Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–February 12, 2016.  Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that nearly 13 million Americans selected a 2016 Marketplace plan during the third open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act. This year’s successful open enrollment builds on recent years of rapid progress in expanding[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–February 12, 2016.  Today U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) led 27 of their Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to Republican leaders asking to increase funding to support women’s access to contraceptives at home and abroad in response[Read More…]

Members ask for changes to ensure employer-sponsored wellness programs fully comply with the GINA WASHINGTON –(ENEWSPF)–February 11, 2016.  Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); and six colleagues sent a bicameral letter to the U.S. Equal[Read More…]

Rieti, Italy–(ENEWSPF)–February 11, 2016.  The recent use of cannabis is associated with improved outcomes in patients hospitalized with intracerebral hemorrhaging (ICH aka bleeding in the brain), according to data published online ahead of print in the journal Cerebrovascular Diseases. An international team of investigators from Argentina, Italy, the Netherlands, and[Read More…]

Montreal, Canada–(ENEWSPF)–February 11, 2016.  Cannabinoids are safe and effective in the treatment of chronic pain conditions, according to a review of recent clinical trials published online ahead of print in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia. Investigators at the University of Montreal, Department of Anesthesiology evaluated the results of 26 clinical[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, DC –(ENEWSPF)–February 11, 2016.  Prior to Senate Judiciary Committee approval of legislation to combat opioid and heroin abuse, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for a committed, comprehensive response to the growing epidemic: “The industry has to step up and accept their share of the responsibility here. Drug companies[Read More…]

Programs address wide range of disparities across different health conditions Atlanta, GA–(ENEWSPF)–February 11, 2016.  A supplement to the CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, highlights programs that reduce disparities by race/ethnicity, geography, disability, and/or sexual orientation across a range of different health[Read More…]

New York, NY –(ENEWSPF)–February 11, 2016.  Yesterday Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), Steph Sherer, and Michael Krawitz, Executive Director, Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access will join organizations from across the globe at at the UN Headquarters to continue preparations for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session[Read More…]

Washington, DC –(ENEWSPF)–February 9, 2016.   United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has sent a letter urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to finalize guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain. The Senator also encouraged the CDC to continue to work with states and other federal agencies to[Read More…]

NIH-funded study could lead to new tick control methods. Ixodes scapularis tick engorged with blood CDC Bethesda, Maryland–(ENEWSPF)–February 9, 2016.  With tenacity befitting their subject, an international team of nearly 100 researchers toiled for a decade and overcame tough technical challenges to decipher the genome of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes[Read More…]