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Obama says health reform must be done this year

The opportunity to enact health care reform legislation could be missed unless Congress passes it this year, President Obama on Thursday said to thousands of supporters in a phone call made from Air Force One, the AP/USA Today reports.

31 May 2009

Sen. Kennedy circulates draft of health reform legislation

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating an outline of health care overhaul legislation that includes a requirement that all individuals obtain coverage and requires contributions from employers, the Washington Post reports.

31 May 2009

Thai HIV/AIDS advocates urge increased treatment access for IDUs

The Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group recently called on the country to launch a comprehensive harm reduction program for injection drug users in an effort to help curb the spread of HIV, Thailand's The Nation reports.

31 May 2009

UnitedHealth Group offers 15 recommendations to reduce federal health spending by $540 billion over 10 years

UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform and Modernization on Wednesday suggested 15 steps that could be taken to save $540 billion in federal in health care costs over the next 10 years, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Werner, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 5/27).

28 May 2009

Massachusetts health insurance law has increased access to care, though residents' ability to obtain treatment hampered by provider supply

Since the implementation of the Massachusetts health insurance law in 2006, more residents have health coverage and increased access to care, but rising health care costs combined with the current economic recession could undermine some of the law's successes, according to the third annual "Update on Health Reform in Massachusetts" report by the Urban Institute, the Boston Globe reports.

28 May 2009

Low vitamin D levels in blacks could contribute to higher rates of cancer, other diseases, researcher says

Low vitamin D levels in blacks could contribute to health gaps between white and black U.S. residents, Michael Holick, a professor at Boston University and a vitamin D researcher, said recently, the GNS/Chicago Sun-Times reports.

28 May 2009

Survey examines health outcomes of American Indians in Alabama

American Indians in Alabama have better outcomes than the rest of the state's population in some health indicators but are less healthy in other areas, according to a survey released by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the Montgomery Advertiser reports.

28 May 2009

FDA approves Besivance as a treatment for bacterial conjunctivitis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Besivance (besifloxacin ophthalmic suspension 0.6 percent) for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis (non-viral), a contagious condition marked by irritation of the eyes and a discharge from the mucous membranes.

28 May 2009

Is Australia’s national health reform agenda taking account of social determinants of health?

Never shy of a tough question, on April 28, the Sydney University's Menzies Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) and the Oxford Health Alliance (OxHA) Asia Pacific Centre co hosted a seminar to ask Australia's three imminent major health policy reform commissions if and how they are approaching the core issue of the role of social disadvantage in health and illness.

27 May 2009

1 million California residents travel to Mexico annually for health care, study finds

About one million adults living in California, including 500,000 immigrants, travel to Mexico for health care each year, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Medical Care, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

27 May 2009

California official details proposed health care cuts in Schwarzenegger's budget plan

California Department of Finance Chief Deputy Director Ana Matosantos on Tuesday discussed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plans to address the state budget deficit in part by cutting Medi-Cal spending and eliminating Healthy Families, the Sacramento Bee reports.

27 May 2009

United Auto Workers to accept up to 20% of GM stock; agrees to concessions on retiree health care obligations, labor rules

United Auto Workers leaders on Tuesday agreed to accept up to 20% of General Motors stock, as well as concessions on labor rules and retiree health care obligations, as the automaker faces a June 1 deadline to restructure or seek bankruptcy protection, the Detroit News reports (Aguilar/Shepardson, Detroit News, 5/27).

27 May 2009

Study finds no link between cost, quality of care

Quality of care is not linked to the cost of care, according to a study published last week on the Web site of the journal Health Affairs, CQ HealthBeat reports.

27 May 2009

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

U.S. antitrust laws could affect health care industry groups' efforts to work together to rein in health care costs, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/27).

27 May 2009

Advocates at Kenyan conference explore new strategies to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa

Nearly 30 years after the emergence of HIV/AIDS, the global health community must develop new strategies to curb the spread of the disease in sub-Saharan Africa, some experts said Tuesday ahead of the Global Citizens Summit for Social Mobilization to End AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya, AFP/Google.com reports.

27 May 2009

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives adding legal twist to family health care

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives - nearly unthinkable just a decade ago - are drawing new interest as everyday Americans wrestle with the time and expense of providing long-term health care, a University of Illinois legal expert says.

27 May 2009

Rep. Wolf says entitlement programs could affect U.S. bond rating

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on Friday in a letter to President Obama said that the U.S. could lose its triple-A bond rating if Congress does not act quickly to overhaul U.S. entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and reduce federal debt, the AP/Detroit News reports.

26 May 2009

Lawmakers prepare for health care reform action during Memorial Day recess; advocacy groups promote reform agendas

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been given "talking points" on health care reform to discuss with constituents during the Memorial Day recess as House and Senate committees work to develop comprehensive reform bills by mid-June, Politico reports (Budoff Brown, Politico, 5/26).

26 May 2009

Terminally ill patients and their physicians delay conversations about end-of-life choices, study finds

About half of terminally ill patients do not have discussions with their physicians regarding end-of-life choices, according to a Harvard Medical School study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Boston Globe reports.

26 May 2009

Some small businesses must cut employee health benefits or lay off workers amid global downturn

Small businesses increasingly are eliminating their employee health coverage plans because of rising health care premiums and declining revenue attributed to the current economic recession, the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 May 2009

Health Care News and Research

Obama says health reform must be done this year

Sen. Kennedy circulates draft of health reform legislation

Thai HIV/AIDS advocates urge increased treatment access for IDUs

UnitedHealth Group offers 15 recommendations to reduce federal health spending by $540 billion over 10 years

Massachusetts health insurance law has increased access to care, though residents' ability to obtain treatment hampered by provider supply

Low vitamin D levels in blacks could contribute to higher rates of cancer, other diseases, researcher says

Survey examines health outcomes of American Indians in Alabama

FDA approves Besivance as a treatment for bacterial conjunctivitis

Is Australia’s national health reform agenda taking account of social determinants of health?

1 million California residents travel to Mexico annually for health care, study finds

California official details proposed health care cuts in Schwarzenegger's budget plan

United Auto Workers to accept up to 20% of GM stock; agrees to concessions on retiree health care obligations, labor rules

Study finds no link between cost, quality of care

Pledges to reduce health care costs, spending growth could violate antitrust laws, lawyers say

Advocates at Kenyan conference explore new strategies to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa

Financial contracts to care for sick or aging relatives adding legal twist to family health care

Rep. Wolf says entitlement programs could affect U.S. bond rating

Lawmakers prepare for health care reform action during Memorial Day recess; advocacy groups promote reform agendas

Terminally ill patients and their physicians delay conversations about end-of-life choices, study finds

Some small businesses must cut employee health benefits or lay off workers amid global downturn

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