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While little was said about expansion of employer-based health coverage in recent years, discussion about the prospect has recently resumed, fueled in part by passage of the Health Insurance Act of 2003 in California, the first state-based play or pay legislation in almost a decade, and in part by references to employer-based coverage by many of the Democratic presidential candidates during the early primaries.
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The annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology (ACC; Bethesda, Maryland), held here in early March, and attended by about 27,000 physicians, researchers and exhibitors, provided a forum for presentation of the latest developments in interventional cardiology techniques and a window on the future of cardiovascular disease diagnosis and therapy.
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Some of the most eagerly awaited data from this year's American College of Cardiology (ACC; Bethesda, Maryland) scientific sessions was presented at a late-breaking clinical trials session to an overflow crowd in one of the largest halls available in the sprawling Ernest N. Morial Convention Center that sits alongside the Mississippi River.
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Organizations representing patients, healthcare workers, academics, health experts and the medical technology industry have reported the creation of a new alliance, Health First Europe (Brussels, Belgium). Health First Europe said it would launch an awareness campaign this year to encourage reflection and dialogue on the future of healthcare in Europe at a time of demographic and technological revolution.
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Applied Medical Resources (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) has acquired Gembro Pty Ltd., a privately held Australian company specializing in distribution of medical and surgical healthcare products. Gembro Pty Ltd., conducting business as Monarch Medical, has been the exclusive distributor of Applied Medicals products in Australia since 2000.
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As of April 12, all large commercial jets must be equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED). The mandated equipment is part of a rule promulgated four years ago by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA; Washington), requiring that the large airliners carry kits containing advanced medical equipment, including the AEDs. Commuter planes are exempt from the rule.
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Atherotech (Birmingham, Alabama) has named Ricky Thomas chief financial officer. Thomas brings more than 24 years of financial and accounting experience to the company. Atherotech is a specialty reference laboratory focused on improving the early diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
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The first implantation of an AbioCor Replacement Heart since last May was reported in early March by the devices manufacturer, Abiomed(Danvers, Massachusetts). Abiomed said the implantation, the 12th in a clinical trial that began in July 2001, occurred Feb. 20 at the Texas Heart Institute at St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital (Houston, Texas).
