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A big day for the multi-state challenge to the health law

Florida already leads a lawsuit challenging the federal health care law, but state officials are going a step further and ignoring the law almost entirely — rejecting millions of federal dollars to provide health care for retirees, seniors, children and people with disabilities.

9 Jun 2011

PEPFAR, UNAIDS to announce new plan for preventing MTCT of HIV

At the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, PEPFAR "will join with UNAIDS and other partners in releasing a new global action plan for the prevention of mother-to-child-transmission of HIV/AIDS. The U.S. will also place additional resources into helping move towards eliminating pediatric HIV," according to a State Department press release.

9 Jun 2011

U.S. FDA announces safety label changes for cholesterol-lowering medication, simvastatin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today is announcing safety label changes for the cholesterol-lowering medication simvastatin because the highest approved dose--80 milligram (mg)--has been associated with an elevated risk of muscle injury or myopathy, particularly during the first 12 months of use.

9 Jun 2011

Media examine HIV/AIDS epidemic as U.N. meeting prepares to convene

This week, political leaders will gather in New York at the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS to "frame the ongoing fight against HIV/AIDS," Nature News reports. The article includes a Q&A with Anthony Fauci, head of the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who "explains what scientists hope the U.N. meeting will achieve".

9 Jun 2011

Blue Shield of California will cap earnings

Health insurer Blue Shield of California, under fire for a series of recent rate hikes and the pay of its chief executive, plans to cut this year's premiums by 2.5% for many of its 3.3 million policyholders as part of a new initiative to hold down costs.

9 Jun 2011

Torrential rains trigger flooding, mudslides, additional cholera cases in Haiti

"At least 20 people have died due to torrential downpours in Haiti, authorities said Tuesday, and aid agencies are scrambling to respond to a resurgence of cholera triggered by the heavy rain," CNN reports.

9 Jun 2011

Massachusetts 'pay for performance' health care program finds no signs of racial, ethnic disparities

Massachusetts' innovative use of "pay-for-performance" bonuses to try to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the case of Medicaid patients has turned up no evidence of the problem at any of the state's 66 acute-care hospitals, according to a new study that raises questions about the effectiveness of the state's novel approach.

9 Jun 2011

Costs, insurance company regulations can make physical therapy a pain

Rebecca Neusteter fell off her bike and shattered her knee. ... She pays $140 out of pocket for each weekly physical therapy session. ... Scott Ward, the president of the American Physical Therapy Association says insurance company regulations and policies essentially force physical therapists to see as many patients as they can. ... Susan Pisano, a spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, says it's a dilemma caused by the rising cost of care in the U.S.

9 Jun 2011

Eight out of 10 countries using mHealth services, WHO report says

Eighty-three percent of countries are using mobile phone technology for health services, according to a WHO study released on Tuesday at the Mobile Health Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, Agence France-Presse reports.

9 Jun 2011

Cancer professionals urge world leaders to attend U.N. meeting on NCDs

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on Monday sent a letter signed by major U.S. medical societies representing about 300,000 health care professionals to the White House urging President Barack Obama to participate in the U.N. High Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases that is scheduled for September, Agence France-Presse reports.

9 Jun 2011

Social, physical and spiritual activities can improve quality of life in older individuals

Small, healthy lifestyle changes and involvement in meaningful activities-going beyond just diet and exercise-are critical to healthy aging, according to a new USC study.

9 Jun 2011

Hospitals want race, ethnic issues factored into readmissions program

HHS should include patient characteristics such as race and limited English proficiency in its risk-adjustment methodology as it implements the hospital readmissions-reduction program outlined in the healthcare reform law, according to a letter Tuesday from American Hospital Association President and CEO Richard Umbdenstock to CMS Administrator Dr. Donald Berwick.

9 Jun 2011

HHS rule for health exchanges takes shape

In a Tuesday conference call on state health exchanges organized by the Commonwealth Fund, HHS Director of Coverage Policy Chiquita Brooks-LaSure dropped many hints of what to expect from the agency's proposed rule on health exchanges, due out sometime this month.

9 Jun 2011

Republican demands, Democrats' strategies emerge in debt-ceiling talks

As negotiators work to identify possible spending cuts, the impasse between the two parties becomes increasingly clear. Democrats oppose any deal that would include cuts to Medicare and other entitlement programs and Republicans oppose any deal that include tax increases.

9 Jun 2011

IPS examines negotiations over intellectual property laws affecting generic AIDS drugs

Inter Press Service examines how "moves by developed nations such as the United States to tighten intellectual property laws are threatening to limit production and distribution of generic drugs, which experts say have been and will remain key in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and currently account for 80 percent of HIV/AIDS treatment."

9 Jun 2011

Rio Tinto Alcan donates $10M to CHUM and MUHC Joint Corporate Campaign

The Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) and the McGill University Health Centre Foundation (MUHC) officially announce a significant gift of 10 million dollars donated by Rio Tinto Alcan to their Joint Corporate Campaign.

9 Jun 2011

Volatile food prices likely to continue, threatening food security in developing world, FAO says

"Drought in some areas and heavy rain in others are keeping world food prices near record levels, threatening the food supply for poorer, food-importing countries," the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its biannual report on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports.

9 Jun 2011

GAVI needs strategic plan for future, CSIS report says

In this report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, released ahead of the GAVI Alliance pledging conference, authors Lisa Carty, J. Stephen Morrison, Margaret Reeves, and Amanda Glassman write, "Its many achievements notwithstanding, GAVI still needs a strategic approach in the coming years if it is to deepen its impact, get the maximum returns from its implementing partners, attract expanded donor support, and leverage greater commitments from recipient partner governments".

9 Jun 2011

U.N. Security Council unanimously adopts resolution on peacekeeping and AIDS

The U.N. Security Council "has unanimously adopted a resolution underlining the need for continued international action to halt the impact of HIV and AIDS in conflict and post-conflict situations," VOA News reports.

9 Jun 2011