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Viewpoints: Cutting health costs is next battle; Texas Medicaid chief on why expansion won't work; Grief, anger over end-of-life decision

No matter what happens to President Obama's health care reforms after the November elections, the disjointed, costly American health care system must find ways to slow the rate of spending while delivering quality care. There is widespread pessimism that anything much can be achieved quickly, but innovative solutions are emerging in unexpected places. A health care system owned and managed by Alaska's native people has achieved astonishing results in improving the health of its enrollees while cutting the costs of treating them.

24 Jul 2012

Study shows disturbing rates of new HIV infections among U.S. black MSM

Study results released today by the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) show disturbing rates of new HIV infections occurring among black gay and bisexual men in the U.S. (also known as men who have sex with men, or MSM), particularly young black MSM.

24 Jul 2012

Roundup: Plan for new Md. hospital advances; Outsourcing of prison health care gets scrutiny; Alaska Native medical center seen as model

Maryland officials are preparing to unveil this week a detailed plan for a $600 million regional hospital to replace the ailing Prince George's Hospital Center and establish a new health-care network throughout Prince George's County. The plans are part of a broad effort to improve health care in a county where an estimated 150,000 residents lack health insurance or have insufficient coverage and often rely on hospital emergency rooms for primary care.

24 Jul 2012

Recent release: Kaiser Health News interviews White House senior policy advisor ahead of AIDS 2012

In this Kaiser Health News interview, KHN contributor Joanne Silberner talks with Gregg Millett, senior policy adviser in the Office of National AIDS Policy, ahead of the XIX International AIDS Conference.

24 Jul 2012

Recent release: Kaiser Family Foundation/Washington Post poll shows positive news about public opinion and HIV

As the XIX International AIDS Conference convenes in Washington, D.C., Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) President and CEO Drew Altman highlights positive news about public opinion and HIV from KFF's new survey of the American people conducted with the Washington Post in his latest "Pulling It Together" column.

24 Jul 2012

Working poor at heart of Medicaid expansion debate as governors draw line in the sand

Even as state executives such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott remain firm in their opposition to the health law's Medicaid expansion, health providers such as Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tony Cosgrove express their support for it.

23 Jul 2012

Views on AIDS: Despite advances, still no cure, no vaccine, and indifference grows

The story of the AIDS pandemic has been grim for so long that optimism seems hardly possible. But as the 19th International AIDS conference opens in Washington on Sunday, there is hope for control of a disease that has killed nearly 35 million people over three decades and 1.7 million in the past year.

23 Jul 2012

Third-party groups to target health law with new wave of attack ads

Also in the news, the Supreme Court -- especially after the recent health law decision -- is an effective tool to rally fundraising among both Democrats and Republicans. Meanwhile, a defense policy expert suggests presidential candidates focus on long-term military mental health issues. Finally, The Wall Street Journal examines how health care is playing in the Montana Senate race, where candidates are sparring over who is soft on cancer.

23 Jul 2012

Political cartoon: 'Tax or Penalty?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Tax or Penalty?" by Bruce Tinsley.

23 Jul 2012

Why it's hard for medicine to fix its mistakes

ProPublica offers an examination of the challenges hospitals face in adopting procedures to address medical errors.

23 Jul 2012

New health professional roles emerge within the marketplace

This pair of stories from Kaiser Health News reports on new kinds of health professionals and the role they have within the health care continuum.

23 Jul 2012

CBO's updated estimate of health law costs could be released this week

Meanwhile, news outlets report on varying aspects of the implementation of state-based health exchanges -- including the assistance provided to state officials by Michael O. Leavitt, an adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and head of a health care consulting company.

23 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 23, 2012

In this Kaiser Health News video, Greg Millett, a senior policy advisor in the Office of National AIDS Policy, tells Joanne Silberner that the president's National HIV/AIDS Strategy has improved coordination among federal agencies and that the 2010 health law will improve access to care for those living with HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

Study: Fewer Americans control their HIV infections

Tens of thousands of Americans taking potent antiretroviral therapies, or ART, to keep their HIV disease in check may not have as much control over the viral infection as previous estimates have suggested, according to results of a study by AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania.

23 Jul 2012

Implementing multifaceted global effort may help end global HIV/AIDS pandemic

Ending the global HIV/AIDS pandemic may be possible by implementing a multifaceted global effort that expands testing, treatment, and prevention programs, as well as meets the scientific challenges of developing an HIV vaccine and possibly a cure, according to a Viewpoint in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

HIV-positive women may use new methods to help reduce frequency of cervical cancer screening

Compared to the general population, HIV-positive women have a high risk of cervical cancer and thus are advised to undergo more frequent screening tests. This creates a burden for HIV-positive patients and the health care system, leading to frequent biopsies, which often do not reveal clinically relevant disease.

23 Jul 2012

As AIDS conference opens, health panel urges treatment of all HIV infections

An international health panel has recommended for the first time that all HIV patients be treated with antiretroviral drugs, even when the virus's impact on their immune system is shown to be small. The nonprofit International Antiviral Society-USA cited new evidence that untreated infection with the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS can also lead to a range of other conditions, including cardiovascular disease and kidney disease.

23 Jul 2012

'Medical travel' can be used to access advanced technologies

The search for medical technologies through 'medical travel' can change the lives of patients and their family members, according to medical anthropologists Cecilia Vindrola-Padros and Linda M. Whiteford, who examined the lives of Bolivian and Paraguayan families who traveled to Buenos Aries, Argentina, seeking pediatric oncology care for their children.

21 Jul 2012

International Congress on Natural Products Research to be held in New York City

The urgent need to evaluate nature's repository of chemicals in plants, microbes, and marine organisms for their potential value in health care will be a major theme of a five-day scientific conference in New York that is expected to draw some 1,200 natural products researchers from around the world.

21 Jul 2012