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Sen. Baucus says health care overhaul will cover about 95% of citizens, will not cover undocumented immigrants

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Thursday said that Congress' health care overhaul plan would cover 94% to 96% of the population but not undocumented immigrants, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 5/21).

22 May 2009

Vaginal ring could protect against HIV

A researcher with Weill Cornell Medical College has developed a vaginal ring that releases microbicides and could prevent HIV and unplanned pregnancies, ANI/Times of India reports.

22 May 2009

London Health Service begins offering rapid HIV tests

Barts and the London NHS Trust has become the first National Health Service provider in the United Kingdom to offer rapid, oral HIV tests, BBC News reports.

22 May 2009

Majority of HIV-positive pregnant women in developing world lack access to PMTCT services, report says

Two-thirds of HIV-positive pregnant women in the developing world do not have access to treatment to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, which could lead to 370,000 new HIV cases annually among infants, according to a study released Thursday by the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Bloomberg reports (Chase, Bloomberg, 5/21).

22 May 2009

FDA approves Samsca (tolvaptan) to treat hyponatremia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Samsca tablets (tolvaptan) to treat hyponatremia, an abnormally low concentration of sodium in the blood.

22 May 2009

62nd World Health Assembly closes with resolutions on public health

The 62nd World Health Assembly, which brought together health ministers and senior health officials from WHO's Member States, closed today with the adoption of resolutions on a variety of global health issues including primary health care, the prevention and control of multidrug- resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, public health, innovation and intellectual property and pandemic influenza preparedness. The Health Assembly also passed the Programme Budget for 2010 -2011.

22 May 2009

AIDS treatment activists push UNAIDS and WHO to meet commitments to reduce HIV in women and newborns

In a dramatic meeting today at the UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, members of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) and AIDS-Free World met with the leaders and approximately 100 staff members of UNAIDS and WHO to present ITPC's latest Missing the Target report, Failing Women, Failing Children: HIV, Vertical Transmission and Women's Health, which identifies the failure of the international community in preventing vertical transmission (also known as prevention of mother-to-child transmission or PMTCT).

22 May 2009

Comparison key to lower drug costs, better outcomes

Patients can expect significant savings and better outcomes from their prescription medications when health care professionals use comparative effectiveness research, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

22 May 2009

Genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer risk may be greatly underutilized

Although a test for gene mutations known to significantly increase the risk of hereditary breast or ovarian cancer has been available for more than a decade, a new study finds that few women with family histories of these cancers are even discussing genetic testing with their physicians or other health care providers.

22 May 2009

Yolo County, Calif., approves proposal to cut funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

Yolo County, Calif., Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a proposal to cut county funding for health care services for undocumented immigrants in an effort to save the county more than $1 million, the Sacramento Bee reports (Sangree, Sacramento Bee, 5/20).

22 May 2009

Number of black organ donors increases in Michigan, many blacks still reluctant to donate organs

Although the number of blacks who are registered as organ donors in Michigan has increased in the last 15 years, many are still reluctant to be organ donors, the Detroit News reports.

22 May 2009

Iowa Gov. signs bill that extends health insurance coverage to more children

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver (D) on Tuesday signed into law a health care bill (SF 389) that among other provisions increases income eligibility for Hawk-I, the state's CHIP program, from 250% to 300% of the federal poverty level, the Des Moines Register reports.

22 May 2009

Health information technology lobby group rallies support for certification group; critics question group's ties

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has asked HHS to give the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology authorization to determine which electronic health records systems can receive funding from the economic stimulus package, the Washington Post reports. In a letter dated April 27 to HHS officials, HIMSS officials wrote, "To ensure continuity, recognize CCHIT as the certifying body" of EHRs.

22 May 2009

Wall Street Journal examines patients' confusion over coverage of preventive exams

As employers increasingly offer no-cost preventive care as a means of controlling health costs, some people under such plans are being charged for services not deemed preventive by the insurer, the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 May 2009

Department of Justice, HHS boosts number of investigators, prosecutors looking at Medicare, Medicaid fraud

HHS and the Department of Justice on Wednesday launched the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team to detect and prevent fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, the Washington Post reports (Johnson, Washington Post, 5/21).

22 May 2009

Senate HELP committee approves bill that would allow FDA to regulate tobacco

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday voted 15-8 to approve a bill (S 982) giving FDA authority to regulate tobacco products, the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 May 2009

Senate Finance Committee discusses funding for health reform in final 'walk through' meeting

The Senate Finance Committee met Wednesday to discuss potential funding mechanisms for health reform legislation but indicated that no concrete decisions had been reached, The Hill reports.

22 May 2009

Republicans introduce health reform plan that would provide tax credits to purchase health coverage, establish state insurance exchanges

Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Reps. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday introduced the Patients' Choice Act (S 1099, HR 2520), a counter proposal to Democratic health care reform plans that would create state-based health insurance exchanges and provide U.S. residents tax credits to subsidize coverage premiums, Roll Call reports (Drucker [1], Roll Call, 5/20).

22 May 2009

Chemical found in green tea shows promise as low-cost intervention against sexual HIV transmission,

A chemical found in green tea might be an effective tool against the sexual transmission of HIV, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, AFP/Google.com reports.

22 May 2009

Elton John calls for increased HIV/AIDS education, care

Singer Elton John on Tuesday at the 2009 Bio International Convention in Atlanta called for renewed efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

22 May 2009

Health Care News and Research

Sen. Baucus says health care overhaul will cover about 95% of citizens, will not cover undocumented immigrants

Vaginal ring could protect against HIV

London Health Service begins offering rapid HIV tests

Majority of HIV-positive pregnant women in developing world lack access to PMTCT services, report says

FDA approves Samsca (tolvaptan) to treat hyponatremia

62nd World Health Assembly closes with resolutions on public health

AIDS treatment activists push UNAIDS and WHO to meet commitments to reduce HIV in women and newborns

Comparison key to lower drug costs, better outcomes

Genetic testing for breast or ovarian cancer risk may be greatly underutilized

Yolo County, Calif., approves proposal to cut funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

Number of black organ donors increases in Michigan, many blacks still reluctant to donate organs

Iowa Gov. signs bill that extends health insurance coverage to more children

Health information technology lobby group rallies support for certification group; critics question group's ties

Wall Street Journal examines patients' confusion over coverage of preventive exams

Department of Justice, HHS boosts number of investigators, prosecutors looking at Medicare, Medicaid fraud

Senate HELP committee approves bill that would allow FDA to regulate tobacco

Senate Finance Committee discusses funding for health reform in final 'walk through' meeting

Republicans introduce health reform plan that would provide tax credits to purchase health coverage, establish state insurance exchanges

Chemical found in green tea shows promise as low-cost intervention against sexual HIV transmission,

Elton John calls for increased HIV/AIDS education, care

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