Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Senate Finance Committee Discusses Funding For Health Reform In Final 'Walk Through' Meeting
The Senate Finance Committee met Wednesday to discuss potential funding mechanisms for health reform legislation but indicated that no concrete decisions had been reached, The Hill reports. The meeting was the third of three scheduled to "walk through" various aspects of health reform. Previous talks focused on the care delivery system and coverage. Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has said that he hopes for a bill to be approved for full Senate consideration by the end of July. He said of the talks so far, "We"ve got a lot of work ahead of us," adding, "Soon we have a mark up, soon we have a bill, and that realization is forcing us to make decisions." He also said, "Nothing"s pushed off the table. We"re looking at it all." Funding mechanisms discussed Wednesday included taxes on sugary and alcoholic beverages, as well as a limit on the tax-exempt status of employer-provided health insurance (Young, The Hill, 5/20). One proposal would raise the federal alcohol excise tax by 145% for beer, 233% for wine and 20% for hard liquor (Hurt, New York Post, 5/21). The committee also mulled a three-cent tax per 12-ounce container of sugary drinks, which would raise an estimated $50 billion over 10 years (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/21). Baucus said he supports placing a cap on the employer coverage tax exemption based on income or the cost of premiums, or both. Congress estimates that about $194.2 billion in revenue is passed up each year by forgoing taxes on the insurance plans. The committee also discussed decreasing Medicare spending on home care, durable medical equipment, medical imaging and prescription drugs, as well as addressing regional disparities in health care costs (The Hill, 5/20). Members also brought up the possibility of charging higher-income seniors higher premiums for the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/20). Members also discussed introducing new standards for not-for-profit hospitals that would require them to provide more no-cost care and serve more low-income patients in order to keep their tax-exempt status. In addition, they discussed cutting special Medicare payments to teaching hospitals, as well as requiring drugmakers to give larger discounts to state Medicaid programs (Pear, New York Times, 5/21).Baucus noted "convergence" on some issues, such as the need to include complete funding in a reform package, as well as the need to establish insurance exchanges that would facilitate the purchase of public or private insurance (The Hill, 5/20). Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said, "There was a greater understanding of the issues we have," but there are "a lot of members who still want some more understanding." Grassley also said, "There"s just a lot of questions; there are -- I wouldn"t say misunderstandings, but there"s got to be a lot of understanding about what you"re talking about" (CQ Today, 5/20). Chances of Bipartisan Bill
generic viagra online
Optimizing Molecular Signatures For Predicting Prostate Cancer Recurrence
UroToday.com - The mortality rate for prostate cancer is declining due to improvements in earlier detection and in local therapy strategies, however, the ability to predict the metastatic behavior of a patient"s cancer, as well as to detect and eradicate disease recurrence remains some of the greatest clinical challenges in oncology.
News of the day
In New U-M Lab-On-A-Chip Device, Music Is The Engine
Music, rather than electromechanical valves, can drive experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip in a new system developed at the University of Michigan. This development could significantly simplify the process of conducting experiments in microfluidic devices.
Mental Health

Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) Activates Clinical Trials 30-40 Percent Faster Than Industry Standard

The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), an innovative research model comprised of a network of 15 academic Member Institutions across North America and leadership in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced preliminary data from an analysis showing that clinical trials opened through its clinical trials network were activated 30 to 40 percent faster than comparable clinical trials in oncology. Based on the implementation of specific business solutions, particularly scientific leadership, standardized clinical contracts and on-site project management res, the MMRC has been able to decrease by an average of 100 days the time from the development and finalization of the trial"s protocol to actual patient enrollment. "This accelerated activation rate may help make myeloma more attractive from a development process as well as de-risk the process for our industry partners," says Susan Kelley, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the MMRC. "With so many new investigational agents in cancer clinical trials and escalating pressures to speed the time to completion of clinical trials, the MMRC is committed to sharing risk with the companies and investigators focused on myeloma to ensure that new treatments are delivered to patients as quickly as possible." "The MMRF and MMRC provide an end-to-end solution for biotech firms and pharmaceutical companies partners seeking to advance promising drug leads into clinical trials," said Susan Molineaux, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Proteolix, Inc. who has collaborated with the MMRC to advance two clinical trials through the MMRC"s clinical trials network. "These new data underscore what Proteolix has already experienced in collaborating with the MMRC- speed, efficiency, and results." About the Analysis Data on key activities related to clinical trial start-up were collected and analyzed from 12 Phase I and II clinical trials conducted within the MMRC clinical trials network from May 2006 to March 2009. The analysis demonstrated that the trials initiated during 2007-2008, following the implementation of business solutions were able to open to patient enrollment in an average of 158 calendar days - down from an average of 257 calendar days for trials initiated earlier in the history of the MMRC and consistent with published data about conventional experience with trial activation (Dilts and Sandler, JCO, 2006)). This acceleration represents a 30 to 40 percent time-savings in the rate at which clinical trials were activated. Data will be submitted for presentation at an international scientific meeting later this year. Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC)


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009