Month: May 2011

Mithridion Inc., a Madison drug development company focusing on treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other central nervous system disorders, said Monday that it has been awarded Orphan Drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its lead drug candidate for the treatment of progressive supranuclear palsy. (MILWAUKEE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/10)

The number of people infected with Lyme disease in Wisconsin increased by 35 percent last year, more alarming evidence that this nasty tick-borne illness is on the march here and across the U.S. Lyme disease cases in the state totaled 3,495 in 2010 compared with 2,587 in 2009, according to a statement released this afternoon by Dr. Henry Anderson, State Health Officer. (CAPITAL TIMES, 5/10)

As other communities around the country have found ways to reduce infant mortality, Milwaukee's rate has remained all but stagnant for nearly two decades, the result of a vacuum of leadership and a scattershot approach to tackling the problem. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 5/9)

For more than 400 residents of the five counties served by Community Care of Central Wisconsin, the governor's proposed budget will mean they won't get services for at least two years. Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget puts a freeze on Family Care that would go into effect June 20. Those who are on the waiting list June 20 or sign up for the program after that date would have to wait until the freeze ends in two years or until someone leaves the program, opening up space. (WISCONSIN RAPIDS TRIBUNE, 5/9)

Anyone who has suffered through reading an insurance policy might welcome the idea of listing all of the exclusions and limitations - basically what's not covered - in one section. It might even spare them from the ordeal of reading the policy in the first place. The summary was among the requirements of a pending state regulation to make insurance policies easier to understand. This seemingly innocuous - perhaps quixotic - goal has merited an emergency rule by Ted Nickel, the new insurance commissioner. (MIILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 5/9)

Epic is turning its face toward the sun. Epic Systems Corp. has added a canopy of nearly 1,300 solar panels over the exposed deck of one of two parking ramps at its Verona campus. When the sun shines, solar power supplies up to 5 percent of the electricity used by the health care software development company's 4,300 employees. (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 5/9)

Republican lawmakers want to reduce fraud by requiring photos on the benefits cards used for food assistance and health care programs. The proposed amendment to the state budget would require all participants in the programs to carry their photo on the FoodShare Quest card and BadgerCare Plus Forward card. In making the proposal Thursday, Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Rep. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) cited a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation raising concerns about FoodShare participants selling their benefits to others. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 5/6)

The Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality has been selected to receive a grant of $1.3 million over the next two years from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Aligning Forces for Quality initiative, a national effort to improve the quality and value of health care in communities across America. (MILWAUKEE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/6)