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Cooperation needed to fight TB

In this post in Global Health Frontline News' "Notes From the Field" blog, Kevin Cain, chief of the tuberculosis (TB) branch for a research and public health collaboration between the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the CDC in Kisumu, Kenya, reports on TB research underway as part of the collaboration.

23 Jan 2012

The costs of cancer care

But an economic drama that neither [political party] wants to confront is playing itself out in cancer wards and oncologists' offices across the country.

23 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 23, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports looking ahead to President Barak Obama's State-of-the-Union address and others examining the health law.

23 Jan 2012

Haymarket Media launches ChemotherapyAdvisor.com

Haymarket Media Inc., publisher of Monthly Prescribing Reference (MPR), MPR Hematology/Oncology Edition, and Oncology Nurse Advisor (ONA), is pleased to announce the launch of ChemotherapyAdvisor.com, offering oncologists and their support teams a unique clinical decision support tool.

23 Jan 2012

Gingrich: Romney's Mass. health plan too 'liberal' for S.C. GOP

On Face The Nation, Gingrich said South Carolina voters also realized how "liberal" Romney was when he governed Massachusetts, particularly his health care plan. "Clearly, he was way to the left" of South Carolina voters, Gingrich said.

23 Jan 2012

Ryan says House GOP will again seek to revamp Medicare

Republicans in the House of Representatives will put forward a budget plan this year that will seek substantial reforms to health benefits for the elderly and make aggressive strides toward reducing deficits, a senior lawmaker said on Friday. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said he wanted his budget plan to offer voters an alternative vision to the "cradle-to-grave welfare state" that he says Democratic President Barack Obama is promoting.

23 Jan 2012

Labor union to launch ad seeking to link Romney to Medicare fraud

Voters in South Carolina go to the polls today, but meanwhile, The Los Angeles Times reports that AFSCME has purchased airtime for an ad that raises questions about the Republican presidential contender's work as a member of the board of directors of a medical testing company that paid a fine to Medicare.

23 Jan 2012

Elderly and ill patients connect to their doctors via broadband: Pilot Australian project

Now elderly patients and severely ill cancer patients will be able to see their specialist or GP with the click of a mouse, even if they are hundreds of kilometres away. This will be possible with a $20.6 million pilot program that starts this July. The program will use the national broadband network to deliver telehealth services to older Australians, cancer patients and those in palliative care.

23 Jan 2012

Birth control pill coverage for church-affiliated institutions sparks outrage

The Obama administration announced Friday that many church-affiliated institutions will have to cover free birth control for employees. This has sparked debate and invited criticism.

23 Jan 2012

Number of unsafe abortions soars worldwide: Report

A new worldwide analysis by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization shows that unsafe abortions are on the rise across the world. After a period of significant decline in the global abortion rate as a whole, researchers found that those numbers had begun to plateau. The report was published in the Lancet.

22 Jan 2012

President to push Congress to revisit ambitious effort to cut the deficit

And, House and Senate negotiators will hold a rare public meeting Tuesday about the payroll tax cut and the Medicare reimbursement rate for physicians.

21 Jan 2012

Kodak's Chapter 11 filing: Retiree benefit costs a big part of the problem

Here's one way of understanding Eastman Kodak Co.'s problems: The company has twice as many retirees drawing benefits in the U.S. as it has active employees world-wide. … Kodak has been whittling away at those benefits for years and says it wants to accelerate the process in Chapter 11 proceedings. … The company said in a filing Thursday that it is liable for $1.3 billion in U.S. retirement benefits such as health care.

21 Jan 2012

UNAIDS officials say progress being made against HIV/AIDS in Africa, Asia

Speaking at a media briefing in Geneva on Thursday, Sheila Tlou, UNAIDS director of the regional support team for Eastern and Southern Africa, said the region is making progress in scaling up access to prevention and treatment services, including behavior change and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programs, the U.N. News Centre reports.

21 Jan 2012

Health law, abortion among hot topics in S.C. Republican primary debate

The GOP presidential hopefuls clashed on a range of issues related to the health law, its individual mandate and efforts to repeal it. Candidates' positions on abortion were also flashpoints.

21 Jan 2012

Federal judge renews her order blocking Calif. cuts to in-home care

A federal judge will continue blocking millions of dollars in cuts to in-home care for the elderly and the disabled, parties to a lawsuit over the services said Thursday. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken had temporarily halted the cuts in December. The $100 million in reductions to home aid, built into the state budget in case revenue did not match projections, were to have kicked in this month.

21 Jan 2012

Keeping global health relevant as part of sustainable development agenda

"In 2012 there will be a major strategic shift in global health, away from development and towards sustainability," a Lancet editorial states.

21 Jan 2012

India's Ministry of Health dismisses claims of 'totally drug-resistant' TB

In a January 17 statement, India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare "dismissed reports that a form of incurable tuberculosis [TB] has arrived in the country," saying "that a team of doctors sent by the ministry found that seven of the patients are responding to treatment" and the cases would be classified and managed as extremely drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), Nature News Blog reports.

21 Jan 2012

IMHE researchers present update on global development assistance

At a presentation hosted by the Global Health Council on Thursday at the University of Washington, Christopher Murray and Michael Hanlon from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation provided an update on global development assistance for health, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

21 Jan 2012

Risperdal lawsuit settlement: Largest Medicaid fraud case in Texas

Texas and Janssen Pharmaceuticals reach a $158 million settlement on a suit claiming that the company lied about the efficacy of the anti-psychotic medicine.

21 Jan 2012

Health law policy topics: ACO deadline, hospital pay fix

Modern Healthcare reports that today's the last day to sign up for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' ACO program, which starts in April. Politico Pro, meanwhile, reports that a coalition of state hospitals is pushing the White House to address what they see as a "gaming of Medicare payments" that allows Massachusetts hospitals to collect higher Medicare reimbursements than other states.

21 Jan 2012