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

Coverage Of Abortion Services In Federal Health Plan Remains Controversial
Advocates on both sides of the abortion-rights debate are "preparing for a renewed battle" over insurance coverage of abortion services in health care reform efforts, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Abortion-rights opponents say that current restrictions on federal funding for abortion services should carry over to any insurance sold under new health insurance exchanges proposed under reform legislation. However, abortion-rights supporters say that carrying over the restrictions would deny abortion coverage to millions of women who currently have it through employer-sponsored coverage and are likely to join the exchanges.A variation in how the questions were asked yielded different results but significant proportions of private plans were found to cover abortion services. A Guttmacher Institute study found that 87% of typical employer-sponsored health plans covered abortion services in 2002, and a 2003 Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 46% of workers covered by employer-sponsored plans had coverage for abortion services.A Congressionally imposed provision of law known as the Hyde Amendment currently prevents the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment. States that choose to cover abortion services for low-income women through Medicaid must use their own funding to do so. Other Congressionally imposed restrictions prohibit abortion coverage for federal employees, women in the military and other women who rely on the federal government for their health care coverage. An overhaul of the health care system would "create a stream of federal funding not covered by the restrictions," including federal subsidies to offset the cost of health insurance for low- and middle-income people purchasing public or private health insurance though an exchange, the AP/Journal-Constitution reports.Congressional Proposals The plan passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is "still largely silent" on the issue of coverage for abortion services, the AP/Journal-Constitution reports. Both the House and Senate bills leave the decision on whether the public plan would include abortion coverage to the HHS secretary.In the House Energy and Commerce Committee, members approved an amendment that would allow the public plan to cover abortion services through the use of beneficiary premiums but not federal funds. In addition, the amendment says that private plans in the insurance exchanges could choose whether to cover abortion services, but no federal subsidies could be used to pay for the procedure. The amendment -- proposed by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who supports abortion rights -- also would allow plans that do not cover abortions under any circumstances to be offered through insurance exchanges. Capps said that her amendment aims to appease both sides of the abortion-rights debate, adding, "Our country allows for both sides, and our health plan should reflect that as well."Comments Abortion-rights opponents say that they cannot accept a public insurance plan that would cover abortion services and that private plans in insurance exchanges should offer coverage for abortion services as a separate option, the AP/Journal-Constitution reports. Richard Doerflinger, associate director of antiabortion activities for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the group "want[s] to see people who have no health insurance get it," but coverage for abortion is "a sticking point." He said that there can be a "result where nobody has to pay for other people"s abortions," adding, "We don"t want health care reform to be the vehicle for mandating abortion."However, abortion-rights supporters argue that prohibiting coverage for abortion services would deny health care to women who have abortion services coverage through their private plans. Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women"s Policy Research, said that applying current restrictions for low-income women and federal employees to a program meant for the middle cla

Computer Modeling Shows Strategies To Rein In Epidemics Need To Be Retooled For Rural Populations
An infectious disease striking a large city may seem like a disastrous scenario -- millions of people sharing apartment buildings, crammed on buses and trains and brushing past one another on crowded sidewalks.
News of the day
Forsyth Medical Center Participating In Avastin Trial For New Glioblastoma Patients
The Derrick L. Davis Forsyth Regional Cancer Center at Forsyth Medical Center is participating in a national trial of the experimental drug Avastin to treat glioblastoma, a fast-growing tumor of the brain or spinal cord.
Endocrinology

US Oncology Research Network Participates In Phase III Follow-up Study To BiPar's Investigational Cancer Drug BSI-201

US Oncology, Inc. today announced that US Oncology Research will participate in the BiPar Sciences" Phase III, Multi-center, Open-Label, Randomized Trial of Gemcitabine/Carboplatin (G/C), with or without BSI-201, in patients with Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), and HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Joyce O"Shaughnessy, M.D., co-chair of the US Oncology Breast Cancer Research Committee, associate director for clinical research for US Oncology and co-director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at Baylor-Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center and Texas Oncology, a US Oncology affiliate in Dallas, Texas, will lead the study as a follow-up to the Phase II study presented in a plenary session at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held May 29-June 2, 2009, in Orlando, Fla. "We are very pleased to be participating in this clinical trial of BSI-201 which is a very promising new treatment for metastatic triple negative breast cancer," says Dr. O"Shaughnessy. "We expect that accrual will be very rapid within the US Oncology network and hope that this trial will lead to rapid FDA approval of what appears so far to be a well tolerated and effective therapy." BSI-201 targets PARP, or poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, a key enzyme involved in DNA repair and cell proliferation. By inhibiting the enzymatic activity of PARP, BSI-201 significantly enhances the anti-tumor effects of chemotherapy and has shown promising safety and efficacy results in patients with solid tumors. "We are extremely pleased to be launching the Phase 3 clinical trial so rapidly after the close of the Phase 2 trial," said Barry Sherman, M.D., head of clinical development at South San Francisco-based BiPar Sciences, which is developing BSI-201. BiPar is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paris-based sanofi-aventis. "Our primary focus now is enrolling patients in this trial with a similar sense of urgency." Physicians within the US Oncology network are expected to enroll more than 100 participants in this 420-patient study. Enrollment in the study opened July 17 in centers nationwide. "The BSI-201 PARP Inhibitor is a potential game changing therapy in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. US Oncology Research is excited about the opportunity to continue our development collaboration with BiPar on this important potential new therapy," said Steve Smith, vice president and general manager of Research and Personalized Science for US Oncology Research. "We are eager to leverage the US Oncology Research network to support the study." Patients targeted for the study include adults with histologically documented metastatic breast cancer with measurable disease that is ER-negative, PR-negative, and HER2- non-overexpressing. They will receive the chemotherapy combination of gemcitabine/carboplatin with or without BSI-201. Patients must have measurable metastatic breast cancer with zero to two prior chemotherapy regimens for metastatic disease; adjuvant chemotherapy is allowed. Primary objectives of the study are to evaluate: overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), the objective response rate (ORR), and to further evaluate the safety and tolerability of BSI-201 in combination with gemcitabine and carboplatin. Phase II of the study in triple negative breast cancer patients found that BSI-201 + G/C resulted in a statistically and clinically significant improvement in clinical benefit rate (CBR), median progression-free survival (PFS) and OS, compared with G/C alone. BSI-201 + G/C was well tolerated with adverse events (AEs) consistent with known safety profiles of G/C regimens. J Clin Oncol 27:18s, 2009 (suppl; abstr 3) About US Oncology Research With experienced investigators and dedicated research nurses, US Oncology Research represents the largest research network specializing in Phase I-IV oncology clinical trials in the United States. US Oncology Research serves more than 80 sites in 200 locations with over 70 open trials being managed at any given time. Additionally, the research network has accrued over 38,500 patients since its inception and contributed to the development of 36 of the latest cancer-fighting drugs approved by the FDA. About US Oncology US Oncology, Inc., headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, works closely with physicians, payers, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturers, to identify and deliver innovative services that enhance patient access to advanced cancer care. US Oncology supports one of the nation"s foremost cancer treatment and research networks, accelerating the availability and use of evidence-based medicine and shared best practices. US Oncology uses its expertise to support every aspect of the cancer care delivery system--from drug development to distribution and outcomes measurement--enabling the company to help increase the efficiency and safety of cancer care. According to the company"s last quarterly earnings report, US Oncology is affiliated with 1,227 physicians operating in 468 locations, including 95 radiation oncology facilities in 39 states. US Oncology, Inc


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

© Copyright 2009