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USA Today: Health law provision triggered $1.5 billion in prescription drug savings for beneficiaries

USA Today notes that the government is expected to announce today that the health law's Medicare doughnut hole provision triggered this savings. In other Medicare news, the federal government announced Monday that Medicare will allow its claims database to be used by employers, insurance companies and consumer groups.

7 Dec 2011

Integration of family planning, HIV programs 'makes sense'

In this Knowledge for Health (K4Health) blog post, Elsie Mwaniki, a communication specialist at K4Health, reflects on the integration of family planning and HIV services, writing, "Many HIV-positive women have an unmet need for family planning (FP) services," so providing these services together (FP/HIV integration) "makes sense."

7 Dec 2011

UNAIDS, PEPFAR announce 5-year action framework to scale up voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention

UNAIDS and PEPFAR on Monday at the 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in Africa (ICASA) "launched a five-year action framework to accelerate the scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) for HIV prevention," according to a UNAIDS press release.

7 Dec 2011

Fatty livers burn more fat, not less

When our livers become loaded with fat, it isn't because they are slacking. A new study of human patients in the December Cell Metabolism shows that fatty livers actually burn more fat, not less. All that "hard work" may be at the root of the organ damage that comes with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition associated with insulin resistance that affects about one in three in the U.S. population.

6 Dec 2011

Special 'ribbon cutting' event of new Rush University Medical Center on Dec. 8, 2011

Leading Chicago area government officials and other dignitaries will join Rush University Medical Center trustees, leadership, doctors and nurses on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. for a special "ribbon cutting" event, signifying the completion of the new hospital building at Ashland Avenue and the Eisenhower Expressway. Attendees will also receive a tour of key components of the new hospital.

6 Dec 2011

Roundup: Ariz. examines complaints of prisoners' medical health care; Calif. settles suit on kids' mental health services

To stave off a lawsuit, Arizona's Department of Corrections has agreed to investigate scores of complaints by inmates that they are routinely denied medical care for weeks or months even for severe, life-threatening conditions. Inmates who have lost sight, had body parts amputated or been severely disfigured, among other gruesome examples, say proper medical care could have prevented needless suffering.

6 Dec 2011

Communication break down in warning parents about their overweight children

A new analysis of national survey data finds that less than one-quarter of parents of overweight children recall ever being told by a doctor or other health care provider that their children were overweight.

6 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 6, 2011

In today's headlines, a story detailing how the health law is helping Medicare beneficiaries save money on their prescription drug costs.

6 Dec 2011

AHRQ-funded study to monitor rural patients following hospital discharge

Medical errors during hospital stays make headlines, but far more common are problems that occur after patients — especially older ones — go home. Little research has focused on the critical weeks after discharge, and none has focused on rural patients — until now.

6 Dec 2011

Breast cancer patients might experience prolonged fatigue years after chemotherapy

In a follow-up study, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have found that patients who receive chemotherapy for breast cancer might experience prolonged fatigue years after their therapy.

6 Dec 2011

S. Korea resumes aid through UNICEF to N. Korea

"South Korea said on Monday that it would send 6.5 billion won, or $5.7 million, in aid to North Korea through UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency," the New York Times reports.

6 Dec 2011

Incorporate other diseases into fight against AIDS

"The public and private sectors have achieved remarkable success in Africa in the battle against AIDS, and the question now is: Where do we go from here?" James Glassman, founding executive director of the George W. Bush Institute and former under secretary of state for public affairs and public diplomacy, writes in this Forbes opinion piece.

6 Dec 2011

How health policy is playing on the campaign trail

Today's news from various sections of the campaign trail include reports about whether President Barack Obama's gamble on health care will pay off, details of GOP presidential candidates' plans to hold down health care costs, and some of the policy particulars being advanced by Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

6 Dec 2011

Mental health system problems emerge in Calif.

The U.S. Department of Justice says Napa State Hospital and Norwalk's Metropolitan State Hospital have failed to comply with critical provisions of a sweeping consent judgment imposed in 2006. ... In a filing late Friday night, federal officials detailed key failings: ... preventable suicides, nursing errors leading to unnecessary suffering, improper use of some restraints and a failure to adequately analyze and prevent violence.

6 Dec 2011

Bush launches Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon project in Zambia

"Zambian President Michael Sata on Friday told former U.S. president George W. Bush that the West should help fight the scourge of maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa," Agence France-Presse reports, adding, "Bush is in Zambia on the second stop of a three-nation trip aimed at promoting efforts to fight diseases like cancer, AIDS and malaria."

6 Dec 2011

Fully funding global health initiatives critical in AIDS fight

"With donor support flagging around the world, U.S. leadership is crucial. Congress must fully fund its global health programs, especially the Global Fund" to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Joyce Kamwana, a Global Fund "HERE I AM" campaign ambassador, writes in The Hill's "Congress Blog."

6 Dec 2011

New wrinkle emerging for legal challenge to health overhaul

The woman chosen to represent the legal challenge to the Obama administration's health care overhaul filed for bankruptcy in September after her business failed, a move that could pose problems for the high-profile lawsuit. … The suit, brought by 26 states and joined by the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business lobby group, is set to be heard by the Supreme Court next year.

6 Dec 2011

WHO issues measles warning for Europe

The WHO on Friday issued a measles warning for Europe, where measles outbreaks "have caused nine deaths, including six in France, and 7,288 hospitalizations," BBC News reports.

6 Dec 2011

Reflecting on Bush's global health, foreign policy initiatives in Africa

In this Brookings Institution opinion, Mwangi Kimenyi, director of the Africa Growth Initiative (AGI), and Jessica Smith, a research assistant at AGI, reflect on George W. Bush's four-day tour of Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia, and the efforts he undertook in Africa while in office, writing, "Bush's record tends to be underrated."

6 Dec 2011

Proposed bill in Nigeria would affect gay rights, possibly HIV/AIDS donor funding, AP reports

The Associated Press examines the potential impact on HIV/AIDS funding of a proposed bill in Nigeria that would outlaw gay marriage; assisting a gay couple in marriage; "'public show of same-sex amorous relationships directly or indirectly'"; or "organizing, operating or supporting gay clubs, organizations and meetings."

6 Dec 2011