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Veterans' health care costs are a big part of federal budget

Though the withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan will save the nation billions of dollars a year, another cost of war is projected to continue rising for decades to come: caring for the veterans.

29 Jul 2011

Case studies examine principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings

Today, the Global Health Delivery Project and Harvard Business Publishing released 21 teaching case studies examining the principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings.

29 Jul 2011

Federal judge upholds Obama rule on stem cell research

A U.S. judge Wednesday upheld the government rules that allow federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research that might lead to cures for deadly diseases affecting millions of Americans.

29 Jul 2011

Debt-ceiling pressure increases as deadline approaches

News outlets report that states are getting more nervous and are taking steps to prepare for the loss in federal dollars. Meanwhile, in the background, political maneuvering surrounding Medicare and Medicaid continues.

29 Jul 2011

Kansas Health IT officials get first big test; Utah faces digital incompatibility

The state hospital association has asked the Kansas Information Exchange to probe pricing structures of electronic health record vendors, the Kansas Health Institute News reports.

29 Jul 2011

States struggle with exchange planning; more guidance from feds coming soon

States that didn't create an insurance exchange this year say they're now facing a time crunch that requires them to push the entire process forward at once. Governors in 10 states have signed laws authorizing an exchange — the new insurance marketplaces created by health care reform.

29 Jul 2011

Nation's health care tab continues to grow

The nation's health care tab is on track to hit $4.6 trillion in 2020, accounting for about $1 of every $5 in the economy, government number crunchers estimate in a report out Thursday. How much is that? Including government and private money, health care spending in 2020 will average $13,710 for every man, woman and child, says Medicare's Office of the Actuary.

29 Jul 2011

Time Temp Trac system can aid in successful conservation of stored blood

Human blood is a precious resource. Because stored blood has a very limited shelf life, keeping every available unit of it suitable for medical use is a crucial function at hospitals and other health care facilities - especially during supply shortages such as those currently being experienced in the Triad, other parts of North Carolina and numerous sections of the country.

29 Jul 2011

Health law challenge inches toward Supreme Court

The Supreme Court was asked on Wednesday to hear a challenge to the health care overhaul law, raising the possibility that the justices could rule on the matter by next summer, just months before the presidential election.

29 Jul 2011

U.N. officials reiterate clean drinking water and sanitation are human rights issues

One year after the U.N. General Assembly "adopted a resolution declaring that safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right," top U.N. officials on Wednesday "stressed the need to realize the human right to water and sanitation, stating that it is critical not only to a life of dignity but also to achieving progress in the areas such as poverty reduction, boosting child health and combating diseases," the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Jul 2011

Senate Foreign Relations Committee introduces foreign relations authorization act for FY12-13

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair John Kerry released a bill on Wednesday that would authorize FY12 and FY13 funding for the State Department and foreign operations, as well as key programs and initiatives, Foreign Policy's blog "The Cable" reports.

29 Jul 2011

U.S. foreign policy should promote healthy women

"When women are healthy and empowered, they can spark a ripple effect in their families, communities and nations that can lead to lower rates of poverty and stronger economic growth and productivity," Tamara Kreinin, executive director of women and population at the United Nations Foundation, writes in a "RH Reality Check" blog post.

29 Jul 2011

Researchers receive federal grant to improve diabetes management in minority patients

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy and College of Medicine have received a $3 million federal grant to improve diabetes management in minority patients.

29 Jul 2011

Education can help alleviate 'brain drain' of African health workers

In a post on the New York Time's "On the Ground" blog, Rwanda Works Director Josh Ruxin writes about two Rwandan cousins who are "fighting the international brain-drain trend that is dangerously affecting medicine in the developing world, and have committed themselves to building local medical capacity in their native country" by establishing a university and medical school, called the Kigali Medical.

29 Jul 2011

FDA issues Refusal to File letter for Eisai's perampanel NDA to treat partial-onset seizures

Eisai Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Refusal to File letter in response to the company's New Drug Application (NDA) for perampanel (E2007), an investigational drug, for the treatment of partial-onset seizures associated with epilepsy which was submitted in May 2011.

29 Jul 2011

Stateline: Detailing how a Medicaid 'blended rate' plan would work

House Republicans already have voted to convert Medicaid into a block grant program. ... The Obama administration has issued its alternative — a plan to cut $100 billion from federal Medicaid spending over the next decade.

29 Jul 2011

Longer looks: Expensive cities for health care; mapping Medicaid

It's bewildering for anyone who has ever paid for a health procedure out of pocket when health insurance doesn't cover the full cost: Why does health care cost the way it does, and why do the costs fluctuate depending on where you go and who you see? A colonoscopy, for example, can range from $500 to $3,000 — a large difference depending on how health insurance providers negotiate rates.

29 Jul 2011