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New York State Court of Appeals upholds contraceptive coverage law

The New York State Court of Appeals on Thursday voted 6-0 to uphold rulings by the New York Supreme Court and the Appellate Division to leave intact a state law that requires employers -- including the Roman Catholic Church and other religious organizations -- who offer prescription drug plans to provide coverage for FDA-approved contraceptives for women, the New York Times reports.

22 Oct 2006

Maryland to reinstate Medicaid program for legal immigrant children, pregnant women

Maryland will reinstate a $7 million Medicaid program that provides health benefits to legal immigrant children and pregnant women, state officials said Thursday, the Washington Post reports (Otto, Washington Post, 10/20).

22 Oct 2006

Estonia's total fertility rate increasing in part because of Government program encouraging women to give birth

Estonia's total fertility rate has increased to an average of 1.5 children per woman from an average of 1.3 children per woman in the late 1990s, which could be the result of a government initiative aimed at sustaining the nation's population by providing women who have children with monthly stipends, the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 Oct 2006

Georgia health officials launch initiative to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in Hispanic community

Georgia health officials have launched a new bilingual initiative that aims to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in the state's Hispanic community and educate residents about HIV prevention and testing, the McClatchy-Tribune/Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

22 Oct 2006

Zimbabwean Government to Delay enrollment of additional HIV-positive people in drug treatment program

The Zimbabwean government has announced that it will postpone enrolling additional HIV-positive people to its antiretroviral treatment program following reports that its drug supply could run out by December, PlusNews reports.

22 Oct 2006

Local Chinese authorities declare HIV/AIDS NGO illegal, close operation

Local authorities on Wednesday declared a Xinjiang, China-based nongovernmental HIV/AIDS organization illegal and shut down its operation, according to Chang Kun, organizer of the project, AFP/Sunday Times reports (AFP/Sunday Times, 10/19).

22 Oct 2006

Clinton Foundation trains HIV-positive people in Lesotho to assist medical workers

The Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative has trained 10 HIV-positive people in Lesotho to help doctors, nurses and pharmacists cope with treating people with HIV/AIDS in a country with a severe shortage of health workers, South Africa's Independent Online reports.

22 Oct 2006

Medicare cuts to wheelchair reimbursements prompt opposition from lawmakers, suppliers

Lawmakers from several states recently criticized Medicare cuts that will change reimbursement rates for power wheelchairs, the AP/Columbia State reports.

22 Oct 2006

Kaiser Permanente ordered to reinstate benefits it illegally canceled

The California Department of Managed Health Care on Wednesday ordered Kaiser Permanente to reinstate coverage for an individual policyholder because the insurer's cancellation of the coverage was illegal, the Los Angeles Times reports.

22 Oct 2006

More than 600,000 Medicare prescription drug benefit beneficiaries must apply for low-income subsidy

More than 600,000 low-income Medicare beneficiaries who were automatically enrolled in the Medicare prescription drug benefit and received a subsidy toward premium costs this year will have to apply to receive the subsidy for 2007 because their eligibility status has changed, CMS officials said on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.

22 Oct 2006

Lower employer health insurance coverage fuels rising number of uninsured

The decline in the number of employers offering health insurance has led to a rise in the percentage of U.S. residents who are uninsured, according to two issue papers released Thursday by the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 Oct 2006

Washington, D.C., to offer caremark Rx discount cards to all residents

Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams on Wednesday announced a program called DC Rx that will provide prescription drug discount cards at no cost to residents, the Washington Post reports (Silverman, Washington Post, 10/19).

22 Oct 2006

FFTC and FDA act against internet vendors of fraudulent diabetes treatments

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working with government agencies in Mexico and Canada, have launched a drive to stop deceptive Internet advertisements and sales of products misrepresented as cures or treatments for diabetes.

19 Oct 2006

Columnist explores reasons for discrepancy in U.S., foreign health spending, related life expectancies

The answer to why many countries spend less on health care than the U.S. and have higher life expectancies is "fantastically complicated -- but also fantastically important," New York Times columnist David Leonhardt writes.

19 Oct 2006

Idaho woman files lawsuit over Ortho Evra patch

A woman in Idaho who said she developed a blood clot disorder after using the birth control patch Ortho Evra -- made by Ortho-McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson -- has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the companies, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

19 Oct 2006

UN program teaches AIDS orphans farming and life skills

A U.N. program is helping Kenyan children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS-related illnesses learn basic agricultural techniques and other life skills, PlusNews reports.

19 Oct 2006

Former FDA Administrator Crawford pleads guilty to conflicts of interest

Lester Crawford, who resigned as FDA commissioner in September 2005, on Tuesday pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of false reporting and conflicts of interest related to ownership of stocks in companies that are regulated by the agency, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Bridges, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

Antiretroviral drug discounts should be extended for countries classified as 'middle-income'

Pricing antiretroviral drugs and other "lifesaving" medications based on a country's gross national income per capita "seems particularly arbitrary -- and even cruel" -- given that HIV-positive people often have incomes "well below what might be considered a country's 'average' income," Jorge Saavedra Lopez.

19 Oct 2006

FDA advisory panel recommends adding warning label to Tamoxifen

An FDA advisory panel on Wednesday recommended that a warning label be added to tamoxifen, an agency-approved drug for treating and preventing breast cancer, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports (Bridges, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

French policies subsidizing generous maternity leave, child-care allowances fuel rising birth rate

French policies subsidizing generous maternity leave for women, tax credits for large families and other benefits are fueling one of the highest birth rates in Europe, the Washington Post reports (Moore, Washington Post, 10/18).

19 Oct 2006

Health Care News and Research

New York State Court of Appeals upholds contraceptive coverage law

Maryland to reinstate Medicaid program for legal immigrant children, pregnant women

Estonia's total fertility rate increasing in part because of Government program encouraging women to give birth

Georgia health officials launch initiative to increase HIV/AIDS awareness in Hispanic community

Zimbabwean Government to Delay enrollment of additional HIV-positive people in drug treatment program

Local Chinese authorities declare HIV/AIDS NGO illegal, close operation

Clinton Foundation trains HIV-positive people in Lesotho to assist medical workers

Medicare cuts to wheelchair reimbursements prompt opposition from lawmakers, suppliers

Kaiser Permanente ordered to reinstate benefits it illegally canceled

More than 600,000 Medicare prescription drug benefit beneficiaries must apply for low-income subsidy

Lower employer health insurance coverage fuels rising number of uninsured

Washington, D.C., to offer caremark Rx discount cards to all residents

FFTC and FDA act against internet vendors of fraudulent diabetes treatments

Columnist explores reasons for discrepancy in U.S., foreign health spending, related life expectancies

Idaho woman files lawsuit over Ortho Evra patch

UN program teaches AIDS orphans farming and life skills

Former FDA Administrator Crawford pleads guilty to conflicts of interest

Antiretroviral drug discounts should be extended for countries classified as 'middle-income'

FDA advisory panel recommends adding warning label to Tamoxifen

French policies subsidizing generous maternity leave, child-care allowances fuel rising birth rate

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