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TIME examines efforts to combat malaria resistance along Thai-Cambodia border

TIME reports on evidence along the Thai-Cambodia border that the malaria parasite is gaining resistance to artemisinin - "the only remaining effective drug in the world's arsenal against malaria's most deadly strain."

16 Nov 2009

Feds overlooked Medicare scam warnings, The AP reports

The Associated Press reports that the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services "received roughly 30 warnings from inspectors (on suspected Medicare fraud) over three years during the Bush and Obama administrations but didn't respond to half of them, even after repeated letters." The news story was based on records received from Sen. Chuck Grassley's office.

16 Nov 2009

Recent releases in Global Health

As a follow-up to a survey conducted in May 2009, this poll examines Americans' attitudes toward U.S. global health investments and priorities.

16 Nov 2009

Maternal mortality, abortion rates decline in former Soviet bloc

Over the last decade, the maternal mortality rate has dropped by 50 percent in some former Soviet bloc and Balkan countries, according to a U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) report released Thursday, Agence France-Presse/France24 reports.

16 Nov 2009

WHO revises clinical H1N1 guidelines, sends antivirals to some hard-hit nations

On Thursday, the WHO issued revised guidance for the clinical management of H1N1 (swine) flu, the Associated Press reports. According to the AP, the WHO "says doctors shouldn't wait for lab confirmation before giving anti-viral drugs to pregnant women and other at-risk groups with suspected swine flu" (11/12).

16 Nov 2009

CMS report on House health bill: Many more insured means more, not less, spending

The Associated Press: "Overall spending on health care would rise as a result of legislation approved a week ago by the House, and billions of dollars in projected savings contained in the measure will be difficult to maintain, according to a report by a top official at the agency that oversees Medicare.

16 Nov 2009

Investing in disease prevention receives majority support among Americans

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a new public opinion survey today that finds that 71 percent of Americans favor an increased investment in disease prevention and that disease prevention is one of the most popular components of health reform. Forty-four percent of Americans strongly favor investing more in prevention.

16 Nov 2009

CCH issues a special Briefing on employer and Medicaid-related provisions

CCH has issued a special Briefing on the employer and Medicare- and Medicaid-related provisions in the House version of health care reform, detailing provisions of the legislation approved on November 7.

16 Nov 2009

Health reform: Senate prepares for CBO estimate; GOP on attack

News outlets covering the health reform debate noted that Republicans are continuing their arguments against Democratic legislation and outlined what might happen in the coming week in the Senate.

16 Nov 2009

Merck to market and develop cardiovascular medicines for a range of cardiovascular disorders

Following the completion of its merger with Schering-Plough, Merck today confirms and underscores its commitment to marketing and developing cardiovascular medicines for a range of cardiovascular disorders.

16 Nov 2009

AtHoc IWSAlerts third-generation mass emergency alerting system to be deployed

AtHoc, Inc., the pioneer and leader in network-centric emergency notification systems, today announced the Lyster Army Health Clinic will deploy the AtHoc IWSAlerts™ third-generation mass emergency alerting system to help protect staff and patients.

16 Nov 2009

New York Times examines impact of small, direct grants to boost development in Afghan village

The New York Times examines the use of small, direct grants to improve health and development in Afghanistan. The article focuses on efforts in "Jurm, a valley in the windswept mountainous province of Badakhshan, in the northeast," where small amounts of money - "often less than $100,000" - were given directly to villagers.

16 Nov 2009

Global Fund approves $2.4B for ninth round grants

During its recent board meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria approved $2.4 billion for the three diseases, PlusNews reports.

16 Nov 2009

Democrats finding little common ground on abortion language in health legislation

Reaction to the amendment restricting abortion in the House health reform bill, passed more than a week ago, continued to reverberate through news outlets today.

16 Nov 2009

Tianyin Pharmaceutical reports 40.2% increase in revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2010

Tianyin Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of modernized traditional Chinese medicine ("TCM") based in Chengdu, China, today announced fiscal results for its first quarter ended September 30, 2009.

13 Nov 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

Unless you find more realistic ways of paying for the promises included in the bill, you are simply setting up the public for more frustration -- and yourselves for a political backlash (David Broder, 11/13).

13 Nov 2009

Rural thoughts on improving the health care system; plus other state news

Kaiser Health News examines rural health care in Kentucky and finds that models for community health care that operate there could benefit the nation's health care system despite. The article notes that Hazard, Ky., was labeled as one of the worst health care regions in America by the 2008 American Human Development Report, but "there are enduring models in places like Hazard that could prove instructive to rebuilding healthy communities across the nation, both rural and urban."

13 Nov 2009

Insurer recruits employees to oppose health bills, angers consumer group

"In an aggressive new effort to influence the congressional health care debate, UnitedHealth Group this week e-mailed its 75,000 U.S. employees, urging them to contact their senators and providing two form letters attacking specific legislative proposals," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

13 Nov 2009

Health reform: Senate facing controversies on coverage numbers, abortion language

The Wall Street Journal: "When the Senate unveils its health-care bill, all eyes will be on the price tag. But an equally significant number may be how many people get health insurance under the legislation."

13 Nov 2009

Health policy research round up - Medicare and Massachusetts

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Secrets of Massachusetts' Success - "By the summer of 2008, less than two years after Massachusetts' health reform law became effective, only 2.6 percent of state residents were uninsured—the lowest proportion ever recorded for any state." This study by the RWJF-funded State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE) initiative "explains how national reforms can use similar methods to avoid the pitfalls that have plagued other coverage expansions."

13 Nov 2009