Executive and Congressional News

• On April 28, 2009, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as the next Health and Human Services secretary after being confirmed by the Senate (65-31).
• On April 27, 2009, President Barack Obama announced the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

PCAST is an advisory group of the nation’s leading scientists and engineers who will advise the president and vice president and help to formulate policy in areas where science and technology are relevant.

PCAST will be co-chaired by John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Eric Lander, director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project; and Harold Varmus, president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, former head of the National Institutes of Health and a Nobel laureate.

The members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Members-of-Science-and-Technology-Advisory-Council/

• The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel held its annual oversight hearing on April 29, 2009, on the Military Health System (MHS) and TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) organizations.

The committee focused on organizational structure between Health Affairs (HA) and TMA, which separates policy-making (Health Affairs) and implementation (TMA). It also examined whether the current structure is conducive to attaining medical readiness; peacetime health care; battlefield medicine; and recovery and treatment for the wounded. Ms.Gail H. McGinn, acting under secretary of defense, personnel and readiness, Ms. Ellen P. Embrey, acting assistant secretary of defense, health affairs, Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director, TMA, and the service surgeons general testified.

• The House and Senate approved President Obama’s budget $3.4 trillion federal budget plan for fiscal year 2010 on April 29, 2009.

H1N1 Flu (Influenza A) News

• On April 29, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its H1N1 influenza pandemic alert level to Phase 5, the next-to-highest level in the worldwide warning system.

Phase 5 had never been declared since the warning system was introduced in 2005 in response to the avian influenza crisis. Phase 6 means a pandemic is under way. For information from WHO, please visit http://www.who.int/en/

• As of April 30, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 109 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu in 11 states. For up-to-date information and guidance, please visit: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/general_info.htm

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a series interim guidance documents for clinicians to address a number of issues surrounding the H1N1 virus, including:

• Management of patients with HIV who have been exposed to or who have contracted the H1N1 influenza;
• Psychological and social support for essential service workers; specimen collection, processing,
• Screening for by state and local health departments, hospitals and clinicians in regions with few or no reported cases
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems and 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for Management of Patients with Confirmed or Suspected Infection;
• Testing for patients with suspected infection;
• And others…

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance/

• On April 28, 2009, President Obama sent letters to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees requesting an additional $1.5 billion in the fiscal year 2009 war supplemental appropriations bill to address the recent influenza A emergency and prepare for a possible epidemic.

• On April 27, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in response to requests from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) to make available to public health and medical personnel important diagnostic and therapeutic tools to identify and respond to the influenza A virus under certain circumstances.

For specific details on the EUAs, please visit: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW02002.html

• On April 29, 2009, the Marine Corps commandant confirmed a suspected case of H1N1 flu at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.

The Marine reported to a medical clinic on base over the weekend complaining of flu-like symptoms. Initial test results indicate the H1N1 virus, and the service is waiting for further results from testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The Marine and 30 other Marines, who were in contact with the sick Marine, are quarantined in the barracks.

Doctors at the base also identified and restricted the activities of 37 other Marines who may have had contact with the infected Marine. The 37 are not officially quarantined, but are not allowed in public places such as unit formations and dining facilities.

Defense Department officials say they are monitoring the outbreak closely, with a primary focus on protecting the military population.

Two prescription anti-viral drugs, Relenza and Tamiflu, already are standard stock at U.S. military treatment facilities, and larger quantities are stockpiled at several sites in the United States and overseas.

• On April 26, 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a nationwide public health emergency declaration in response to recent human infections with the influenza A virus.

The formal declaration of a Public Health Emergency (PHE) is a tool that facilitates HHS’ preparation and mobilization for disasters and emergencies. For example, PHEs were recently declared for flooding in North Dakota, the Inauguration, and several 2008 hurricanes.

This declaration will help HHS prepare for prevention and mitigation activities by enabling Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorizations of drugs, devices or medical tests under certain circumstances.

Specifically, the PHE will enable the FDA to review and issue emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for the use of certain laboratory tests to help detect the newly discovered strain of influenza and for the emergency use of certain antivirals.

In addition to the declaration, HHS leaders are working together across operating divisions to coordinate response to the Influenza A outbreak. For example, the FDA, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working together to develop a vaccine precursor that could be used to develop a vaccine for this influenza A virus.

Influenza A is a respiratory disease that regularly causes outbreaks among pigs. Influenza A viruses do not normally infect humans; however, human infections with Influenza A do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of Influenza A viruses have been documented.

The public health emergency declaration is available at www.hhs.gov/secretary/phe_swh1n1.html. For information on Influenza A, visit www.cdc.gov/swineflu.

Military Health Care News

• On April 28, 2009, S. Ward Casscells, M.D., stepped down as the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

Ellen Embrey, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for health affairs, will assume Casscells’ position in an acting role until the president appoints a new assistant secretary. http://mhs.osd.mil/Press/Release.aspx?ID=664

• On April 24, 2009, the Military Health System (MHS) released an update on the research the military is conducting on autism.

The research is funded through the Autism Research Program (ARP) of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) and managed by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. The ARP was added in fiscal year 2007, with an initial appropriation of $7.5 million. The program’s vision is to “improve the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders now.” In the first year, 289 proposals were submitted and 22 of them received funding.

In fiscal year 2008, an additional $6.5 million was appropriated. Out of 102 proposals that were submitted, four Synergistic Idea awardees have been named along with nine Concept awardees. The Synergistic Idea award is available to two or more independent researchers to collaborate on synergistic and complementary research. The Concept award funds exploration of a highly innovative new concept or untested theory that addresses an important problem relevant to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It allows researchers to pursue serendipitous observations. These 13 awards are expected to be finalized in the next five months.

A total of $8 million was appropriated in fiscal year 2009. The proposal submission process is now underway with final award funding expected by September 2010. This year’s program, for the first time, includes the ARP Idea Award, for new ideas, and the ARP Clinical Trial Award, for clinical trials that have the potential for a major impact on treatment. The Program is especially interested in proposal submissions which address:

• Co-morbidity – Research that addresses other issues that may appear with autism, such as disorders, psychiatric, seizures, immune dysfunction, motor and sensory deficits, metabolic dysfunction, and effects of ASD on intellectual ability.
• Predictors of Treatment Outcomes – Identification of biological markers or types of symptoms that will or will not respond to specific treatments.

The number of proposals submitted for funding consideration is high. With such strong interest, new ways to prevent and/or treat autism will hopefully follow quickly. By finding and funding the best research, the Autism Research Program will contribute toward improving quality of life both for those in and out of the military.

April is National Autism Awareness Month. Autism is a disorder of communication and social interaction, typically appearing by the age of 3. It has many forms, collectively referred to as autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

For more information, visit http://cdmrp.army.mil

• On April 30, 2009, TRICARE Management Activity announced that William H. Thresher is the new director of TRICARE Regional Office (TRO) – South.

As the regional director, he is responsible for management and performance of the multi-billion dollar TRICARE contract that serves more than 2.8 million beneficiaries in the 10-state South Region. In this role, he has visibility of both contract and direct care assets and coordinates with all the military services to develop an integrated health plan.

Selected for the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2005, Thresher assumed responsibility as the chief of staff for the U.S. Army Medical Command and Office of the Surgeon General. He was in charge of all aspects of headquarters business and staff management in support of twelve major subordinate commands, including over 500 separate units, numerous medical centers and community hospitals, 68,000 military and civilian employees and a $10 billion budget.

Thresher entered civil service upon retirement from the U.S. Army in 2003 after almost 30 years of active duty military service. He concluded his military career as the executive officer to the U.S. Army Surgeon General.

His initial civil service position was as the director of plans for the southwest regional office of the Army Installation Management Agency, where he was responsible for strategic and business planning in support of the 20 Army installations within that region. http://www.tricare.mil/Pressroom/News.aspx?fid=522

• Health Net Federal Services, LLC announced it was named “Contractor of the Year” and received the Anti-Fraud Performance Award for 2007-2008 at the annual TRICARE National Health Care Anti-Fraud Conference.

Health Net is the Department of Defense’s managed care support contractor providing health care services for the TRICARE North region, which serves more than 3 million uniformed service beneficiaries, active and retired, and their families.

This award is the highest recognition that the TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) Program Integrity bestows toward organizations that exemplify a strong commitment to the prevention, detection and deterrence of fraud and abuse in the TRICARE program.

This is the first time the Health Net Program Integrity Department has been the recipient of this award. In addition, Health Net was awarded runner-up for “Case of the Year,” in which its investigations led to the arrest and capture of a Maryland provider who redirected government money to his own private practice through self-referrals.

The 2009 TRICARE Health Care Anti-Fraud Conference was held in Nashville, Tenn., from April 29 to May 1, 2009. The TMA Program Integrity hosts this Health Care Anti-Fraud Conference to promote and encourage information sharing/training with key representatives in DoD, other federal and state health care programs, federal, state and local investigative services and government-contracted commercial health care carriers.

• On April 24, the Military Health System and MIT-based Collaborative Initiatives hosted a joint health policy conference.

The event brought together health leaders from around the country to discuss the importance of the Military Health System (MHS) and health care to national security, how to apply innovative health care concepts to the MHS, and the impact this could have on civilian health care reform.

Senior MHS leadership from Health Affairs/TRICARE Management Activity and the services were joined by leaders from health systems (Kaiser, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Partners), academia (Harvard, MIT) and the government (State Department, HHS, VA, etc).

The DoD Comptroller, the Honorable Robert Hales, opened the day with an overview of the importance of health care to the DoD. While quality and service remain priorities, he said that the MHS must find a way to “bend the curve” of increasing health care costs. He also mentioned that health care cost drivers will be a focus of this year’s quadrennial defense review.

The rest of the day delivered presentations from Dr. Dennis Cortese, chief executive officer of the Mayo Clinic, Mr. Al Middleton, the acting MHS chief financial officer, John Glaser, chief information officer of Harvard Partners and Dr. Gail Wilensky, president of the Defense Health Board and regent of the USU. http://www.health.mil/MHSBlog/Article.aspx?ID=531

• On April 30, 2009, TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) announced it recently published “A TRICARE Guide: Understanding Behavioral Health.”

The 80-page resource it is available online to all TRICARE beneficiaries at the TRICARE Smart Site at: http://www.tricare.mil/tricaresmart/. The guide provides information on seven main topics: TRICARE and Your Behavioral Health; Understanding Behavioral Health; Covered Services, Limitations and Exclusions; Who to See for Care; Getting Care; Your Right to Privacy; and For Information and Assistance.

The guide is an important tool to reduce the stigma associated with getting help for behavioral and mental health issues. It corresponds with two Department of Defense initiatives: promoting awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder treatment and helping returning service members by providing expanded counseling services.

For a free, anonymous mental health self-assessment, visit http://www.MilitaryMentalHealth.org or call 1-877-877-3647.

• Humana Military Healthcare Services, TRICARE contractor for the South Region, announced its partnership with the Military Warriors Support Foundation (MWSF) and Golf San Antonio to honor and host service members who are recovering from wounds, illnesses or injuries acquired in Iraq and Afghanistan at this year’s Valero Texas Open, May 14-17, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas.

At the 2009 Valero Texas Open, a Warrior Hospitality Suite will accommodate approximately 75 injured warriors and their families in a temperature controlled environment overlooking the 18th green each day of the tournament. http://www.tricare.mil/pressroom/contractornews.aspx?fid=72

Health Care News

• A new study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that the average rate of post-surgical and other complications in patients who have obesity surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, declined 21 percent between 2002 and 2006.

The study, "Recent Improvements in Bariatric Surgery Outcomes," published in the May 2009 Medical Care, found that the complication rate among patients initially hospitalized for bariatric surgery dropped from approximately 24 percent to roughly 15 percent. Much of this was driven by a reduction in the post-surgical infection rate, which plummeted 58 percent. Abdominal hernias, staple leakage, respiratory failure and pneumonia fell by between 50 percent and 29 percent. As a result, the study found that payments to hospitals dropped by as much as 13 percent for bariatric surgery patients during that time period.

Rates for other complications, such as ulcers, dumping (involuntary vomiting or defecation), hemorrhage, wound reopening, deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, heart attacks and strokes remained relatively unchanged.

AHRQ researchers compared complication rates among more than 9,500 patients under age 65 who underwent obesity surgery. They found that the complication rate fell from in spite of an increase in the percentage of older and sicker patients having the operations.

The six-month post-surgical death rate for patients operated on between 2005 and 2006 was 0.5 percent, statistically about the same as that of patients who had bariatric surgery between 2001 and 2002. Hospital readmissions because of complications fell 31 percent, from roughly 10 percent to 7 percent, while complication-caused same-day hospital outpatient clinic visits declined from approximately 15 percent to 13 percent.

Researchers attribute the improvements to a combination of three factors—increased use of laparoscopy, a technology that allows physicians to operate through small incisions; increased use of banding procedures without gastric bypass, such as vertical-banded gastroplasty and lap band; and increased surgeon experience arising from the growth in the number of bariatric surgeries performed by hospitals. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2009/barsurgpr.htm

• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a comprehensive report on the Department's progress over the first 100 days of the Obama Administration.

The report highlights HHS’s work to quickly and carefully distribute Recovery Act funding, its collaboration with the White House on health reform, and efforts across the department to improve efficiency, innovation, accountability and transparency in its programs. View Progress Report

• The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Henan Provincial Bureau of Health announced plans to collaborate on a tuberculosis (TB) research program at the Henan Provincial Chest Hospital.

Officials from the NIAID and China's Henan Provincial Bureau of Health met in Zhengzhou, China, on April 29 to sign an implementation arrangement intended to foster research on tuberculosis, including clinical research on new treatments for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB).

According to the latest available figures from World Health Organization (WHO), about 1.3 million people in China developed active TB disease in 2007. Researchers at the new center will carry out several projects, including clinical trials of new drugs or drug combinations designed to treat MDR TB and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB).

The WHO estimates that about 5 percent of newly diagnosed TB cases in China are multidrug-resistant, while 26 percent of previously but incompletely treated TB cases are multidrug-resistant. Drug-sensitive strains of TB usually can be treated successfully with a combination of antibiotics, but the lack of potent and affordable second-line TB drugs makes treating MDR and XDR TB extremely difficult.

• The National Children's Study has activated five additional centers to begin recruiting prospective volunteers in five new communities.

These Vanguard Centers join two centers activated previously to recruit volunteers for the feasibility phase of the study, in which the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) will review the size, scope, and cost projections for the full study. The data gleaned from the feasibility phase will be used to inform the final research design.

A total of seven Vanguard Centers were designated to conduct the feasibility phase of the study. Activation (initiation of patient recruitment) took place in two stages. Two centers were activated in January and the remaining centers were activated this April.

The National Children's Study is the federal government's comprehensive study of how genes and the environment interact to affect children's health. The study plans to track the health and development of as many as 100,000 children from before birth to adulthood. The study will enroll pregnant women in order to identify early life factors that influence later development. Researchers anticipate that the study will provide information that can be used in the prevention and treatment of a variety of conditions, such as preterm birth, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

The study was authorized in the Children's Health Act of 2000. Government agencies leading the consortium carrying out the study are the NICHD, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The study locations are counties or clusters of counties chosen by National Children's Study researchers to be representative of children in the United States. To view the list of center locations, please visit http://www.nih.gov/news/health/apr2009/nichd-24.htm

• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has contracted with the Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif., to develop a toolset for implementing electronic prescribing systems.

The toolset will be a "how to" guide for implementing e-prescribing across various provider settings.

Despite efforts of Medicare to encourage e-prescribing, adoption remains limited. Adoption of technical standards are a necessary foundation for e-prescribing, but insufficient to insure successful implementation. AHRQ also noted that appropriate workflows and sustainable commitment from organizations that participate in such a system is vital to the success of systemic e-prescribing.

The agency estimates total project costs of nearly $120,000. The announcement was published in the April 24 Federal Register.

Reserve/Guard

• As of April 28, 2009, the total number of Guard and Reserve currently on active duty has increased by 930 to 133,623. The totals for each service are Army National Guard and Army Reserve 103,709; Navy Reserve, 6,750; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 14,892; Marine Corps Reserve, 7,575; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 697. www.defenselink.mil

Reports/Policies

• The Institute of Medicine (IOM) published “Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice,” on April 28, 2009. The report examine conflicts of interest in medicine and to recommend steps to identify, limit and manage conflicts of interest without negatively affecting constructive collaborations between physicians or medical researchers and pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology companies. http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3740/47464/65721.aspx

• The GAO published “VA Health Care: Challenges in Budget Formulation and Issues Surrounding the Proposal for Advance Appropriations,” (GAO-09-664T) on April 29, 2009. In this report, the GAO highlighted some of the challenges VA faces in formulating its budget: obtaining sufficient data for useful budget projections, making accurate calculations, and making realistic assumptions. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09664t.pdf

• The GAO published “Health Resources and Services Administration: Many Underserved Areas Lack a Health Center Site, and Data Are Needed on Service Provision at Sites,” (GAO-09-667T) on April 30, 2009. This is a summary of the GAO’s August 2008 report. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09667t.pdf

• The GAO published “Recovering Servicemembers: DoD and VA Have Made Progress to Jointly Develop Required Policies but Additional Challenges Remain,” (GAO-09-540T) on April 29, 2009. This report examines the progress DoD and VA have made in jointly developing the comprehensive policies required in the NDAA 2008 and (2) the challenges DoD and VA are encountering in the joint development and initial implementation of these policies. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09540t.pdf

Legislation

• H.R.2105 (introduced April 27, 2009): To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat certain amounts paid for physical activity, fitness, and exercise as amounts paid for medical care was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
  Sponsor: Representative Ron Kind [WI-3]
• H.R.2106 (introduced April 27, 2009): To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand workplace health incentives by equalizing the tax consequences of employee athletic facility use was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
  Sponsor: Representative Ron Kind [WI-3]
• H.R.2107 (introduced April 27, 2009): To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a public education campaign on umbilical cord blood stem cells, and for other purposes was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  Sponsor: Representative Jackie Speier [CA-12]
• H.R.2112 (introduced April 27, 2009): To establish a comprehensive interagency response to reduce lung cancer mortality in a timely manner was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  Sponsor: Representative Donna M. Christensen [VI]
• H.R.2115 (introduced April 27, 2009): To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Men's Health was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  Sponsor: Representative Baron P. Hill [IN-9]
• H.R.2127 (introduced April 27, 2009): To amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate the income eligibility and service-connected disability rating requirements for the veterans beneficiary travel program administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs was referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Sponsor: Representative Mark E. Souder [IN-3]
• H.R.2132 (introduced April 28, 2009): To amend the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to permit leave to care for a same-sex spouse, domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent who has a serious health condition was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
  Sponsor: Representative Carolyn B. Maloney [NY-14]
• H.R.2149 (introduced April 28, 2009): To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct activities to rapidly advance treatments for spinal muscular atrophy, neuromuscular disease, and other pediatric diseases, and for other purposes was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  Sponsor: Representative Patrick J. Kennedy [RI-1]
• H.R.2176 (introduced April 29, 2009): To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to continue the ability of hospitals to supply a needed workforce of nurses and allied health professionals by preserving funding for hospital operated nursing and allied health education programs was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
  Sponsor: Representative Earl Pomeroy [ND]
• H.R.2180 (introduced April 29, 2009): To amend title 38, United States Code, to waive housing loan fees for certain veterans with service-connected disabilities called to active service was referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Sponsor: Representative Harry Teague [NM-2]
• S.898 (introduced April 24, 2009): A bill to amend the Social Security Act to provide grants and flexibility through demonstration projects for States to provide universal, comprehensive, cost-effective systems of health care coverage, with simplified administration was referred to the Committee on Finance.
  Sponsor: Senator Bernard Sanders [VT]
• S.913 (introduced April 28, 2009): A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand workplace health incentives by equalizing the tax consequences of employee athletic facility use was referred to the Committee on Finance.
  Sponsor: Senator John Cornyn [TX]
• S.914 (introduced April 28, 2009): A bill to establish an independent Cures Acceleration Network agency, to sponsor promising translational research to bridge the gap between laboratory discoveries and life-saving therapies, to reauthorize the National Institutes of Health, and for other purposes was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Sponsor: Senator Arlen Specter [PA]
• S.919 (introduced April 28, 2009): A bill to amend section 1154 of title 58, United States Code, to clarify the additional requirements for consideration to be afforded time, place, and circumstances of service in determinations regarding service-connected disabilities was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Sponsor: Senator Daniel K. Akaka [HI]
• S.925 (introduced April 29, 2009): A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study the presence of contaminants and impurities in cosmetics and personal care products marketed to and used by children was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Sponsor: Senator Kirstin E. Gillibrand [NY]

Hill Hearings

• The House Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on May 6, 2009, to mark-up pending legislation.
• The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on May 6, 2009, to examine certain veterans’ matters.
• The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee will hold hearings on May 6, 2009, to examine the nominations of Roger W. Baker, of Virginia, to be assistant secretary for information and technology, William A. Gunn, of Virginia, to be general counsel, Jose D. Riojas, of Texas, to be assistant secretary for operations, security and preparedness, and John U. Sepulveda, of Virginia, to be assistant secretary for human resources, all of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• The Senate Special Committee on Aging will hold a hearing on May 6, 2009, to examine solutions to stop Medicare and Medicaid fraud from hurting seniors and taxpayers.
• The House Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on May 20, 2009, to examine the growing needs of women veterans.
• The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on May 21, 2009, to mark-up pending legislation.

Meetings / Conferences

• The 2009 TRICARE National Anti-Fraud Conference will be held on April 29-May 1, 2009, in Nashville, Tenn. http://www.tricare.mil/downloads/WebInfo_2009_v1.pdf
• The 12th World Congress on Public Health will be held on April 27 to May 1, 2009, in Istanbul, Turkey http://www.worldpublichealth2009.org/
• Federal Computer Week and Adobe will host an executive breakfast seminar on Government Health IT on May 5, 2009, in Washington, D.C. http://1105govinfoevents.com/eventregistration.aspx?event=agh09&discountcode=nx9d02
• Digital Healthcare Conference 2009 will be held on May 6-7, 2009, in Madison, Wis. http://wistechnology.com/dhc/2009/
• The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and the United Kingdom’s Association for Clinical Biochemistry (ACB) will hold a conference: Latest Advances in Chronic Disease on May 6-7, 2009, in Newport Beach, Calif. http://www.acb.org.uk/site/meetings.asp
• The 2009 National Influenza Vaccine Summit will be held on May 19-20, 2009, in Dallas, Texas. http://www.preventinfluenza.org/nivs_summ.asp
• CIO Healthcare Summit will be held on May 10-13, 2009, in Scottsdale, Ariz. http://www.ciohealthcaresummit.com/
• World Health Care Congress Europe will be held on May 13-14, 2009, in Brussels, Belgium http://www.worldcongress.com/events/HR09015/index.cfm?confCode=HR09015
• The first HIMSS Middle East conference will be held on May 12-14, 2009, in Manama, Bahrain. http://www.himssme.org/09/
• The Society of General Internal Medicine’s 32nd Annual Meeting will be held May 13-16, 2009, in Miami Beach, Florida. http://www.sgim.org/index.cfm?pageId=515
• The Global Health Council's 36th Annual International Conference on Global Health will be held on May 26-30, 2009, in Washington D.C. http://www.globalhealth.org/conference_2009/view_top.php3?id=869
• The 74th Cold Spring Harbor Symposium on Quantitative Biology will be held May 27-June 1, 2009, in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. http://meetings.cshl.edu/meetings/symp09.shtml
• 2009 AMIA Spring Congress will be held on May 28-30, 2009, in Orlando, Fla. http://www.amia.org/meetings/upcoming.asp
• The Voices 2009: Amplifying the Call for Healthy Communities will be held on May 31 – June 2, 2009, in Arlington, Va. http://www.apiahf.org/downloads/Voices_Save_The_Date.pdf
• The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum’s National Conference will be held on June 1-2, 2009, in Arlington Va. https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5844/event/checkOut.jsp?event_KEY=6185
• The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Health Affairs, in collaboration with the VHA Employee Education System, will hold a conference: “The Power of VA-DoD Sharing," June 2-4, 2009, in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla. http://mhs.osd.mil/Press/Release.aspx?ID=668
• The 2009 HBV Symposium will be held June 4-5, 2009, in Atlanta, Ga. http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbvsymposium2009/index.htm
• The 8th Summer Conference in Intensive Care Medicine: ICU Infection in an Era of Multi-Resistance, will be held on June 4-6, 2009, in Chicago, Ill. http://www.sccm.org/Conferences/Topics/Summer_Conference/Pages/default.aspx
• The World Health Care Congress 5^th Annual Leadership Summit on Medicare will be held on July 12-14, 2009, in Washington D.C. www.worldcongress.com/Medicare
• The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC) joint 2009 Annual Meeting will be held on July 19-23, 2009, in Chicago, Ill. http://www.aacc.org/events/2009am/Pages/default.aspx
• The 7th Annual Health Care Quality Congress (HCQ 2009) will be held on Aug. 3-5, 2009, in Boston Mass. http://www.worldcongress.com/email/HL09025/HL09025-01-27-09-JCC444-online.htm
• The 2009 Advanced Technology Applications for Combat Casualty Care (ATACCC) Conference will be held Aug. 10-12, 2009, in St. Pete Beach Fla. https://www.usaccc.org/
• Third Annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media will be held on Aug. 11-13, 2009, in Atlanta, Ga. http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/NCHCMM2009/
• The Novel Vaccines: Design & Development will be held on Aug. 17-18, 2009, and Novel Vaccines: Adjuvants & Delivery Systems will be held on August 18-19, 2009, in Providence R.I.
  http://www.healthtech.com/vac.aspx and http://www.healthtech.com/imt/adj
• The 38^th World Congress on Military Medicine will be held Oct. 4-9, 2009, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. www.wcmmkl2009.com
• The 137th American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Exposition will be held on Nov. 7-11, 2009, in Philadelphia, Pa. http://www.apha.org/meetings/
• AMIA 2009 Annual Symposium will be held on Nov. 14-19, 2009, in San Francisco, Calif. http://www.amia.org/meetings/upcoming.asp
• The 21^st Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care will be held on Dec. 6-9, 2009, in Orlando, Fla. http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Programs/ConferencesAndSeminars/21stAnnualNationalForumonQualityImprovement.htm

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