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Hospital stocks fall after analyst prediction of tough times

A new report from Citigroup Global Markets forecasts difficult times ahead for hospitals and other related businesses that rely on government spending.

5 Jan 2012

School nurses are among the casualties of tough fiscal times

In a pair of stories, NPR reports on how tight budgets are playing out with staff reductions for full-time school nurses and how hospitals and medical schools are marketing themselves.

5 Jan 2012

BBC examines eastern DRC's battle with malaria

A BBC News article and related video examine the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's battle with malaria. "'Malaria is the main killer here in Congo, especially for pregnant women and children,' says Dr. Vincker Lushombo, from Save the Children," BBC writes.

5 Jan 2012

Michigan opts not to appeal feds' MLR rule

The state was one of 13 seeking an exemption from the health law's medical-loss ratio requirement that insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care. Others, however, get a 30-day extension. Also in the news, the Department of Health and Human Services named 73 advisers to work with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

5 Jan 2012

Licorice root may play a role in treating and preventing gum disease, tooth decay

Scientists are reporting identification of two substances in licorice - used extensively in Chinese traditional medicine - that kill the major bacteria responsible for tooth decay and gum disease, the leading causes of tooth loss in children and adults.

5 Jan 2012

Ethiopia's PMTCT plan needs men to participate in order to reach goal, experts say

"Ethiopia's new plan to eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015 cannot be attained unless men are more meaningfully involved in reproductive health, experts say," PlusNews reports.

5 Jan 2012

UCSD's TREDS program receives California Office of Traffic Safety grant

The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine TREDS (Training, Research and Education for Driving Safety) program has been awarded a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to continue their work on driving safety in older adults.

5 Jan 2012

State roundup: Mass. insurance co-ops to launch; Fla. hospital commission ponders nonprofits

A federal appeals court will review a judge's decision to temporarily block the state of Texas from enforcing a law requiring doctors to show sonograms to patients and describe the images before an abortion. In August, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin, Texas, ruled that several provisions of the law violated the free-speech rights of abortion-performing doctors.

5 Jan 2012

New FAO head says agency will increase support to countries experiencing prolonged food crises

The new head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Director-General José Graziano da Silva, began work on January 1, "pledging on Tuesday to increase the agency's support to poor countries experiencing prolonged food crises," the U.N. News Centre reports.

5 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Sebelius on 'essential benefits'; WSJ columnist on Democrats' 'Mediscare' argument - is it a lie?

Insurance needs and health systems vary state to state, and experience tells us that the best way forward is not to mandate a one-size-fits-all answer. Instead, our approach gives states the flexibility to take their own paths, while ensuring they all end up in the best place possible: with an Affordable Insurance Exchange that offers access to comprehensive, quality, affordable health insurance to small business owners and individuals who currently have few good choices in an expensive and broken market.

5 Jan 2012

Study finds increase in incidence and prevalence of IBD

The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are increasing with time and in different regions around the world, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

5 Jan 2012

Political cartoon: 'Technical Difficulties'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh perspective on health policy issues with "Technical Difficulties" by Chris Wildt.

4 Jan 2012

Re-admission rates high among U.S. heart attack patients: Study

According to new research from U.S health experts, Americans who have a severe form of a heart attack are far more likely to be readmitted to the hospital than people from 16 other countries with the same kind of heart attack.

4 Jan 2012

Weight loss surgery cuts risk of heart attacks, strokes: Study

A new study shows that weight loss surgery clearly cuts the risk of heart attacks, strokes and death from cardiovascular disease. But the research also raises questions regarding which patients benefit the most from surgery.

4 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 4, 2012

In today's headlines, Romney wins a historically close contest in Iowa caucuses and Wall Street Journal readers favor televising the Supreme Court arguments regarding the health law.

4 Jan 2012

Cardiovascular leaders to review data for Riata and Riata ST ICD leads

Cardiovascular leaders will gather in Minneapolis for a one-day summit on Jan. 20, to review data for Riata and Riata ST implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) leads, which recently underwent a Class I FDA recall. Physicians from the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation and Mayo Clinic have organized the summit to develop a consensus regarding the management of patients who have these leads.

4 Jan 2012

Working in Kazakhstan to end HIV stigma, discrimination

In this post on USAID's "IMPACTblog," Erin McKee, USAID mission director for the Central Asian Republics, recounts a discussion roundtable with people "on the front lines" in the battle against HIV/AIDS in Kazakhstan.

4 Jan 2012

U.S. offers initial $125 million to UNHCR in 2012

"The United States said Thursday it will contribute an initial $125 million to the [U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR)] 2012 operations, including support for refugees returning to Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo," Agence France-Presse reports.

4 Jan 2012

IQWiG examines added benefit of pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Pirfenidone inhibits the development of inflammation and scarring (fibrosis) in pulmonary tissue and has been approved for the treatment of mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) since the beginning of 2011.

4 Jan 2012

McConnell names conferees for tax-cut, doc fix negotiations

Late last month, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., named his picks to negotiate for a year-long extension of the payroll tax holiday and Medicare doc fix.

4 Jan 2012