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Product Development Partnerships 'essential' in fight against global diseases

"If the momentum gained in the last few years" in fighting global diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis (TB), malaria, measles, and meningitis "is any indicator of our future trajectory, we are standing on the threshold of a revolutionary change in the state of global health," Wendy Taylor, senior adviser of Innovative Finance and Public Private Partnerships at USAID, and David Cook, executive vice president and COO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI),

3 Dec 2011

Nations at Busan Forum sign non-binding declaration to form worldwide aid partnership

Representatives of organizations and governments from 160 countries "agreed on Thursday to form a worldwide partnership to ensure tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid goes to help the neediest," Agence France-Presse reports.

3 Dec 2011

Senate Republicans reject payroll tax extension measures

Proposals to extend payroll tax relief, as well as take steps to prevent a scheduled 30 percent reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements from taking effect in January, are high on the congressional to-do list. A House vote on a doc-fix patch could take place as soon as next week.

3 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Is Berwick a scapegoat?; Rep. Smith on Kagan; Daschle on health IT

Don Berwick, the prominent pediatrician and Harvard School of Public Health professor who headed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has officially stepped down, another victim of Washington's hyper-partisan politics.

3 Dec 2011

Government leaders make statements in recognition of World AIDS Day

A number of government leaders made statements on Thursday in recognition of World AIDS Day. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a press statement said, "We have come a long way in the fight against AIDS, but there is still a long road ahead to realize our ambitious goals.

3 Dec 2011

End to AIDS in reach, U.N. officials say on World AIDS Day

"As the world heads into the fourth decade of AIDS, it is finally in a position to end the epidemic, [U.N.] Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said [Thursday], leading a chorus of United Nations officials in calling for the political will, investments and determination to reach this goal," the U.N. News Centre reports. "'Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS -- once and for all,' Mr. Ban said in his message for World AIDS Day," the news service writes.

3 Dec 2011

Research roundup: Recession's big impact on men's insurance coverage

Researchers examined three sets of surveillance data and found that of the estimated 1.2 million persons in the United States living with the human immunodeficiency virus, 942,000 persons were aware of their infection. More than three-quarters of those were "linked to care" and among HIV-infected adults in care, "45 percent received prevention counseling, and 89 percent were prescribed antiretroviral therapy."

3 Dec 2011

On World AIDS Day, Obama announces plan to redirect $50 million to fight AIDS

President Barack Obama told advocates, patients and other stakeholders that his administration will do more to get antiretroviral drugs to people infected with HIV - in the United States and in low-income countries around the world.

3 Dec 2011

GOP develops strategies to focus on health law in upcoming election season

The 2012 election year will see a sustained Republican push to repeal the health care reform law in bits and pieces, members of both parties say. The new House majority's first major legislative effort back in January was a highly publicized party-line vote to repeal the whole law, a bill that, predictably, foundered in the Senate.

3 Dec 2011

Latin American, Caribbean national rotavirus immunization campaigns show success, CDC report says

"Fourteen of the 32 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean make the rotavirus vaccine available for all infants via national programs," according to a report published Friday in the CDC's "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report," United Press International reports.

3 Dec 2011

American Plasma Users Coalition awarded $40,000 advocacy grant from CSL Behring

CSL Behring announced today that it has awarded a $40,000 advocacy grant to the American Plasma Users Coalition (A-PLUS) through its Local Empowerment for Advocacy Development (LEAD) program. LEAD grants support the grassroots advocacy efforts of organizations that help people who use plasma-derived or recombinant therapies to manage rare and serious medical disorders.

3 Dec 2011

IOM essential benefits recommendations draw criticism

A letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from more than 2,400 health care providers and advocates offered objections to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations regarding what benefits must be covered in state health insurance marketplaces. Additionally, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, offered a warning regarding an Internal Revenue Service proposal on premium assistance in the health law's insurance exchanges.

3 Dec 2011

Political leaders, celebrities come together for World AIDS Day event

"A star-studded array of political and religious leaders -- from President Obama to rock legend Bono to AIDS activist Kay Warren -- came together Thursday for World AIDS Day to call for an entirely AIDS-free generation by 2015," the Washington Post reports.

3 Dec 2011

Medicaid A factor in Minnesota budget surplus

The state's unexpected $876 million surplus is partly due to lower-than-expected Medicaid enrollment.

3 Dec 2011

GAO report: Medicare Advantage enrollment still rising

Democrats applauded the report's findings that enrollment in Medicare's private plans continues to grow at a brisk pace.

3 Dec 2011

Foster children on Medicaid are overly medicated, says report

A study of five states found that foster children are more likely than other kids to be given mind-altering drugs, including antipsychotics and antidepressants.

3 Dec 2011

Genitourinary injuries now on list of payable losses under TSGLI program

Servicemembers who suffer severe injuries to the genitourinary organs will now be eligible for Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection, or TSGLI.

3 Dec 2011

Obama announces new U.S. commitments to end AIDS domestically, globally

Speaking at the ONE campaign and (RED)'s "Beginning of the End of AIDS" event at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., to mark World AIDS Day on Thursday, "President Obama ... announced a deepened U.S. commitment to fighting the pandemic, declaring 'make no mistake, we are going to win this fight,'" ABC News reports (Bruce, 12/1).

3 Dec 2011

Court OKs payment for bone marrow donation

A federal appeals court called bone marrow donation blood parts, not organ parts. The new reading of the federal prohibition could attract thousands more donors.

3 Dec 2011

Opinion pieces, editorial recognize World AIDS Day

Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal and Ashley Grosso, Huffington Post's "Impact": Blumenthal, senior policy and medical adviser at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and Grosso, an Allan Rosenfield fellow at amfAR, outline steps they feel necessary to reach the goal of an AIDS-free generation.

3 Dec 2011