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U.S. citizens cutting back on health care

U.S. spending on health care services is "under pressure" as Americans are "cutting back on health care," an area of the economy "once thought to be invulnerable to recession," the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 Sep 2008

Raleigh News & Observer profiles UNC researcher who investigates social factors behind higher HIV/AIDS rates for blacks

The Raleigh News & Observer on Sunday profiled University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill medical researcher Adaora Adimora, who has investigated why HIV/AIDS seems to affect blacks more than members of other races and ethnicities (Niolet, Raleigh News & Observer, 9/21).

22 Sep 2008

Cost of uncompensated care for undocumented immigrants difficult to calculate, experts say

Pinpointing the exact cost of providing hospital care to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. is challenging for several reasons, according to government officials and health care experts, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

22 Sep 2008

Medicare Part B premiums in 2009 will not increase for most beneficiaries

CMS on Friday announced that monthly outpatient care premiums for about 95% of Medicare recipients will remain at $96.40 in 2009, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/20).

22 Sep 2008

Supply shortages, poverty interrupt antiretroviral treatments in Swaziland

Health facilities in Swaziland are experiencing shortages in antiretroviral drugs and other medications despite insistence from the country's health department that the shortage has been resolved, IRIN/PlusNews reports.

22 Sep 2008

World Food Programme to phase out aid in Uganda, including HIV/AIDS support

The United Nations World Food Programme will phase out food aid and HIV/AIDS support to Uganda, a United Nations official said on Thursday, Xinhua/ChinaView.cn.com reports. The plan could affect more than 1.5 million people.

22 Sep 2008

India to treat all MDR-TB cases by 2010, WHO official says

India is expanding tuberculosis diagnostic and prevention activities and plans to treat all cases of multi-drug resistant TB nationwide by 2010, the Seoul Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Tuberculosis researchers discuss challenges, next steps for addressing XDR-TB, MDR-TB in Africa at TB symposium

As many as 30% of people with drug-resistant tuberculosis can be successfully treated with first-line drugs, Paul van Helden of the University of Stellenbosch's Center of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research said recently while presenting research on drug-resistant TB at a TB symposium in Maputo, Mozambique, Africa Science News Service reports.

22 Sep 2008

Pharmacy benefits managers promote low-cost generics, adherence to drug plans

Pharmacy benefits managers have begun offering tools to help consumers find low-cost generic drugs, adhere to drug regimens and increase consumer choice, all of which can help increase profit margins, the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 Sep 2008

California Bill would require insurers to pay for HIV tests if signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger

Health care insurers will be required to cover routine HIV tests if a bill (AB 1894) passed by the California Legislature in August is signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), the San Fernando Valley Business Journal reports.

22 Sep 2008

Pennsylvania, New Jersey release hospital quality performance reports

Death rates from heart bypass and valve surgeries performed at Pennsylvania hospitals have declined significantly in recent years, according to a Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council report released on Thursday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

22 Sep 2008

Utah preferred prescription drug list savings less than projected

Utah's Medicaid preferred prescription drug list in its first year has reduced spending by nearly $546,000, but the savings fell about $2.75 million short of original estimates by the Utah Department of Health, according to Michael Hales, the director of the state Division of Health Care Financing, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

22 Sep 2008

Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Former Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday during the "State of Our Health" conference in Columbia, S.C., said that the U.S. must seek to decrease rates of obesity and other preventable health problems to help reduce health care costs, the AP/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

22 Sep 2008

Supreme Court prepares to hear pre-emption case that could give pharmaceutical companies protection against liability

The case of a Vermont women who won a $6 million award from Wyeth for failure to adequately warn her of the risk of one of its products is the "latest in a brisk parade of similar ones" in which the U.S. Supreme Court will examine the principle of pre-emption, which states that FDA approval of drugs or medical devices pre-empts the ability for individuals to sue manufacturers for liability in state courts, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) have begun "reviewing their support" for prescription drug reimportation in response to recent cases of contaminated medications and other products from other nations, advisers to the candidates said on Thursday during the annual conference of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association in Washington, D.C., Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

22 Sep 2008

Hong Kong Medical Director warns of rising HIV prevalence among MSM

The senior medical director of Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection, Raymond Ho Lei-ming, on Tuesday warned residents that HIV prevalence in the region is increasing among men who have sex with men, Hong Kong's Standard reports (Chui, The Standard, 9/17).

22 Sep 2008

Number of annual malaria cases worldwide decreases

There were about 247 million malaria cases worldwide in 2006, according to the World Malaria Report 2008, which was released by the World Health Organization on Thursday, Reuters reports (MacInnis, Reuters, 9/18). According to the report, 3.3 billion people worldwide were at risk for malaria in 2006, and the disease remains a major burden among children younger than age five and in many African countries (AFP/Google.com, 9/18).

22 Sep 2008

Health Care News and Research

U.S. citizens cutting back on health care

Raleigh News & Observer profiles UNC researcher who investigates social factors behind higher HIV/AIDS rates for blacks

Cost of uncompensated care for undocumented immigrants difficult to calculate, experts say

Medicare Part B premiums in 2009 will not increase for most beneficiaries

Supply shortages, poverty interrupt antiretroviral treatments in Swaziland

World Food Programme to phase out aid in Uganda, including HIV/AIDS support

India to treat all MDR-TB cases by 2010, WHO official says

Tuberculosis researchers discuss challenges, next steps for addressing XDR-TB, MDR-TB in Africa at TB symposium

Pharmacy benefits managers promote low-cost generics, adherence to drug plans

California Bill would require insurers to pay for HIV tests if signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger

Pennsylvania, New Jersey release hospital quality performance reports

Utah preferred prescription drug list savings less than projected

Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Supreme Court prepares to hear pre-emption case that could give pharmaceutical companies protection against liability

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Hong Kong Medical Director warns of rising HIV prevalence among MSM

Number of annual malaria cases worldwide decreases

Brazil to produce generic version of Merck's antiretroviral Efavirenz

Congress approves legislation that would expand Americans with Disabilities Act

Senate hearing discusses recommendations for increased regulations on direct-to-consumer ads for medical devices

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