Mitokine Bioscience was founded in Down East Maine in 2006 to develop a critical new treatment for diabetes. This year - 2009 - Mitokine’s treatment will be tested at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine in companion dogs that are insulin dependent, a natural diabetes model. A larger canine study to meet requirements for FDA approval for a veterinary pharmaceutical product will follow. In the mean time, research at Mitokine continues to develop a similar treatment for human diabetes.

Quiz time: Which of the following provisions has been tucked into the most closely watched health-care bill on Capitol Hill thanks to Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine? Is it a) an annual checkup for every Medicare beneficiary, b) a special health-insurance marketplace in every state that would cater to the needs of small businesses or c) new tax credits to help modest-size firms buy coverage for their workers?

Resources:

• mTuitive Tagged by mshook under cancer, medical, judell, integration, work, flow, workflow, interop, screenscraping, url, ]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:45:00 -0400 No one warned me I’d miss my oncology nurses, the radiation techs, and the feeling of safety I got from the routine of cancer treatments. But I did. I seemed to cruise through that part but then came year two. It was really hard. I didn’t go back to a full-time career or kids, just a loving husband who had taken such good care of me–even read to me at night. I floated aimlessly around–with a lot less money and confidence than I once had. I couldn’t focus or get things done. I even read and reread the same books over and over again. (I know Harry Potter really well.) I missed the closeness with my husband and the amazing clarity and gratitude I’d found in the mundane. Tagged by mshook under nyt, cancer, experience, medical, spirit, depression, ]]> Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:57:00 -0400 Health systems in other countries and pilot projects in the United States have demonstrated that effective primary patient care that is comprehensive and accessible has the potential to improve health outcomes and lower costs. Primary care does this by ensuring that patients receive effective care measures for prevention and for management of chronic illness, by coordinating the use of testing and specialist evaluation and treatment, and by providing a comprehensive array of medical services in one clinic or office. Avoidance of duplicative care, unnecessary hospitalizations, and emergency room visits results in reduced health care costs. However, the necessary infrastructure and human resources to provide comprehensive and effective primary care are generally not adequately reimbursed to practitioners by payers. For this reason, it is difficult for primary care practices to supply services that are recognized as effective. Tagged by mshook under maine, medical, dirigo, healthcare, insurance, pdf, ]]> Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:53:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under healthcare, mail, politics, obama, june, 2009, medical, insurance, ]]> Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:10:00 -0400 Morning Edition, April 15, 2009 · A federal proposal to restrict a plastic additive called bisphenol A (BPA) is focusing attention on a guiding concept known as the "precautionary principle."

  The proposal would ban BPA from food and beverage containers. Proponents say the precautionary principle requires such a ban because high doses of BPA can cause reproductive abnormalities and cancer in animals.

  But whether you agree with that stance depends on how you define the precautionary principle. It's not written into federal law, and it turns out that people have widely differing views on what it is, and how it should be applied.

  Tagged by mshook under plastic, swhpl, risk, cancer, wifi, radiation, npr, health, medical, ]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:07:00 -0400 June 9, 2009 Reported By: Josie Huang Governor John Baldacci plans to sign a bill tomorrow that's aimed at giving the state's DirigoChoice health insurance program much-needed financial stability. To pay for Dirigo, the state charges health insurers a fee each year, which invariably leads to fights over how much the fee should be. Dirigo supporters say the bill to keep the fee fixed from year to year will avoid the expensive legal battles and bad blood. "The Number one thing that it does is it makes the funding source predictable and stable," says David Farmer, spokesman for the governor. Farmer tried to reassure the 9,000 people getting insurance through Dirigo, which is priced on ability to pay, and another 5,500 people who get Medicaid through the use of Dirigo dollars. Tagged by mshook under dirigo, maine, health, medical, healthcare, insurance, june, 2009, law, ]]> Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:25:00 -0400

  The Maine Senate has given final approval to a measure intended to put Maine's Dirigo Health Insurance program on a healthier financial footing.  The House approved the bill Friday, and Gov. John Baldacci, the bill's sponsor, is expected to sign it.

  The bill provides an alternative to the Dirigo Health Program's current funding mechanism, a so-called "savings offset" fee assessed on insurers, which is based on how much health care savings the program generates.  Because the amount of savings is difficult to accurately nail down, the system has led to court battles.

  Instead of relying on savings estimates, the new system will assess a fixed 2.14 percent fee on paid claims.  The Maine House passed the measure Friday by a vote of 83 to 53, and the Senate followed suit today by a vote to 20 to 15.

  Tagged by mshook under dirigo, health, medical, insurance, maine, healthcare, june, 2009, ]]> Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:21:00 -0400 Maine health program funding bill OKd

  AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) By a vote of 83-53, the Maine House has given its final approval to a bill that would create a new funding source for the state's Dirigo health program.

  Representatives on Friday approved legislation to replace the savings offset payment, now assessed at a variable rate of up to 4 percent of paid claims, with a fixed 2.14 percent payment on paid claims paid monthly.

  The savings offset payments that have been used to pay for the state-subsidized Dirigo program have been challenged repeatedly by the health insurance industry.

  The measure directs Dirigo's board to reach more uninsured and underinsured Mainers through a more affordable product.

  It faces a Senate vote before it can be sent to Gov. John Baldacci for his signature.

  (© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

  Tagged by mshook under maine, health, insurance, medical, june, 2009, money, dirigo, ]]> Fri, 05 Jun 2009 06:30:00 -0400 Snowe has said she supports a national reform based on regulating insurance markets to increase competition while ensuring consumer protections. The primary alternative under consideration — a single-payer, government-run plan similar to Medicare — “is no panacea and should be a last resort,” according to a recent statement from Snowe’s office. Rosemary Gladstone thinks the nation’s employer-based private insurance coverage system has proven a failure. She thinks a single-payer system is a better idea, and that people should be required to have insurance of one sort or another. She worries that the Dirigo program, in danger of losing its funding, will collapse. For now, though, she’s just glad to have coverage. “I love having health insurance,” she said. “It gives me more motivation to take care of myself, and it provides an extra layer of stability.” Tagged by mshook under dirigo, maine, health, insurance, medical, bangor, ]]> Sat, 23 May 2009 11:27:00 -0400

   Miss Susan has been using this song for years and it works!
  For a healthier world, teach it to your kids, your grandchildren, your friends children.
  
  Cough Cough
  Sneeze Sneeze
  Cover your mouth
  Please Please
  Let's be careful
  How we cough
  Let's be careful
  How we sneeze
  Catch those germs
  Right i-in your sleeve
  Ah Ah Ah Choo!
  
  Credits:
  Susan Plimpton - Writer Songsinger
  Fr. Richard Tardiff - Guitar
  Filmed on location at the Southwest Harbor Public Library
  http://www.swhplibrary.org/
  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
  

  Tagged by mshook under 3, may, 2009, a, dblog, flu, video, medical, swhpl, asl, health, song, kids, ]]> Sun, 03 May 2009 09:27:00 -0400 Miss Susan has been using this song for years and it works! For a healthier world, teach it to your kids, your grandchildren, your friends children. Cough Cough Sneeze Sneeze Cover your mouth Please Please Let's be careful How we cough Let's be careful How we sneeze Catch those germs Right i-in your sleeve Ah Ah Ah Choo! Credits: Susan Plimpton - Writer Songsinger Fr. Richard Tardiff - Guitar Filmed on location at the Southwest Harbor Public Library http://www.swhplibrary.org/ License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ Tagged by mshook under flu, medical, video, swhpl, church, susan, richard, howto, local, ]]> Sun, 03 May 2009 09:16:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under medicare, medical, good, comparison, via, jean, writing, microcontent, tags, ]]> Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:11:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under maine, healthcare, health, medical, insurance, dirigo, news, april, 2009, money, ]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:23:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under dirigo, maine, health, insurance, news, april, 2009, medical, ]]> Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:58:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under via, dirigo, alert, health, insurance, medical, maine, socialism, good, 2004, ]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:38:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under dirigo, health, insurance, maine, medical, tax, vote, politics, medicare, ]]> Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:48:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under health, medical, insurance, politics, conservative, via, dirigo, pdf, europe, market, ]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:10:00 -0400 Tagged by mshook under wifi, microwave, health, medical, via, wendy, swhpl, 2004, epidemiology, cellphone, radio, tv, ]]> Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:59:00 -0400