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Results-Based Financing for Health can get 20% more health care with same funds

Countries and major donors are changing the way they finance maternal and child, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS health programs in low-income countries to increase their impact.

11 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Health law problems plague Calif. too; Obamacare redistribution is from lucky to unlucky; FDA crackdown on genetic testing

While politicians in Washington are hailing California's exchange as proof of the law's success, voters in California don't seem to agree - and it's not hard to understand why. Policies for about 900,000 Californians are being cancelled because they don't meet the law's benefit mandates.

11 Dec 2013

Research roundup: 'Substantial' Medicare savings from avoiding ERs; new ways for primary care; trends in kids' fast food consumption

Some Medicare beneficiaries who place 911 calls to request an ambulance might safely be cared for in settings other than the emergency department at lower cost. Using 2005–09 Medicare claims data and a validated algorithm, we estimated that 12.9–16.2 percent of Medicare-covered 911 emergency medical services transports involved conditions that were probably nonemergent or primary care treatable.

9 Dec 2013

Ky. Gov. says state is 'gold standard' in implementing health law

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear touted his state's progress on implementing the health law in appearances on Capitol Hill Thursday during which he also urged his state's Republicans -- including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- to come see how the exchange is working.

9 Dec 2013

Study helps explain why survival gap persists for African-Americans with head and neck cancer

A team of scientists at Johns Hopkins and in Texas has identified a handful of genetic mutations in black Americans, in addition to some chemical alterations affecting gene activity, which may help explain why the death rate among African-Americans from the most common form of head and neck cancer continues to hover some 18 percent higher above the death rate of whites with the same cancer.

9 Dec 2013

U.S. charges Russian diplomats with defrauding Medicaid in N.Y.C.

Federal officials say 49 Russian diplomats or their spouses defrauded Medicaid of about $1.5 million in improperly awarded benefits over ten years in New York City.

6 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 6, 2103

Today's headlines include news about how both the federal and state-based health insurance websites are doing.

6 Dec 2013

Training advised to plug lung cancer care gaps

Guideline-consistent care for patients with suspected lung cancer with mediastinal lymphadenopathy without distant metastases varies by region and physician characteristics, say researchers.

5 Dec 2013

Gonzalez Dental Care joins U.S. Marines to fight against poverty and illiteracy

Dr. Liliana C. Gonzalez has joined the U.S. Marines in a campaign to attack poverty and illiteracy in our society through the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots and the Toys for Tots Literacry Program.

5 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Why can't health website be like Amazon?; debunking GOP's resistance to Medicaid

For an "Amazon-like" experience, it isn't enough to have a website that functions on the front end, the back end and in between. ... You also need an Amazon-like culture, which is the product of other Amazon-like realities.

5 Dec 2013

1.46 million enroll in Medicaid through health law exchanges

The Obama administration said Tuesday that more than 1.46 million people have been found eligible and signed up for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program in October.

5 Dec 2013

States lead in health law insurance sign-up race

States operating their own insurance websites are leading the federal government in signing up people for health coverage. Though healthcare.gov, the federal website which serves the residents of 36 states, is working better for some, complicated cases still bewilder "navigators" -- and Texas has proposed new rules and background checks for the workers.

5 Dec 2013

Increasing education levels helps improve economic growth

A new study published in the journal Demography shows that improvements in education levels around the world have been key drivers of economic growth in developing countries that has previously been attributed to declines in fertility rates.

5 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 4, 2013

Today's headlines spotlight the White House's push to defend the health law and advance positive messages about its benefits.

4 Dec 2013

Study indicates that black neighborhoods have limited access to healthy foods

When it comes to health, you are what you eat, as the adage goes. But many Americans have little choice in the matter, with race being an even bigger determinant than poverty.

4 Dec 2013

UCLA study shows nearly 70% of Latino children, eat fast food regularly

A surprisingly large percentage of very young children in California, including 70 percent of Latino children, eat fast food regularly, according to a new policy brief by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

27 Nov 2013

Viewpoints: Local political fallout from Obama insurance pledge; 'debunking' sob story; is single payer still a possibility?

Democratic state leaders have been some of ObamaCare's strongest advocates. To show his gratitude, President Obama is sticking them with political responsibility for the millions of insurance policies that are being cancelled because they don't comply with the law's minimum-benefits mandates. ... Renewing lapsed policies could weaken the state exchanges as healthy young people will want to keep their discontinued, lower-cost plans ... there are other political considerations. Namely, the criticism they'll face from both the right and left if they don't back the president's directive to allow policy renewals (Allysia Finley, 11/25).

27 Nov 2013

Study links genetic predisposition to childhood obesity

Research has suggested that a particular gene in the brain's reward system contributes to overeating and obesity in adults. This same variant has now been linked to childhood obesity and tasty food choices, particularly for girls, according to a new study by Dr. Patricia Silveira and Prof. Michael Meaney of McGill University and Dr. Robert Levitan of the University of Toronto.

27 Nov 2013

Scientists find link between social and economic status and ADHD in the UK

Scientists have found evidence of a link between social and economic status and childhood attention deficit disorder in the UK.

26 Nov 2013

New concept outlines steps to tackle neglected tropical diseases, expedite poverty reduction efforts

A new concept and policy framework published in PLOS NTDs outlines concrete steps for the global development community as it works to synthesize health goals with economic, environmental and social priorities.

26 Nov 2013