A nationwide study led by researchers at UCSF provides evidence that inhaled nitric oxide is safe and effective for the prevention of the most common type of long-term lung disease of very premature infants.”Chronic lung disease is a major source of morbidity in these infants. Neonatologists have been trying to figure out how to prevent it for years,” said Philip Ballard, MD, PhD, lead study author and professor of pediatrics at UCSF. [click link for full article]

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) during the August recess would like to begin preconference committee talks with the House on SCHIP reauthorization and expansion legislation, according to an aide, CongressDaily reports (Johnson, CongressDaily, 8/3). [click link for full article]

Robert Maruca, director of the Washington, D.C., Medicaid program, has asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia to investigate more than $15 million in excessive costs charged to the program by two health plans, Amerigroup Maryland and D.C. [click link for full article]

A low-cost, simple test that uses acetic acid to detect some early signs of cervical cancer could significantly reduce the number of cases of the disease in developing countries, according to a study published on Thursday in the journal Lancet, Reuters reports (Reuters, 8/2). [click link for full article]

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, on Monday while campaigning in Iowa said that if he is elected president, he will work to reduce abortions by increasing support for adoption services nationwide, the Washington Times reports. [click link for full article]

Nine Republican presidential candidates on Sunday during a debate held on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, discussed health care and other issues, the Los Angeles Times reports (Braun, Los Angeles Times, 8/6). [click link for full article]

FROM THE PLoS MEDICINE MAGAZINE SECTION: Developing a decision aid for patients with diabetes Victor Montori (Mayo Clinic) and colleagues share lessons learned from their development of ‘Statin Choice,’ a decision aid for patients with diabetes who are considering using cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins to reduce their cardiovascular risk. [click link for full article]

The journal Reproductive Toxicology on Thursday published on its Web site a statement warning that the compound bisphenol A, which is found in plastic and is similar to estrogen, likely is causing various human reproductive disorders, the Los Angeles Times reports. [click link for full article]

Practising physicians are nowadays presented with official guidelines on the treatments they should give their patients. In an article published in PLoS Medicine, researchers have attempted to grade the quality of evidence used in drawing up the recommendations contained in guidelines for the treatment of patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and dyslipidemia (abnormal levels of fats in the blood). [click link for full article]

Senate Finance Committee leaders on Thursday introduced a bill (S 1954) that would require Medicare prescription drug plans to reimburse pharmacies within 14 days for electronically submitted claims and within 30 days for paper claims, CQ HealthBeat reports. [click link for full article]