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Health Net sued over 'medically unnecessary' coverage denials

Some Californians are suing Health Net over the insurer's refusal to cover some treatments after it deemed them medically unnecessary.

15 Sep 2012

Treatment access is essential component of fight against NCDs

"The non-communicable disease [NCD] community always talks about the importance of prevention; many consider it the Holy Grail in the fight against NCDs. Why was it so hard to also accept treatment as part of the solution?" Princess Dina Mired, director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in Amman, Jordan, asks in the Huffington Post "Impact" blog, noting only one target of the 2011 U.N. High-Level Meeting on NCDs "deals with treatment, the target on 'essential medicines and basic technologies for treatment.'"

15 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Patients' experiences at safety-net hospitals

Each week KHN reporter Ankita Rao compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

15 Sep 2012

Spending measure passes House with Ryan's support

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., returned to the chamber Thursday for the first time since he became the GOP vice presidential candidate, casting his vote for a measure that raised spending above the levels in his own budget. Republicans hailed him, while Democrats released a video highlighting his proposal to overhaul Medicare as a fixed subsidy program.

15 Sep 2012

Most Californians say they couldn't pay for nursing home care

A new survey of Californians finds that most residents say they couldn't afford to pay for care in a nursing home for a family member.

15 Sep 2012

Court denies Maine Medicaid lawsuit, says to give CMS time to rule on cuts

A federal appeals court rejected a Maine lawsuit Thursday and said the state -- which wants to cut 30,000 from its Medicaid rolls -- needs to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services time to review its request.

15 Sep 2012

Floods, Cholera in Niger have claimed 162 lives since July, OCHA reports

"Floods in Niger have killed 81 people since July, the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] announced Thursday, adding cholera outbreaks have killed a further 81 people," Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Sep 2012

AHIP offers advice on essential benefits and keeping premium costs affordable

Meanwhile, Kansas officials are facing a ticking clock as they try to develop recommendations for what should make up the state's essential benefits in individual and small group health insurance policies.

15 Sep 2012

New York City Board of Health Oks nation's first ban of oversized sugary drinks

The mayoral-appointed panel outlawed the sale of sugary drinks in sizes larger than 16 ounces nearly everywhere, except in grocery and convenience stores.

15 Sep 2012

Blog examines access to contraceptive information, services among young people

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, published in partnership with Women Deliver as part of a series on youth perspectives to recognize World Contraception Day, observed annually on September 26, youth activist Cecilia Garcia Ruiz writes, "For six years we've worked to shine a spotlight on these key issues, but some people still disregard the importance of providing universal access to quality contraceptive services and information to prevent unplanned pregnancies, especially among young people."

15 Sep 2012

White House details the reach of automatic spending cuts

In a report issued today, the Obama administration outlined the budget accounts which would be touched by sequestration's automatic spending reductions. Although Medicare benefits are exempt, a 2 percent cut would be imposed on Medicare provider payments.

15 Sep 2012

World Bank, Bangladeshi government sign multi-donor trust fund agreement for country's health sector

"On Wednesday, the World Bank and the Bangladeshi government signed a Multi-Donor Trust Fund Grant Agreement" under which "$280 million coming from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Sweden will go to the Bangladesh Health Sector Development Program, which aims to improve the health status of people in Bangladesh, particularly women, children and the marginalized," the Devex "Development Newswire" reports.

15 Sep 2012

Gates Foundation blog examines efforts to stop mother-to-child syphilis transmission

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Gary Darmstadt, head of the Family Health Division of the foundation, Wendy Prosser, a research analyst with the Family Health Division, and Damian Walker, a senior program officer at the foundation, examine efforts to stop the transmission of syphilis from mother to child during labor and delivery.

15 Sep 2012

Red Cross says more than 500,000 people need food, health care aid in northern Mali

"More than half a million people in northern Mali, occupied by Islamist fighters, need aid to cope with rising food prices, collapsed public services and a lack of health care, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday," Reuters reports.

15 Sep 2012

Some Guinean residents seek cholera vaccine; Outbreak in Sierra Leone winding down

With nearly 6,000 reported cholera cases, including more than 100 deaths, Guinea is facing the worst cholera outbreak since 2007, and "some residents of the capital Conakry are clamoring to be vaccinated," IRIN reports.

15 Sep 2012

Ebola outbreak in DRC responsible for as many as 31 deaths, according to revised count

"An outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever has claimed possibly as many as 31 lives in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo since May, Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi said Thursday," Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Sep 2012

Global Fund board members discuss new funding allocation model amid some concerns from TB advocates

The board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria began a two-day meeting in Geneva on Thursday, "with one topic high on the agenda: a new funding model," Devex's "Development Newswire" reports.

15 Sep 2012

Roundup: Calif. to probe hospital/doctor consolidations; Cuccinelli warns Va. health board on abortion clinic rules

California's attorney general has launched a broad investigation into whether growing consolidation among hospitals and doctor groups is pushing up the price of medical care, reflecting increasing scrutiny by antitrust regulators of medical-provider deals.

15 Sep 2012

‘Rooming in’ benefits both mother and baby: New review

"Rooming in," keeping mother and her newborn in the same room 24/7 to encourage breastfeeding has been a popular initiative of The WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Hospital. A new review from The Cochrane Library finds some evidence that it does support breastfeeding, at least in the short term.

15 Sep 2012

CINJ experts available to discuss prevention and treatment of breast cancer

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is making experts available to discuss the risks, and options for treatment and prevention surrounding breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society 227,000 women nationwide will be diagnosed with the disease this year, and while the disease affects mostly women, men also can be diagnosed with breast cancer.

15 Sep 2012