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Aspirin may reduce risk of bowel cancer by half: Study

According to a new study published in The Lancet, a regular dose of aspirin may not only stave off heart disease but also cut the risk of developing hereditary cancer in half.

31 Oct 2011

PEPFAR and women's health in South Africa

This report, titled "Improving Women's Heath in South Africa: Opportunities for PEPFAR," by Janet Fleischman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says that with "major change ... unfolding in health and HIV services in South Africa," "[t]he United States can find feasible, flexible ways to support" the decentralization of "HIV services to the primary care level ... even though its health program through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is scaling down.

31 Oct 2011

Child mortality declining in refugee camp in Ethiopia

In the clinic of Hilaweyn, one of four camps at Ethiopia's Dollo Ado complex for Somali refugees seeking relief from famine and poor security conditions, "[a] massive infusion of humanitarian resources ... appears to be turning the tide" against child mortality, according to Doctors Without Borders, which operates the clinic, VOA News reports.

31 Oct 2011

Obama to issue order to address medicine shortages

President Obama will issue an executive order on Monday that the administration hopes will help resolve a growing number of critical shortages of vital medicines used to treat life-threatening illnesses.

31 Oct 2011

Insurers look for opportunities for expansion

Big players such as Aetna and Cigna are snapping up smaller companies in an effort to keep earnings figures up.

31 Oct 2011

Medicare costs rise as hospice use increases

The Orlando Sentinel reports that this increase tracks with other increases in costs from for-profit hospice organizations.

31 Oct 2011

Health insurers defend rate increases

In Maine and New Hampshire, insurance companies are challenging state regulation of rates.

31 Oct 2011

Political cartoon: 'Great Pumpkin'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh perspective on health policy developments with "Great Pumpkin" by Lisa Benson.

31 Oct 2011

First Edition: October 31, 2011

In today's headlines, news reports about a key medical group's take on accountable care organizations and how a "merger wave" is hitting the health care sector.

31 Oct 2011

Humana third quarter consolidated revenues increase 11% to $9.30 billion

Humana Inc. today reported diluted earnings per common share (EPS) for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 (3Q11) of $2.67, compared to $2.32 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2010.

31 Oct 2011

NALC's national bowling event to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy Association

Thousands of members of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), an organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO, will head for scores of local bowling centers across the nation on Sunday, Nov. 6.

31 Oct 2011

Study examines link between hormonal forms of contraception and sexual functioning

Today's hormonal forms of birth control are vastly different from those used by earlier generations of women, both with lower levels of hormones and with different means of delivery (not just a pill), but many of the same problems related to women's pleasure remain.

31 Oct 2011

Weighing the cost and benefits of screenings and MRIs

The New York Times offers two stories examining medical advances for determining disease and injuries and whether that has improved health or just increased health costs.

31 Oct 2011

Federal officials approve Calif. cuts in Medicaid

Gov. Jerry Brown sought the waiver from the Obama administration to reduce reimbursements to doctors, pharmacies, nursing homes and other providers by 10 percent.

29 Oct 2011

USAID celebrates 50 years of partnership with Kenya

This post in USAID's "IMPACTblog" -- the third of a four-part series on USAID's partnership with Kenya -- reports on how "USAID's health and population program ... works with partners in Kenya to bring health workers directly to the communities. These health workers provide information and care through HIV/AIDS and malaria programs, as well as work with community religious leaders to discuss family planning."

29 Oct 2011

NTDs among America's poor populations must be addressed

"The number of Americans living in poverty is at an all-time high, with close to 50 million people living below the poverty line," therefore "we desperately need a national dialogue about the unique afflictions of the bottom 50 million, paying particular attention to their neglected tropical diseases, which represent important stealth reasons trapping them in a vicious cycle of poverty," Peter Hotez, founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, writes in an Austin-American Statesman opinion piece.

29 Oct 2011