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Ark., N.Y. head in opposite directions on abortion regulation

Arkansas and New York are states headed in opposite directions on new abortion regulation: Arkansas's Senate passes a bill banning the procedure after 20 weeks while New York's governor works on legislation guaranteeing access to late-term abortions.

20 Feb 2013

Bipartisan measure introduced to undo health law's insurance tax

In other Capitol Hill news, some GOP lawmakers are upset with a physician group that encourages pediatricians to ask about gun ownership during kids' check-ups.

20 Feb 2013

How Feed the Future initiative is working to end extreme poverty

"In his State of the Union address [last] week, President Obama laid out a challenge for our generation to eradicate the scourge of extreme poverty," Lona Stoll, acting deputy coordinator for development for Feed the Future, and Jonathan Shrier, acting special representative for global food security for Feed the Future, write in the initiative's blog.

20 Feb 2013

Federal government to run insurance marketplaces in half the states

Kaiser Health News staff writers Phil Galewitz and Alvin Tran report: It's official. The Obama administration will be running new health insurance marketplaces in half the states - including the major population centers of Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania.

20 Feb 2013

Physicians do not talk to patients about psychosocial impact and long-term risks of ICDs

New research at Saint Louis University shows physicians do not talk to patients about the psychosocial impact and long-term risks of implanting cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) to treat irregular heart rhythms, leaving them misinformed about how the device may affect quality of life.

20 Feb 2013

Medicare trims, scaled-back tax breaks debated as part of budget fix

The Washington Post reports that President Barack Obama favors replacing the automatic cuts slated to take effect on March 1 with a combination of budget moves, including spending cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.

20 Feb 2013

Scientists create new strain of polio to protect vaccine factory workers

"Scientists have created new strains of polio intended to protect workers in factories that make polio vaccine," the New York Times reports.

20 Feb 2013

Estimating budget sequestration's impact on global health, foreign aid

Writing in the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition's (USGLC) blog, Molly Lester, government relations associate at the USGLC, highlights a report released last week by the House Appropriations Committee Democrats that outlines the potential impact of budget sequestration on different agencies and issues.

20 Feb 2013

WHO, World Bank meeting on universal health coverage begins in Geneva

A two-day WHO and World Bank ministerial-level meeting on universal health coverage (UHC) began in Geneva on Monday, bringing "together ministers of finance and health from 27 countries with other high-level stakeholders" to discuss "exploring ways that countries are progressing towards universal health coverage, sharing innovative solutions and identifying actions the global community can take to support efforts," the Global Dispatch reports.

20 Feb 2013

Reports warn premium spikes, dropped workers could result from health law

The New York Times reports that some companies could avoid requirements in the health law by insuring their own employees -- a move that might drive up costs for workers of other companies. Other outlets look at concerns that young, healthy people buying policies in new online markets could see a jump in insurance costs.

20 Feb 2013

Gates Foundation blog series examines contraception options for women, girls

Writing in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Gary Darmstadt, head of the family health division at the foundation, and Monica Kerrigan, a family planning expert, introduce the blog's new series, "What's Your Method?," which "offers a window into many of the contraceptive options for women and girls around the world."

20 Feb 2013

State roundup: Calif. opens prison psychiatric ward, hopes to shed fed oversight

Virginia is among the last states to begin dismantling its large institutions for the developmentally disabled, a decision that was made as part of a year-old settlement agreement with the Justice Department, which argued in a lawsuit that Virginia was discriminating against training center residents by keeping them institutionalized.

20 Feb 2013

Mobile phones could help diagnose, properly treat malaria in remote areas, study says

"Mobile phones, along with local knowledge and field support, can help to ensure the effective diagnosis and treatment of malaria in remote rural areas, according to a study" conducted in Bangladesh and published this month in Malaria Journal, SciDev.Net reports.

20 Feb 2013

New issue of Global Health Diplomacy Network's 'Health Diplomacy Monitor' available online

Volume 4, Issue 1 of the Global Health Diplomacy Network's "Health Diplomacy Monitor" is now available online.

20 Feb 2013

Secretary of State Kerry expresses commitment to USAID mission in speech at headquarters

In his first visit to USAID headquarters since assuming the position of Secretary of State, John Kerry on Friday "said he is 'deeply, deeply committed' to USAID's mission of opening up opportunities to people in need" and that "[h]e fully supports their work and will fight for their cause in upcoming budget battles and hot spots around the globe," Devex's "Development Newswire" reports.

20 Feb 2013

SARS-linked virus well adapted to infect humans, could be treated with drugs to boost immune system, study shows

"A new virus that emerged in the Middle East last year and has killed five people is well adapted to infecting humans but could potentially be treated with drugs that boost the immune system, scientists said on Tuesday," Reuters reports, noting, "The virus, called novel coronavirus or NCoV, is from the same family as the common cold and as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome."

19 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Obama needs to offer plan on entitlements and spending; Assessing the paycheck crimp from health costs

President Barack Obama owes it to himself and to the country to make one more good shot at a Grand Bargain on spending, investment and tax reform before he opts for a strategy of trying to pummel the Republican Party. ... He has to lead with his chin and put a concrete, comprehensive package on the table, encompassing three areas. First, new investments that would combine immediate jobs in infrastructure with some long-term growth-enablers like a massive build-out in the nation's high-speed broadband capabilities.

19 Feb 2013

Secretary of State Kerry warns of budget sequestration's consequences for humanitarian aid, global health in letter to Senator

"The State Department will have to stop humanitarian aid to millions of people, cut foreign assistance to Israel, and delay efforts to ramp up diplomatic security abroad after the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi if [budget] sequestration goes into effect next month, according to Secretary of State John Kerry," Foreign Policy's "The Cable" blog reports.

19 Feb 2013

U.K., Ugandan Government sign new healthcare alliance

A Ugandan-UK Healthcare Alliance, which will help improve health care for people living in the East African country, has been launched this week after being developed by a University of Manchester health professional.

From The University of Manchester 19 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 19, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock, working in collaboration with The Philadelphia Inquirer, reports: "Computer mistakes like the one that produced incorrect prescriptions for thousands of Rhode Island patients are probably far more common and dangerous than the Obama administration wants you to believe, says Drexel University's Dr. Scot Silverstein."

19 Feb 2013

Health Care News and Research

Ark., N.Y. head in opposite directions on abortion regulation

Bipartisan measure introduced to undo health law's insurance tax

How Feed the Future initiative is working to end extreme poverty

Federal government to run insurance marketplaces in half the states

Physicians do not talk to patients about psychosocial impact and long-term risks of ICDs

Medicare trims, scaled-back tax breaks debated as part of budget fix

Scientists create new strain of polio to protect vaccine factory workers

Estimating budget sequestration's impact on global health, foreign aid

WHO, World Bank meeting on universal health coverage begins in Geneva

Reports warn premium spikes, dropped workers could result from health law

Gates Foundation blog series examines contraception options for women, girls

State roundup: Calif. opens prison psychiatric ward, hopes to shed fed oversight

Mobile phones could help diagnose, properly treat malaria in remote areas, study says

New issue of Global Health Diplomacy Network's 'Health Diplomacy Monitor' available online

Secretary of State Kerry expresses commitment to USAID mission in speech at headquarters

SARS-linked virus well adapted to infect humans, could be treated with drugs to boost immune system, study shows

Viewpoints: Obama needs to offer plan on entitlements and spending; Assessing the paycheck crimp from health costs

Secretary of State Kerry warns of budget sequestration's consequences for humanitarian aid, global health in letter to Senator

U.K., Ugandan Government sign new healthcare alliance

First Edition: February 19, 2013

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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