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Campaign trail news: Polls, debate prep and how candidates are bombarding voters with Medicare, Medicaid ads

Media outlets report on the latest poll findings and preview Tuesday night's presidential debate, amid a high volume of campaign ads.

16 Oct 2012

U.N. report shows francophone African countries lag behind in AIDS Treatment; NGOs call for increased funding

"Despite great progress within a short time, the 29 French-speaking countries of sub-Saharan Africa are lagging far behind other states in the region in the battle against HIV/AIDS and need a massive increase in international aid, according to a United Nations report" released Friday, the U.N. News Centre reports.

16 Oct 2012

Virginia Senate candidates face tough issues beyond Medicare, while key California House races are shaped by it

For most campaigns, the equation is simple: Seniors care about Medicare and Social Security - and often vote - so candidates vow loudly and frequently to protect the programs. But for U.S. Senate contenders Timothy M. Kaine (D) and George Allen (R), this year's election is a bit more complicated, as they learned while courting older Virginia voters last week.

16 Oct 2012

Roundup: Health care construction boom in Texas; Some Ga. schools, state authorities weigh leaving employee health plan

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is in the midst of an unprecedented health care building boom. You can see the most visible evidence in the Dallas medical district. There, several blocks apart, construction cranes signal more than $2 billion worth of new hospitals - the $1.27 billion replacement for Parkland Memorial Hospital and an $800 million replacement hospital at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

16 Oct 2012

Mother's kiss appears to be safe and effective in dislodging objects from nasal cavity of kids

A technique called the "mother's kiss" for removing foreign objects from the nasal passages of young children appears to be a safe and effective approach, found a study published in CMAJ.

16 Oct 2012

Views on presidential race: NYT's Kristof recounts sick friend's need for health reform; Biden's Bizarre response on 'death panels'

My wife and I attended my 30-year college reunion a couple of weekends ago, but the partying was bittersweet. My freshman roommate, Scott Androes, was in a Seattle hospital bed, a victim in part of a broken health care system. Strip away the sound and fury of campaign ads and rival spinmeisters, and what's at stake in this presidential election is, in part, lives like Scott's. ... Scott now, at age 52, is suffering from Stage 4 prostate cancer, in part because he didn't have health insurance.

16 Oct 2012

Healthy geriatrics do better when managed as outpatients

The burden of morbidity is significantly reduced in otherwise healthy geriatric individuals when they are part of an outpatient geriatric evaluation and management model of care, shows Taiwanese research.

15 Oct 2012

Private negotiations over Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement conclude

Negotiators from the United States and 10 other countries last month concluded a 14th round of private talks in Leesburg, Va., "to wrap up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, poised to become the largest trade deal in U.S. history," the Charlotte Observer reports.

15 Oct 2012

International cooperation essential to help Uganda fight malaria

Uganda "has overcome a violent past, but hope is daily threatened by a force more deadly than any warlord or civil unrest": the mosquito, Ugandan Health Minister Christine Ondoa writes in a GlobalPost opinion piece. According to the WHO, "Uganda has the highest incidence of malaria in the world," and the disease is endemic in more than 95 percent of the country, she notes.

15 Oct 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Monday published Issue 198 of its "Global Fund Observer."

15 Oct 2012

Questions abound on compounding pharmacies after meningitis outbreak

Compounding pharmacies continue to face intense scrutiny over their drug preparation and lobbying habits after one in Massachusetts is suspected in distributing a steroid that led to a meningitis outbreak.

15 Oct 2012

U.S. can draw lessons from PEPFAR success to address epidemic in black America

"Thirty years ago, the CDC reported the first cases of HIV/AIDS in New York and Los Angeles," Foreign Policy In Focus columnist Kwei Quartey writes in the Huffington Post World Blog, noting, "Since the beginning of the epidemic, over 600,000 people have died of AIDS in the United States, and 1.2 million people are currently living with HIV."

15 Oct 2012

Critical Diagnostics signs agreements with four new European distributors

Critical Diagnostics, a U.S.-based biomarker company focused on cardiovascular diseases, today announced that it has signed agreements with four new European distributors in Germany, Spain, France and Turkey.

15 Oct 2012

Health care, Medicare will pose major challenges to the winner

The victor of the presidential contest will face huge policy decisions including how to maintain Medicare's solvency and whether to implement the 2010 health law. News outlets analyze where President Barack Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney stand on these issues.

15 Oct 2012

First Edition: October 15, 2012

Today's headlines include the latest developments and polling news from the presidential campaign trail as well as details about how Medicare and other health issues are shaping up in House and Senate races.

15 Oct 2012

More Medicare Advantage Plans get top ratings

Privately-run health insurance companies that contract with Medicare are scoring higher in a government-backed quality rating system designed to guide seniors to better medical care choices and service, the Obama administration announced Friday. The so-called "Medicare Advantage Plans" are performing better with more of them hitting four- and five-star ratings on the five-star scale, said U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

15 Oct 2012

Romney campaign defends abortion policies

Much of the weekend health care political news coverage centered around women's health.

15 Oct 2012

In VP debate, Biden and Ryan clash on health issues

In this face-off, the two candidates outlined very different sets of policies and perspectives on issues ranging from their respective Medicare plans to the uninsured and abortion.

15 Oct 2012

Database of drug-induced liver injury now available from NIH

A free source of evidence-based information for health care professionals and for researchers studying liver injury associated with prescription and over-the-counter drugs, herbals, and dietary supplements is now available from the National Institutes of Health. Researchers and health care professionals can use the LiverTox database to identify basic and clinical research questions to be answered and to chart optimal ways to diagnose and control drug-induced liver injury.

15 Oct 2012

V.P. candidates face questions about abortion and faith

Both candidates explained how their Catholic background helped to shape their policy views, including on abortion. News outlets reported that, based on answers from Vice President Joe Biden and GOP vice presidential pick Paul Ryan, it was clear that both were aiming to the larger, much sought after audience of female voters.

15 Oct 2012