The Following selects the last state news about questions of bounded health of the women(woman).
Georgia: subcommittee of the Building in Ambience voted 4-3 on table constitutional adjustment (HR 536), which must create the right “imperishable” in life, begun in notion, Telegraph messages Macon (Billips, Telegraph Macon, 2/21). The Adjustment searched for to change the state constitution to indicate that ” word ‘person pertains to all people, regardless of age, racing, sex, health, functions or term to dependencies, including future детей in each condition their biological development, including fertization” (the Policy of Health of the Daily Message of the Women(woman). The Outside measures counted on this was spark judicial decision, which overturns the abortion rights upheld federal court. The Opponents of the measure reported that adjustment could potentially forbid birth control the methods, which disturbs the fertilized fetus to be implanted in womb. They have added, which he could also have “to cool the effect” on processing infertility, which could control the practice from condition, Telegraph communicates. The Subcommittee Chair Ed Lindsey (R) said that he believes the adjustment - a way flawed to cause the abortion rights (the Telegraph Macon, 2/21).

The Maine: Notorized professional midwives has said In ambience that they continue to defend for legislation, which must create the license system in spite of the last state Department of the Professional and BANK REGULATION reports that said licensing not necessary to protect the public health and safety, Central Sentry Morning Maine soobschaetsya. midwives Support license system since this must give him more legality in medical area and allow him to carry legally and control the limited amount a medicine and oxygen. Daniel Ellie - who runnings Morningstar Midwifery in Belfast, Maine - reported that notorized professional midwives to want that legal permit carries and controls the medicine to try the bleeding and anesthetizing material when stitch necessary. The Smith Gordon Medical in Pharmacy Online Assotiation Maine has said that he roads to create the license system for 22 people. The Turnips. The Smith Nancy (D), which subsidized the previous year of the count of the licensing, said even though state message found that defect of the license system does not expose to danger public safety and health, she still is rejected(deviate) in support of the licensing. Legislation must have an no effect on more, than 90 notorized by sestrah-midwives who currently practice able (Covering, Central Sentry Morning Maine, 2/21).

Maryland: Outside human embryonic cell of the base are researched in Thursday понудившем Legislation to approve Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Request (D) on $23 million on funding for study of the cell of the base, messages Sun Baltimore. According to Sun, the outside studies of the worried funding will are reduced through state following fiscal year, which begins in July, the following recommendation from independent analyst of the budget, which have said that state cell of the research program of the base distributes the money quicker than can be used. The Outside studies have said delaying program because of budgetary restrictions must wound its long-term potential. Power Linda, pulpit Maryland Indicate the Cell of the Base of the Research Commission, has said that other conditions such as, California and NEW YORK, have approved the more high amounts in cell of the base of the research funding and that raised funding in Maryland necessary to attract the researchers. Nancy Paltell Catholic Conference Maryland has said that funding will is sliced, adding that she thinks the last advances, which were produced embryonic-like cell of the base from adult cell of the skin avoids need for study of the cell of the embryonic base. The Commission of the cell of the state base has got 122 applications for more, than $62 million on funding. According to Corporations of the Development to Technologies Maryland, which spreads funding for program, funds were recognized past by year then programme rates were developed. The Agency has said that it has installed the managing principles to guarantee that distribution more efficient for future years (Smitherman, Sun Baltimore, 2/22).

New Hampshire: Senate in Tuesday discussed two bound measures of the failure, Telegraph messages Nashua. One count (SB 302), must require that minor, looking for failure notify their parents (Landrigan, Telegraph Nashua, 2/20). The Measure must change 2003 laws, which were invalidated previous year after USA. The SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT controlled, which parental laws of the notice must include the exception for emergencies. The New count includes the exception of health, according to Monitor of the Consent. The Second count (SB 527) must require the age a girl 17 and younger searching for of the failures to have a commendatory session with physician, sister or other licensed a professional of the procedure be subjected to before. Under measure, all recommending sessions should be able to include the debates about including parents in decision and debate from all choice small. Sen. Kathleen Sgambati (D), Which the count, отвергший her(its) measure was a political covering for abortion rights protector, dialect, “This - not average land. This not to settle. This - not political decision. I am a faith that this - an insurance policy for our young people.” The Scheduled Parenthood to North New England supports the count, dialect of all clinic able already to provide such counsel. The Catholic Diocese Manchester oppose to the measure because of enxiety, which worker of the public health must be installed in dug, diocese reports, the best suiting for parents. NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire, New Medical Society Hampshire and Health of the Feminist is Centred in Consent and Portsmouth oppose to the count since speak, this must legislate that happens in office of the doctor and adds to bringing up to strength and costs of the suit (Dorgan, Monitor Concord, 2/20). The Grace LeClair NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire reported that count also not impartial since he is not required recommending for pregnant minor, which solve to continue pregnancy. Gov. John Lynches (D), has said him must sign the counsel of the count. According to Telegraph, Connecticut is a single condition with similar counsel of the law (the Telegraph Nashua, 2/20).

The Oklahoma: In Ambience, House Judicial and Public Safe Committee approved the measure (the HALF-BACK 2181) that must require the doctor, who will assign the medicine of the failure medication mifepristone - also heard as RU-486 - to follow the recommendation created by federal government, Daily messages Oklahoman. The Turnips. Skye McNeil (R) Presented, which law - it is necessary since some doctors able, which will assign the medication not to report the womans to return during two week watching visit (McNutt, Daily Oklahoman, 2/21).

Virginia: In Thursday, Forming the Senate and Committee of Health voted 10-5 to reject approved legislation of the Building (the HALF-BACK 188), which tried to detain before 2010 requirements that girls, enterring sixth sort vaccinated against human papillomavirus, AP/Newport messages Daily Presses News (AP/Newport Daily Presses of the News, 2/21). The Requirement of the vaccine HPV was signed in law Gov. Tim Kaine Past of the year (D). The Law allows the parents on opt from requirement (the Policy of the Health of the Daily Message of the Women(woman), 1/24) and muscle relaxant
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During a news conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Sunday, President Bush called on Congress to quickly reauthorize his global HIV/AIDS program and keep intact a provision that requires one-third of HIV prevention funding be spent on abstinence-only education, the New York Times reports (Stolberg, New York Times, 2/18).
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According to the Los Angeles Times, an Institute of Medicine report and a Government Accountability Office report have said the strong focus on abstinence in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has limited the program’s reach. “It is a balanced program,” Bush said during a news conference with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, adding, “It is an ABC program: abstinence, be faithful and condoms. It’s a program that’s been proven effective” (Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times, 2/18).

Bush is requesting PEPFAR be given $30 billion in funding over the next five years. “I understand there’s voices on both ends of the political spectrum trying to alter the program,” Bush said, adding, “I would ask Congress to listen to leaders on the continent of Africa, find - analyze what works, stop the squabbling and get the program reauthorized” (Baker, Washington Post, 2/18).

A draft bill in the House Foreign Affairs Committee includes changes that would remove the abstinence-only education requirement from PEPFAR. The draft bill also includes new language that would strengthen support for contraceptive services for the purpose of augmenting the HIV prevention effort, as well as remove a requirement that groups receiving PEPFAR funds adopt a policy position opposing prostitution.

Some congressional Republicans oppose the changes. However, former House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who died last week, has said that the Democrats’ proposed changes to the program would reaffirm a compromise Republicans and Democrats made when they approved the original PEPFAR bill in 2003 (Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 2/8).
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a preliminary draft guidance regarding the publication of information related to unapproved uses of FDA-approved drugs and medical devices.
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Randall Lutter, FDA deputy commissioner for policy, said “Articles that discuss unapproved uses of FDA-approved drugs and devices can contribute to the practice of medicine and may even constitute a medically recognized standard of care. This guidance also safeguards against off-label promotion.”

Section 401 of the FDA Modernization Act had previously set out guidelines that permitted the dissemination of information on unapproved uses of FDA-approved drugs and medical devices. If the manufacturers complied with the guidelines when publishing information they were not seen as an attempt to promote the product for non-FDA approved use (off-label use). As Section 401 expired in September, 2006, new guidelines are needed. Hence the issue of the FDA’s “Good Reprint Practice” draft guidance.

The draft guidance recommends principles drug/medical device manufacturers should follow when distributing scientific or medical journal reprints, or reference publications.

They should make sure that the article or reference was/is published by an organization which has an editorial board. All conflicts of interests faced by the organization, as well as biases for all authors, contributors or editors linked with the journal article should be disclosed fully. The article should be peer-reviewed and published in accordance with precise procedures.

Additionally, the draft recommends against distribution of special supplements or articles that have been financed by one or more of the manufacturers of the product in the article, and articles that are not supported by convincing medical evidence are considered false and misleading and should not be distributed.

The FDA will have the legal authority to decide whether an article/publication distribution be classed as promotion for an unapproved new use, or whether such activities cause a drug/medical device to be misbranded or adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

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There is no evidence that programs promoting safer sex measures along with sexual abstinence lead to more sexually transmitted infections (STI), according to a new review of studies comprising nearly 40,000 young people.

Some supporters of abstinence only programs have suggested that the safer sex component of abstinence plus programs might increase the incidence of STI.

However, those who enroll in these “abstinence-plus” programs are less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex, at least for a few months after the program.

The review is the first to focus on the role of such programs in HIV prevention in high-income countries such as the United States. The results suggest, “Abstinence-plus interventions do not significantly exacerbate sexual behaviors and might reduce risk for HIV transmission,” among participants, said co-author author Don Operario, Ph.D., of Oxford University in England.

The review of studies appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews like this one draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

Unlike abstinence-only programs, which offer abstinence as the only way to reduce the risk of sexual infection, abstinence-plus programs offer a “pyramid” of choices, suggesting that abstinence is the safest choice, followed by safe sex practices.

In part, the reviewers decided to look at abstinence-plus programs because they are “politically important” and “have important and promising implications for improving the health of young people,” particularly in the United States where the programs are popular and widespread, Operario said.

In a 2006 U.S. survey, 82 percent of participants said they would prefer programs that included some discussion of safe sex practices along with abstinence information.

“Abstinence-only programs, while a priority of the federal government, are supported by neither a majority of the public nor the scientific community,” said Amy Bleakley, Ph.D., a public health researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who led the survey group.

Operario and colleagues examined 39 studies that included 37,724 participants. The majority of the programs took place in schools and community centers.

Most of the studies seemed to have some effect on self-reported risky sexual health behaviors, lowering rates of unprotected sex, early sexual activity and sex with casual partners, among other risks.

Still, none of the studies included medical tests for sexual transmitted infections, including HIV or pregnancy, “which reflects a limitation of current research in this area,” said Operario.

The reviewers found hints that some abstinence-plus programs might have been more effective than other programs were, a finding they hope to follow up in future studies.

The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit, independent organization that produces and disseminates systematic reviews of health care interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. Visit http://www.VeroMaxx.com/ for more information.

Underhill K, Montgomery P, Operario D. Abstinence-plus programs for HIV infection prevention in high-income countries. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1.

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Thai Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsap on Thursday announced that he has invited a committee to review the legality of compulsory licenses issued by outgoing Thai Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla, Reuters reports (Nopporn, Reuters, 2/7). Mongkol had issued compulsory licenses for certain medicines, including the antiretroviral drugs Aluvia and Efavirenz.

According to Chaiya, the committee will comprise senior officials from Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce. Representatives from drug manufacturers also will be invited to discuss the law and the negative consequences that resulted from the compulsory licenses, Chaiya said. He added that he has asked officials to determine if implementation of the compulsory licenses was approved by former Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont or if the decision was made by Mongkol (Thai News Agency, 2/7).

Thailand’s Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer’s Association recently called on the government to increase dialogue with pharmaceutical industry representatives about the country’s generic drug program. In a statement, the association said the new government “understands that collaboration with all stakeholders in the health sector is needed to address the real issues affecting the quality of health care and development of innovation-based industries.”

Chaiya said the compulsory licenses “might have been a politically correct decision, but not legally correct.” He added, “I can assure you that we won’t lift the licenses now. My policy is to review it and find out what caused it and tackle those causes” (Reuters, 2/7).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at blog. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Compelled to mate, yet firmly attached to the rock, barnacles have evolved the longest penis of any animal for their size - up to 8 times their body length - so they can find and fertilize distant neighbours.

Graduate student Christopher Neufeld and Dr. Richard Palmer from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta have shown that barnacles appear to have acquired the capacity to change the size and shape of their penises to closely match local wave conditions. When wave action is light, a longer (thinner) penis can reach more mates, but at times of higher wave action, a shorter (stouter) penis is more manoeuvrable in flow and therefore can reach more mates.

The research, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests that sexual selection - competition with other males, female choice, sexual conflict between males and females - is not required to explain variation in genital form. In barnacles, this variation appears to be driven largely by the hydrodynamic conditions experienced under breaking waves.

The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, accompanied by Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, and Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada announced the Government’s support for the Drug Prevention Strategy for Canada’s Youth, which is an initiative that will help to steer youth away from using illicit drugs and is part of the Government’s new National Anti-Drug Strategy.

The strategy, which is supported by a Government of Canada investment of $10 million, will be developed and implemented by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA).

“The Government of Canada is very concerned about the damage and pain that illicit drugs cause families and our communities,” said Minister Clement. “We take this issue seriously and are proud to partner with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse to take action in discouraging youth from using illicit drugs and informing them of the harmful effects of illicit drug use.”

The goal of the CCSA’s project is to reduce illicit drug use among Canadian youth between the ages of 10 and 24, including high-risk youth, focusing on risk and protective factors before drug use begins. The project will initiate the development of national standards for drug prevention programs and will support families, schools, communities, and individuals across Canada with the tools and information they need when confronted with illicit drugs.

“Our Government recognizes that illegal drugs destroy lives, rob young people of their futures and endanger our communities,” said the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety. “This is why we are firmly determined to help people overcome addictions, prevent others from falling prey to this terrible problem and crack down on those who profit from this suffering through the production and sale of drugs.”

Also in attendance was Michel Perron, Chief Executive Officer of the CCSA: “The National Anti-Drug Strategy has allowed the CCSA to launch a new national drug prevention partnership for youth, to initiate the development of national standards for drug prevention programs in schools and communities across Canada, and to create a communication platform through a newly formed media consortium aimed at capitalizing on public and private sector expertise to reach youth across Canada,” said Mr. Perron. “This work, aimed at supporting families, schools, communities and individuals across Canada, will equip young people and their parents with the tools and information they need when confronted with illicit drugs.”

“I am pleased that our Government is working with partners like the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse,” said Minister Nicholson. “Through this collaboration, we will discourage youth from using illicit drugs and inform them of the harmful effects of illicit drug use.”

Minister Clement also took the opportunity to remind Canadians of the upcoming deadline for the call for proposals under the Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund. The Government has invested over $7 million to fund important initiatives that will address illicit drug use among youth and the underlying factors that contribute to the use of illicit drugs. The Community Initiatives Fund will enable communities to develop the tools they need to tackle the increasing challenge of drug use among our young people. The deadline for proposals is February 29, 2008.

The new National Anti-Drug Strategy focuses on preventing illegal drug use in young people, treating people who have drug addictions and fighting illegal drug crime.

For more information on the National Anti-Drug Strategy and the Community Initiatives Fund, please visit: National Anti-Drug Strategy/ and Community Initiatives Fund.

For more information on the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse’s Drug Prevention Strategy for Canada’s Youth, please visit: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse’s Drug Prevention Strategy for Canada’s Youth
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A new study presented to the 15th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Boston, USA, yesterday, Monday 4th February, showed that circumcising men after they had acquired HIV did not stop them infecting their partners, and may even have increased the risk.

The study was carried out in the Rakai district of Uganda by Dr Maria Wawer, Professor of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues.

The researchers found that if couples started having intercourse before the circumcision wound in the HIV infected male partner had healed, there was a greater risk of the woman becoming infected.

Wawer and colleagues analysed the results of an intent to treat trial of 165 heterosexual couples. In 94 of the couples the men were circumcised and the rest were controls.

They found that:
The rate of HIV infection of women in the group where the man had been circumcised was slightly higher but not significantly different to that of the control group (13.8 versus 9.6 per 100 person-years, 24 month cumulative rate).

In both groups the infection rate in women was highest in the first six months after the trial start date.

In the group where the men had been circumcised, during the first six months of follow up, 18 couples started having intercourse again at least five days before the wound was officially healed. This led to 5 HIV transmissions to the woman, a rate of 27.8 per cent.

This compared to 63 couples in the circumcision group who waited until at least 5 days after the wound had officially healed before having intercourse again. This resulted in 6 HIV transmissions to the woman, a rate of 9.5 per cent.

The rate of transmission in the first six months of follow up in the control (non circumcision) group was 6 out of 68, or 8.8 per cent, which is on a par with the rate of transmission for the circumcision group subset that waited until the wound had healed before resuming intercourse.
On the positive side, the study showed that circumcision improved the general genitourinary health of the men, even if it did not stop them passing the virus on.

This is an interesting result that stands in sharp contrast to earlier studies in Africa in which it was shown that circumcising men who are not infected with HIV reduces their risk of infection.

Persuading men to become circumcised as a way to protect themselves from HIV is an important strategy that is beginning to take hold in Africa, with public health programs reaching out to villages.

Dr Wawer said circumcision was a clear way of men showing they had taken the step to protect themselves and reduce the spread of AIDS. When the men are bathing together in the river it is clear who has and who has not been circumcised and it is natural that men who are already infected will then want to carry the same mark so as not to stand out from the others.

There appears to be an interesting point here about the timing of circumcision that suggests the earlier the better as far as reducing HIV transmission. Studies have shown that men circumcised before being infected with HIV and then later become infected with HIV still have a lower risk of passing the virus on to their partners. But this study shows that men who are circumcised later, after becoming infected with HIV can’t stop the virus from being passed on, and may even have a higher risk of passing it on.

Dr John Mellors, who is co-chairman of the conference’s scientific program pointed this out to MedPage Today, saying that it could be something to do with later circumcision “the surgery, something related to that at a later stage of life, tips the balance in favor of the virus being transmitted”.

Increasing medical school enrollment to meet the nation’s rising demand for physicians isn’t as simple as adding a few more chairs to a classroom, according to “Medical School Expansion: Challenges and Strategies,” a new report released today by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges). The report finds that medical school administrators face numerous obstacles throughout their expansion efforts-including a lack of faculty resources, financial resources, and classroom and training space-but shows how careful planning can help overcome these challenges.

As of 2006, 93 of the nation’s 126 medical schools increased or were planning to increase enrollment over 2002 levels. Several U.S. medical schools are increasing their class size by 10 percent or more in response to the AAMC’s call for a 30 percent increase in enrollment by 2015 to address an anticipated national physician shortage. Six of these institutions were selected for this study, which was conducted through site visits, focus groups, and extensive interviews with medical school and university officials, staff, and faculty; community leaders; and medical students. The six participating institutions were: Boston University School of Medicine; Michigan State University College of Human Medicine; Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine; Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine; and University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

Some of the common challenges these schools addressed while planning for expansion include:

- Finding additional classroom and laboratory space and equipment for first- and second-year students
- Securing sufficient clinical training sites and faculty for third- and fourth-year students and ensuring that students on different campuses have comparable experiences
- Maintaining student support services and administrative infrastructure despite increased demand on admissions, financial aid, and other resources
- Developing accurate cost estimates for the expansion, and obtaining financial support through state appropriations, tuition, and donations
- Acknowledging increased demands on current faculty, and recruiting additional faculty
- Creating interdisciplinary planning teams and strategic partnerships.

The new study found that class size expansion at existing medical schools typically follows one of two models for growth: “in place”-in which more medical students are enrolled on an existing academic medical center campus by increasing infrastructure capacity-or the regional campus model.

The regional campus model can follow two paths. Under the traditional path, a medical school accommodates a larger class by providing students with their third- and fourth-year clinical education at a regional campus location (after having completed their first two years of basic science education on the main campus). Under the second path-which the AAMC has identified as an emerging trend in medical education-a medical school creates a new branch campus that offers all four years of medical education while operating within the accreditation of the four-year program on the main medical school campus.

“The consensus from the medical school administrators and staff on the front lines of these expansion efforts is that planning is the most critical-and iterative-process involved,” said Sarah Bunton, Ph.D., senior research associate for organization and management studies at the AAMC and lead author of the report. “Expansion can be relatively uncharted territory, and even the most attentive and organized administrators found themselves reassessing and revising their plans throughout the expansion process.”

To purchase a copy of “Medical School Expansion: Challenges and Strategies” go to http://www.aamc.org/medicalschoolexpansion. The latest issue of AAMC Analysis in Brief also examines some of the findings from this medical school expansion report: see here.

The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 126 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians.
Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96103.php

Summaries of recent coverage related to CMS appear below.
Competitive bidding: Internist Laboratory, Sharp HealthCare and Scripps Health on Tuesday filed a lawsuit to block a Medicare pilot program that is testing competitive bidding for laboratory services, CQ HealthBeat reports. The providers allege that CMS should have filed a public notice for the program and received public comment before the pilot was launched, according to attorney Patric Hooper of Hooper, Lundy & Bookman. CMS spokesperson Peter Ashkenaz said that the pilot program “was mandated by Congress to determine whether competitive bidding can be used to provide laboratory services while maintaining value, quality and access to care” (CQ HealthBeat, 1/30).

Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents: Nearly 91% of oncologists and hematologists surveyed said that their patients have experienced adverse consequences as a result of a CMS rule limiting Medicare coverage for ESAs used to treat anemia in chemotherapy patients, according to a study released on Wednesday by US Oncology, CongressDaily reports. The study found that more than 75% of 282 oncologists and 25 hematologists surveyed said a blood transfusion was required for about 17% of their patients because of the rule and that 30% had to reduce chemotherapy treatments for 19% of patients (Edney, CongressDaily, 1/31).

Medicare Health Support: CMS on its Web site on Tuesday posted an announcement that MHS — a pilot program intended to coordinate care for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes and congestive heart failure in five states and Washington, D.C. — is “not meeting the statutory requirements of improved clinical quality outcomes, improved beneficiary satisfaction and the achievement of financial savings targets,” The Hill reports. Starting in July, about 68,000 beneficiaries will be dropped from care-coordination programs, according to The Hill. CMS said it will wait until it receives a report from outside auditors before deciding whether to launch the second phase of the program, but the “negative assessment this week does not bode well for the program’s future prospects,” The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 1/30).
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