Month: May 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Thursday it is making $150 million available to community health centers to enroll uninsured Americans in healthcare coverage under President Barack Obama's reform law. The new funds would help about 1,200 health centers hire and train staff, conduct community outreach efforts and assist consumers in applying for benefits under the law, which provides coverage through subsidized insurance markets and an expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said. …

By Ransdell Pierson (Reuters) – A sales representative for Merck & Co. filed a more than $100 million sex discrimination lawsuit against the drugmaker on Thursday, claiming that it particularly discriminates against pregnant employees and women with children. The plaintiff, Kelli Smith, in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, claims she was demoted for taking maternity leave in 2010, and penalized by unfair performance evaluations and other actions that stalled her career and hurt her reputation. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, alleges the No. 2 U.S. …

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a largely symbolic move, Republican leaders in Congress told President Barack Obama on Thursday that they will not participate in picking members of a controversial healthcare panel intended to restrain cost growth in the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell informed the president in a May 9 letter that they will not recommend appointments to the 15-member Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB, and want the panel repealed instead. …

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. fell for the first time in decades last year, slipping as cash-strapped consumers continued to cut back on use of health care services.

By Dr. Meera Dalal Pregnancy is beautiful. Or it is? The reality is that for many women around the world, and even here in the United States, pregnancy can be a death sentence. About 800 women worldwide die every day from preventable causes related to…        

By Dr. Meera Dalal Pregnancy is beautiful. Or it is? The reality is that for many women around the world, and even here in the United States, pregnancy can be a death sentence. About 800 women worldwide die every day from preventable causes related to…        

By Esha Dey (Reuters) – Sales of Dendreon Corp’s prostate cancer vaccine Provenge declined in the first quarter despite efforts by the biotechnology drugs maker to shore up flagging volumes. The company’s shares fell 14 percent to $4.06 in morning trade on the Nasdaq. They touched a low of $3.95. Dendreon is watched closely due to the immense potential of cancer vaccines, but Provenge sales have never really taken off due to physician uncertainty about reimbursement and limited manufacturing capacity. The emergence of newer prostate cancer drugs have also squeezed the vaccine’s potential. …

Rare conditions captured in medical imaging.        

A 911 dispatcher in Miami Beach, Fla., who let 14 minutes go by before sending help to a dying man, says he made the mistake because he has a brain tumor. Now, he could lose his job – and his health insurance. “I’m not a…        

By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House has invited about a dozen lawmakers to a meeting on Thursday to discuss how to combat the sharp increase in sexual assaults in the military, a White House official said. Earlier this week, the Pentagon released its 2012 annual report on sexual assault in the military, which showed a 37 percent jump in estimated sex crimes to 26,000. …