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White House meeting kicks off 'fiscal cliff' negotiations

News outlets set the scene for President Barack Obama's meeting today with lawmakers. Both sides say they want a deal, but privately, some Democrats acknowledge they would rather go over the cliff than accept a deal that raised too few taxes while cutting Medicare and Medicaid. Some Republicans feel that way about tax increases.

17 Nov 2012

Opinion pieces, blog address preterm birth

The following opinion pieces and blog posts address actions to prevent preterm birth, after the publication of a Lancet analysis that examines preterm birth in 39 developed countries.

17 Nov 2012

Global Fund Board announces integration of AMFm into core grant system

The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Thursday announced it will "integrate" the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm), implemented in 2010 as a pilot program to provide low-cost artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) in poor and rural areas, "into its existing core system of providing grants to countries to purchase drugs, bed nets and other malaria-control measures," Nature News Blog reports.

17 Nov 2012

Tidal wave of health law rules expected in days and weeks ahead

Also in the news, reports estimate state-specific costs and savings related to the overhaul's Medicaid expansion.

17 Nov 2012

Some employers are telling employees to shop around for health insurance

For some American workers, picking the right health insurance is becoming more like hunting for the perfect business suit: It takes some shopping around to find a good fit and avoid sticker shock.

17 Nov 2012

State highlights: Texas pursues some Medicaid providers

It has been nearly a year since Texas officials accused Dr. Glenn Wood of overbilling the state's Medicaid system by $17.9 million through his business, Carousel Pediatrics. Dr. Wood denies the accusations.

17 Nov 2012

Global Fund Board votes to begin immediate transition to new funding model

"In a bid to ensure the global fight against three of the world's most devastating diseases remains efficient, the Board of the ... Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria voted Thursday to begin an immediate transition" to a new grant-funding approach, the U.N. News Centre reports.

17 Nov 2012

GlobalPost interviews PATH Malaria Control Program director about global response

In an interview with GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, Kent Campbell, director of the Malaria Control Program at PATH, discusses "achievements in the fight against malaria and what is needed to bring transmission to zero."

17 Nov 2012

Global health as national security

"Global health is not often thought of as a national security issue, but development professionals and military leaders have been coming together in the belief the two are 'closely tied together,'" Zach Silberman, a policy associate with the U.S. Global Leadership Council (USGLC), writes in the organization's blog.

17 Nov 2012

Lancet analysis examines trends in preterm birth, potential interventions in developed countries

An analysis published Thursday in the Lancet examines trends in and interventions for preterm birth in 39 developed countries, with the authors writing, "Shockingly, very little reduction is currently possible," Examiner.com reports.

17 Nov 2012

States declare their health exchange intentions

A number of states notified the Department of Health and Human Services how they plan to proceed on the question of setting up an insurance exchange.

17 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: 'Zombie' plans for Medicare; James Baker's grand bargain advice; Conservative govs' choices

America's political landscape is infested with many zombie ideas - beliefs about policy that have been repeatedly refuted with evidence and analysis but refuse to die. ... the most dangerous zombie is probably the claim that rising life expectancy justifies a rise in both the Social Security retirement age and the age of eligibility for Medicare. ... What would happen if we raised the Medicare eligibility age? The federal government would save only a small amount of money, because younger seniors are relatively healthy and hence low-cost.

16 Nov 2012

HHS delays health exchange decision deadline to Dec. 14

The Obama administration announced late Thursday that it was extending the deadline for states to decide whether they would establish and operate these online insurance markets.

16 Nov 2012

Study shows boost in access to screening for breast and cervical cancer

A study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services indicates that full implementation of the Affordable Care Act would expand health insurance coverage for more low-income women, enabling more than a million women to obtain potentially life-saving screening for breast and cervical cancer.

16 Nov 2012

WHO agreement on NCDs shows 'political will'

"It happened quietly, and it didn't make any headlines, but an agreement reached in Geneva last week represents a key step forward in the battle against some of the world's biggest killers: non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes," Ambassador Betty King, permanent representative of the United States to the U.N., writes in the U.S. Department of State's "DipNote" blog.

16 Nov 2012

USAID helping to move health forward in Burma

Ariel Pablos-Mendez, USAID assistant administrator for global health, writes in the agency's IMPACTblog about his recent trip to Burma and the challenges the country faces as it transitions to an open society.

16 Nov 2012

A.U. launches website on maternal, newborn survival program

"The African Union has launched a new website for its Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal, Newborn and Child Mortality in Africa (CARMMA)," which "aims to promote maternal and newborn survival, and provide evidence on progress to achieving health targets that have been set by African leaders," according to the Maternal Health Task Force's blog.

16 Nov 2012

Employer health costs rise 4.1% -- slowest growth in 15 years

Employer health costs rose just 4.1 percent nationally in 2012 -- the slowest rate of growth in 15 years -- as employers offer more high-deductible plans and increase employee cost-sharing, a new report from consulting firm Mercer has found.

16 Nov 2012

Global Fund board terminates employment of Inspector General

"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said in a statement Thursday that its board had terminated the employment of Inspector General John Parsons 'after a careful review of his performance, which was found to be unsatisfactory,'" the Associated Press reports.

16 Nov 2012

Progress report on health exchanges: Will states, feds be ready?

States face a Friday deadline to indicate whether they plan to establish their own online health insurance markets, or allow the federal government to do it. Meanwhile, debate continues about whether delays in updating essential software and other glitches could delay the start of enrollment in the markets beyond the Oct. 1, 2013 target specified in the health law.

16 Nov 2012