeks ago, she could barely get out of bed. The problem wasn’t that the Gaithersburg resident had stayed out all night with her friends — although she had. It was that her body was still dealing with the fact that she’d spent the previous morning learning the art of flying trapez […]
- 5 so-called health foods you should avoidEating healthy can be harder than you think, thanks to an enterprising food industry that wants us to consume more than we need. That’s because our country’s agricultural system produces twice what most people require, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. This encourages creative marketing to unload the excess, […]
- President’s Council on Fitness backs Wii, Kinect and other video games
- Fierce Healthcare
- Three new rules for biopharma collaborationsLast week I moderated a panel called "The New Rules of Partnerships and Collaborations" at the Convergence East conference on Cape Cod, and the experience gave me a chance to probe some of the biopharma industry's top dealmakers about their preferences and prejudices going into talks with other companies. I've decided to write down three […]
- New study confirms worst fears about Merck's HIV vaccineFive years ago Merck ($MRK) investigators stunned everyone working in the AIDS research field with the news that they were abruptly halting a study of a prospective HIV vaccine after the data began to make clear that it wasn't only failing to guard against the virus, but appeared to increase the risk of becoming infected. Now researchers have followed u […]
- Mohr Davidow's Siegel tapped to run $6B GE health tech initiativeMohr Davidow Ventures' Sue Siegel, the former president of Affymetrix ($AFFX), is leaving the venture group to take the reins at GE's $6 billion healthymagination project. An expert in tech platforms and molecular diagnostics, Siegel brings considerable experience in the personalized medicine field to the task. Mohr Davidow, Kleiner Perkins and oth […]
- FDA staff backs J&J's Xarelto for heart conditionAs Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) builds the blockbuster pedigree of Xarelto, an FDA reviewer has given the thumbs-up to the new clot-busting drug as a treatment for the heart problem known as acute coronary syndrome. The staffers' recommendation of approval comes ahead of Wednesday's advisory committee meeting on the expanded use of J&J and Ba […]
- iPierian salvages new game plan after stem cell tech loses its sizzle South San Francisco-based iPierian was never short of brainpower. It quickly attracted some of the top minds in stem cell research--as well as A-list financial backers--at a time when the field had turned sizzling hot, earning a Fierce 15 award in 2010 for its innovative approach. But after failing to find a commercial footing for its development technology, […]
- AstraZeneca pulling out all stops in R&D deal frenzyAstraZeneca R&D chief Martin Mackay isn't going to let something like the sudden departure of the CEO interfere with his busy deal-making plans. In an interview with the Financial Times, he trotted out a roster of activities on his to-do list, ranging from in-licensing more programs, buying small biotechs, partnering with rivals and possibly coming […]
- User fee legislation promises better access, speedier reviews at FDA Bipartisanship is a rare sight in Congress these days, but a top tier of politicos in Washington D.C. says they've managed to hit the sweet spot with new user fee legislation being taken up by the Senate this week. That note of harmony is likely to sing the bill through to passage, triggering promises of significant improvements related to FDA access an […]
- Cancer Genetics' IPO delayed amid Facebook frenzyCancer Genetics has nixed plans to launch an initial public offering this week, having planned to raise $48 million to advance a pipeline of molecular diagnostics for cancer, Renaissance Capital reported Thursday. Last week Rib-X Pharmaceuticals delayed its own IPO, following a history of biotechs struggling to trade their shares on the public market. Seekin […]
- The R&D revolution wants youOver the last few years, the whole drug R&D ecosystem has been undergoing a sea change. Productivity in R&D on the Big Pharma side of the equation has been abysmal. And on the biotech side the emphasis has been on capital efficiency and cutting-edge innovation--which don't necessarily go hand in hand. As a result of these forces, we're se […]
- Massachusetts plants seed for new biotech destination With plans to kick-start a bumper crop of biotech activity in Fall River, MA, Massachusetts officials are touting plans for a $28 million biotech facility in the southeastern part of the Bay State. Plans call for the Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing to attract a host of startups and companies that will hopefully put the small city on the biotec […]
- Three new rules for biopharma collaborations
- 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
- Future heart-health alarm rises with new statistics on kidsAmerican adolescents already carry a heavy burden of future heart disease risk, and while obesity has contributed mightily to their poorer health prospects, normal-weight kids are by no means off the hook, a study produced by the Centers for Disease Control says.
- Prostate cancer and the PSA test: It's hard to understand riskThe U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has released new guidelines for prostate cancer screening — urging doctors not to use the popular PSA test to detect the disease.
- Listening to loud music linked with pot use, unsafe sex, study saysWarning: Music may be hazardous to your health.
- Future heart-health alarm rises with new statistics on kids
- Health Affairs Blog
- Implementing Health Reform: The Premium Tax Credit Final RuleAt the heart of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care reforms are the premium tax credits, which will extend health insurance coverage to 18 million lower and middle-income Americans. The idea of using tax credits to purchase private health insurance for the uninsured is one of a number of the historically conservative policy positions [...]
- How The ACA Would Have Cut 2001-08 Out-Of-Pocket Spending Under Individual CoverageCurrently, individual health insurance typically has less generous benefits than employment-related insurance. However, under the Affordable Care Act, individual insurance will probably become more generous and more like employment-related insurance. For a Health Affairs May 16 Web First study, Steven Hill of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality co […]
- Medicare Physician Payment: A Hollow Victory For The RUCOn May 9th, William Nickerson, Senior Judge in the Southern Maryland Federal District Court, issued a 15 page ruling against the six Augusta, GA primary care physician plaintiffs who challenged HHS’ and CMS’ longstanding relationship with the American Medical Association’s Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). The opinion did not weigh the subst […]
- Implementing Health Reform: State-Based, Partnership, And Federally Facilitated ExchangesOn May 16, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services moved three steps closer to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges, which will happen on January 1, 2014. First, HHS announced the award of 5 new level 1 exchange establishment grants (Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, and Tennessee) and one [...]
- Remembering Larry Lewin: A Legacy Of Accomplishment And MentorshipOn April 29, 2012, four days after his 74th birthday, Larry Lewin (pictured below) died from complications of an underlying cancer. The funeral was May 1 and his wife, Marion asked me to speak briefly about his professional life. What follows is adapted from those remarks. It will be obvious that anyone who knew Larry [...]
- Implementing Health Reform: The Premium Tax Credit Final Rule
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