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Capsules: IOM recommends free birth control for all

Today on the Capsules blog, Jenny Gold writes: American women ought to be able to get their birth control for free, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

20 Jul 2011

IAS conference opens with push for treatment as prevention

The 6th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention taking place in Rome this week "started optimistically as the hype surrounding the use of antiretroviral treatment to prevent HIV infection gained momentum. But the focus of much discussion … will undoubtedly be on how to transform the recent promising research findings into workable policy," PlusNews reports.

20 Jul 2011

New report: Global cardiac catheters market to reach US$2.1B by 2015

The global cardiac catheters market is forecast to reach US$2.1 billion by 2015 at a CAGR of 12.9% during the analysis period 2009-2015, according to a new report available on companiesandmarkets.com.

20 Jul 2011

Debt-ceiling activity moves on multiple tracks

The House GOP's "cut, cap and balance" plan, which will likely come up for a vote this week, could lead to deep cuts in Medicare and other federal safety net programs.

20 Jul 2011

Curiosity emerges regarding federal fallback for health exchanges

Will there really be a strong federal health insurance exchange to take over for states that don't build their own? Or is it a paper tiger? That question is nagging at some policy experts following last week's release of the proposed federal rules on the new state health insurance marketplaces, which are supposed to be set up in every state by 2014 under President Barack Obama's health reform law.

20 Jul 2011

Groups up ante in effort to end racial and ethnic disparities

Five prominent health care organizations upped the stakes in the fight to end disparities in care for racial and ethnic minorities, issuing a three-pronged "national call for action" to address the problem.

20 Jul 2011

Gang of Six plan to cut deficit by $3.7T includes doc fix, gets boost from Obama

President Barack Obama praised the bipartisan plan, which includes $500 billion in immediate deficit cuts as well as larger, longer-term entitlement reforms.

20 Jul 2011

Registration now open for Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2011

Registration is now open for TCT 2011(Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics), the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, which will return to San Francisco, California, November 7-11, 2011.

20 Jul 2011

AP: Boomers are more obese than other generations

Cancer and memory loss are baby boomers' biggest health fears. Given their weight, maybe heart disease and diabetes should be. Boomers are more obese than other generations, a new poll finds, setting them up for unhealthy senior years.

20 Jul 2011

U.S. News recognizes U of U as No. 1 health care system in Salt Lake City metro area

University of Utah Health Care is the No. 1 health care system in the Salt Lake City metro area, according U.S. News & World Report's 2011-2012 Best Hospitals rankings.

20 Jul 2011

Efforts underway to fix health law glitch

Two separate bills have been introduced to address this health law issue, which inadvertently would make 3 million middle-income early retirees eligible for Medicaid because Social Security benefits would not be factored into their income. The fix could save $13 billion. However, it's not clear if either measure will move forward.

20 Jul 2011

Medicare bundled-payments rules expected before 2013 deadline

Regulators will accelerate release of rules implementing bundled payments under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a senior official at the CMS.

20 Jul 2011

IOM to issue report on preventive health care services for women

Is there nothing in last year's Affordable Care Act that people won't fight over? The latest battle is set to come to a head Wednesday, when the independent Institute of Medicine is expected to make recommendations about preventive health care services for women.

20 Jul 2011

Women with breastfeeding difficulties may experience postpartum depression

Women who have breastfeeding difficulties in the first two weeks after giving birth are more likely to suffer postpartum depression two months later compared to women without such difficulties.

20 Jul 2011

PCPCC coalition to trace progress of medical home at Oct. 21, 2011 Summit

Five short years ago, the patient centered medical home was a little-known model with the promise to improve patient outcomes and transform health care delivery. In October, the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative will trace the progress of the medical home in the context if its own five-year history of stakeholder collaboration focused on continued advancement of what is now the rapidly expanding medical home concept.

20 Jul 2011

USAID announces saving lives at birth challenge finalists

USAID on Friday announced 77 finalists in the Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development who will compete in a final review process at the DevelopmentXChange in Washington, DC, at the end of July, according to a USAID press release (7/15).

20 Jul 2011

FDA seeks input on proposed oversight approach for mobile medical apps

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it is seeking input on its proposed oversight approach for certain mobile applications specific to medicine or health care called mobile medical applications that are designed for use on smartphones and other mobile computing devices.

20 Jul 2011

Regular physical activity may reduce rates of cognitive impairment in older adults

Engaging in regular physical activity is associated with less decline in cognitive function in older adults, according to two studies published Online First by Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

20 Jul 2011

Papua New Guinea government stepping down as Global Fund grant principal recipient

Following an audit last year by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that found Papua New Guinea's National Department of Health (NDOH) "had not complied with grant guidelines and some $7 million had been misdirected," the government is stepping down as the principal recipient (PR) of Global Fund grants in order to "improve its response," IRIN reports.

20 Jul 2011

GAVI begins rotavirus immunization campaign

KPLU's "Humanosphere" blog describes the rollout on Monday of a rotavirus immunization campaign sponsored by the GAVI Alliance "that aims to reach millions of vulnerable children in 40 low- or middle-income countries."

20 Jul 2011