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Patients with neck injuries incur increased health and social costs

Patients with neck injuries incur increased health and social costs-which also affect their spouses and may begin years before the initial injury, reports a study in the March 1 issue of Spine.

12 Mar 2013

Many challenges exist to delivering proven interventions for preventing pediatric HIV infections

Last week's "scientific report on the 'functional cure' of a HIV-infected infant has set the world's media ablaze with discussion and speculation," Randal Kuhn, director of the Global Health Affairs Program at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies, and Benjamin Young, chief medical officer of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, write in a GlobalPost opinion piece.

12 Mar 2013

Dueling budget blueprints to be unveiled this week, will show partisan differences on size of government, Medicare and Medicaid

At the same time, President Barack Obama appears to be harboring hopes of reaching a big deficit-reduction deal that could include some of the money-saving changes that Republicans favor. The idea worries some congressional Democrats.

12 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: 5 lies about entitlements; Obama's plans for Medicare still not clear; Generic drug makers need to be accountable

So here's a list with a bit more gravitas: The five biggest lies you're being told about entitlement programs. Never mind that the very word "entitlement" is a lie. Social Security and Medicare got that name because workers became "entitled" to those benefits by paying into the system. In recent years, however, the term has become distorted to signify benefits people are entitled to without earning them. Leaving that whopper aside, here are the top five.

12 Mar 2013

PEPFAR should consider performance-based financing

"The recent IOM evaluation of PEPFAR made clear that a key challenge for the program moving forward will be to get country governments to effectively assume primary responsibility of AIDS programs in their countries, both in terms of finances and 'leadership,'" Victoria Fan and Jenny Ottenhoff of the Center for Global Development write in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

11 Mar 2013

First Edition: March 11, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers a reader question about insurance options for people with pre-existing conditions.

11 Mar 2013

Only 1 in 5 central Pennsylvania women receive preventive counseling about partner abuse

Only about one in five central Pennsylvania women who have experienced intimate partner violence is asked or counseled by a health care provider about abuse, according to Penn State medicine and public health science researchers. Overall, approximately only one in nine women has received preventive counseling about violence and safety.

11 Mar 2013

WHO announces 8th death from novel coronavirus

"A 69-year-old man in Saudi Arabia died after being infected with a new SARS-related virus, becoming the 14th confirmed case and the eighth death, the World Health Organization said" on Wednesday, Bloomberg reports.

11 Mar 2013

State highlights: Ga. health bills advance on 'Crossover Day'

A selection of health policy stories from Georgia, New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky and California.

11 Mar 2013

Calif. Insurance Commissioner calls Blue Shield rate hike 'unreasonable'

The state's top insurance regulator criticized proposed rate hikes of as much as 20 percent for 268,000 individual policyholders, but he and other state officials don't have the authority to reject the increases.

11 Mar 2013

Health programs should address gender violence

Noting the potential "devastating and lasting" health impacts of physical and sexual violence on women and girls, Scott Radloff, director of USAID's Office of Population and Reproductive Health, writes in USAID's "IMPACTblog," "The health sector can play a vital role in preventing gender-based violence by helping to identify abuse early, providing victims with the necessary treatment, and referring women to appropriate and informed care."

11 Mar 2013

Global food prices held steady in February, FAO food index shows

"Global food prices held steady in February as falling wheat prices offset higher oils and dairy prices, the United Nations' food agency said on Thursday, forecasting increased wheat output in 2013," Reuters reports, noting, "The FAO Food Price Index, which measures monthly price changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 210 points in February, unchanged from January."

11 Mar 2013

Health-related MDGs should 'remain at the heart' of post-2015 goals

Mark Suzman, managing director for International Policy, Programs & Advocacy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and how "there is a heightened sense of urgency to ensure we do everything possible to meet this ambitious deadline of 2015 -- and to make sure that a new set of goals are set that keep up the critical momentum."

11 Mar 2013

International community urged to disburse pledged funds to help Yemen

"The international community has been urged to follow Saudi Arabia's example by releasing funds pledged to help Yemen address its growing humanitarian crisis and economic, social and security challenges," the Guardian reports.

11 Mar 2013

Examining sequestration's effects on global health spending

"Although we're several days into sequestration, details about the full impact of funding cuts are still hazy," Kim Lufkin, communications officer of the Global Health Technologies Coalition, writes in the group's "Breakthroughs" blog, noting, "On [March 1], the Office of Management and Budget released a report to Congress, which details funding cuts required to offset $85 billion in the fiscal year 2013 budget."

11 Mar 2013

Adult hospitalizations for congenital heart disease increasing, researchers find

Jared M. O'Leary, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues analyzed U.S. hospitalizations from 1998 through 2010 for children and adults with congenital heart disease.

11 Mar 2013

Blog reports on case of 'U.N. cholera denial' in Zimbabwe

"There is understandable outrage over the United Nation's reaction to its role in first creating and then denying responsibility for Haiti's cholera outbreak in 2010 that killed 8,000 people," Todd Moss, vice president for programs and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), writes in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

11 Mar 2013

U.S. global health investments must continue

"A decade ago, as I was beginning my time as Senate majority leader, bipartisan consensus in Washington helped launch a new era of progress in global health just when it was sorely needed," former Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) writes in a Roll Call opinion piece.

11 Mar 2013

Obama continues efforts to woo Republicans

In what one news outlet described as a "charm offensive," President Barack Obama is seeking common ground with rank-and-file Republicans for a deficit reduction deal that would overhaul the tax code and slow the growth of Medicare and other entitlement programs.

11 Mar 2013

NIST panel provides tailored recommendations to accelerate adoption of pediatric EHRs

To speed development and adoption of electronic health records for pediatrics, a group of experts from industry, academia and government convened by the National Institute of Standards and Technology has focused its attention on three key audiences-records-system vendors and developers, small-group pediatric medical practices and children's hospitals.

11 Mar 2013