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U.N. officials to testify on Capitol Hill as lawmakers propose cutting U.S. funding for U.N.

High-level U.N. officials are scheduled to testify this week on Capitol Hill, "where they will argue against initiatives to pare back U.S. funding and shake up the way the United Nations does business," CQ reports.

7 Apr 2011

New USPSTF mammography recommendations confuse women

When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention, released its recommendations on mammography screenings for US women on November 16, 2009, there was immediate and considerable controversy.

7 Apr 2011

Reaction to GOP budget proposal swift, includes concern, support and political intrigue

After the budget proposal's release, reaction came from across the political and health industry spectrum. For instance, providers expressed concerns about reshaping Medicare and Medicaid. Possible GOP presidential hopefuls offered support, yet were viewed by some as "walking a tight rope."

7 Apr 2011

MDGs still in reach, but 2015 deadline will be missed, Bill Gates says

The U.N. Millennium Development Goals can still be attained if developed nations meet their aid pledges, but the 2015 deadline likely will be missed, Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said in remarks to the European Parliament's development committee in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday, EUobserver reports. Gates is traveling in Europe this week.

7 Apr 2011

Study highlights transitional care importance in health reform

A new study, conducted by Ellen Kurtzman, R.N., M.P.H., FAAN, assistant research professor in the GW School of Nursing, and colleagues, published in the April 2011 issue of Health Affairs, highlights the importance of transitional care in reaching the goals of health reform, and provides evidence-based strategies to guide its implementation.

7 Apr 2011

Short-term govt. spending measure still in question; Shutdown looms

Even as Republicans unveiled their 2012 budget plan, negotiations continued and stalled on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers attempt to reach an agreement on current-year spending to avert a government shutdown on Friday.

7 Apr 2011

Optometrists congratulate Ontario government for progressive health policy

Ontarians will enjoy better access to eye health care now that optometrists can prescribe medications for sight-threatening conditions like eye infections and glaucoma.

7 Apr 2011

World Health Day 2011 highlights problem of antimicrobial resistance

On the eve of World Health Day 2011, Inter Press Service examines the growing global challenge of antibimicrobial resistance.

7 Apr 2011

Empire implements AGA, ACG guidelines for evaluation and management of dyspepsia and PUD

Empire BlueCross BlueShield today announced an initiative to inform and educate physicians and consumers about important findings from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) related to a little known but common infection that is a precursor to serious stomach ailments.

7 Apr 2011

With 2012 budget plan, Republicans hope to transform government's role

The budget blueprint would begin to shift the federal government into a dramatically smaller entity, diminishing its role in health care and other areas.

7 Apr 2011

Roundup: Minn. insurers to return profits above 1% from state plans; Fla. Medicaid managed care costs questioned

In part of the continuing change to Minnesota's business with health insurance plans, the state announced Tuesday that four major health plans agreed to a 1 percent cap on their profits on state business. The one-cap means that the plans -- BlueCross BlueShield, HealthPartners, Medica, and UCare -- will return any profit above 1 percent to the state next April.

7 Apr 2011

Loyola's graduate nursing program earns recognition from U.S. News

U.S. News & World Report has ranked Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing's graduate program in the top 50 nationwide.

7 Apr 2011

GOP budget blueprint would increase future Medicare costs for seniors

The budget document unveiled yesterday by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R- Wis., includes sweeping changes to the Medicare program. For instance, the plan would mean that, for people younger than 55, Medicare would be transformed into a "premium-support" program. It would also raise Medicare's eligibility age and leave the program's "doughnut hole" intact.

7 Apr 2011

Positive data from PROCHIEVE vaginal progesterone Phase III study published in peer-reviewed journal

Columbia Laboratories, Inc., and Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced the publication of Phase III PROCHIEVE® (progesterone gel) data in today's online version of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, the leading peer-reviewed journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

7 Apr 2011

Without individual mandate, does health law unravel?

Of all the complaints that have been made about the new federal health care law, the angriest have been against the law's "individual mandate," which requires everyone who can afford health insurance to purchase it or pay a fine.

7 Apr 2011

Viewpoints: Major news organizations on Ryan plan: Solution or 'hypocrisy'?

Give House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan credit for finally putting Republicans' money where their mouths have been for years: His 2012 budget proposal, released Tuesday, would actually begin to produce the smaller government Republicans have always said they wanted, even as they were ramping up federal spending, creating a prescription drug benefit without paying for it, campaigning against efforts to curb Medicare, and turning budget surpluses into titanic deficits.

7 Apr 2011

Senate approves measure to repeal health law's 1099 reporting provision

The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to repeal the health care law's 1099 tax-reporting provision, ending nearly a year's worth of efforts to do away with one of its most unpopular requirements. The repeal measure, which passed the House last month, now goes to President Obama for his signature.

7 Apr 2011

Progesterone gel can reduce preterm birth in women with short cervix

A groundbreaking clinical study of a new method for preventing premature birth in millions of women each year, published in the medical journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, shows that the rate of early preterm delivery in women can be reduced by 45 percent - simply by treating pregnant women at risk with a low-cost gel of natural progesterone during the midtrimester of pregnancy until term.

7 Apr 2011

Opinions: Doctor shortages; harm reduction

In his column in the Guardian, Jonathan Wolff, a professor of philosophy at University College London, says despite the U.S. being viewed as having the best system of higher education in the world, the country "simply does not train enough doctors to meet its voracious appetite for medical attention" and therefore "is compelled to raid the world to make up the difference."

7 Apr 2011

AstraZeneca receives FDA approval for vandetanib to treat medullary thyroid cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved vandetanib to treat adult patients with late-stage (metastatic) medullary thyroid cancer who are ineligible for surgery and who have disease that is growing or causing symptoms.

7 Apr 2011