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Also in Global Health news: HIV/aids in Zambia; Ugandan medical workers; Obama administration officials' Q&A, speech; South African health care reform efforts; texting to combat drug shortages in Africa

The Post of Zambia examines the findings of a recent report revealing "the devastating effects" the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia is having on the country's ability to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. The article also looks at the relationship between HIV/AIDS and nutrition, maternal health and education (Chackwe, 9/21).

21 Sep 2009

Medicare round up: News coverage of cost issues and leadership gap

"The national average for Medicare spending on such patients was $46,412, including outpatient care," the Times reports. "But in Los Angeles County, the average cost was nearly double that, $84,179, according to a Los Angeles Times review of Dartmouth data. In seeking to explain why, some researchers have concluded that doctors in areas such as Los Angeles, with more hospitals and other resources, are more likely to have patients admitted, order tests and schedule visits, largely because they can."

21 Sep 2009

First Edition: September 21, 2009

Today's headlines indicate that President Obama's weekend media blitz will set the stage for this week's health policy action.

21 Sep 2009

Failures in Canadian health policy

As America grapples with reforming health care with an eye to introducing a public option, a new book published by the Fraser Institute, one of Canada’s leading economic think tanks, details the failures of Canada’s government-run health care system and serves as a warning to U.S. policy-makers.

21 Sep 2009

SmarterTravel releases precautionary checklist for travelers regarding swine flu

SmarterTravel(R), a comprehensive travel advice resource for the budget-conscious traveler, today released a checklist of strategies for staying safe while traveling during this highly anticipated flu season.

21 Sep 2009

The 2009 National Pharmacy Study ranks Prescription Solutions second among mail order pharmacies

Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) organization and a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) company, today announced that it received the highest rankings for customer service and cost competitiveness factors among mail order pharmacies in the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 National Pharmacy StudySM.

21 Sep 2009

Today's selection of opinions and editorials

There's enough wrong with the Baucus proposal as it stands to make it unworkable and unacceptable. But that said, Senator Baucus's mark is better than many of us expected. If it serves as a basis for negotiation, and the result of those negotiations is a plan that's stronger, not weaker, reformers are going to have to make some hard choices about the degree of disappointment they're willing to live with (Paul Krugman, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

GI cancer detection simpler and cost-effective with new blood tests

Berlin, Germany: Promising results from two new blood tests that can aid in the early identification of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers will be presented at Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 [1], in Berlin today (Monday September 21). The tests will make GI cancer detection simpler, cost-effective, and more acceptable to patients than current methods, the researchers say.

21 Sep 2009

Some senators fear new tax meant to control health costs could spiral

A tax on generous health benefits in the health reform plan unveiled this week by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has raised eyebrows around Congress, the New York Times reports. The tax would apply to any plan with annual premiums in excess of $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for families, and would initially impact only a small number of health plans, according to the Senator's own estimate.

21 Sep 2009

Lawmakers wonder if the Baucus Plan does enough to control premiums

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers fear a new plan unveiled by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., could impose added costs on middle-class people in the form of higher health insurance premiums, a problem they will seek to mitigate, The Washington Post reports: "Some Senate Democrats, along with a key moderate Republican, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), are now discussing ways to increase assistance for individuals and families who could face premium costs of up to $15,000 per year by 2016.

21 Sep 2009

RAM Technologies' health care suite helps health plans to reduce expenses

Today's economic conditions coupled with the anticipated impacts of health insurance reform are forcing health plans to find ways to reduce expenses. RAM Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of software applications for health care payers, enables health plans to reduce expenses with the cost saving features of their health care administrative solution suite HEALTHsuite(R) and eHealthsuite(TM).

21 Sep 2009

Obama blankets airwaves to push for health reform

President Barack Obama's blitz across the Sunday talk shows to advocate for health overhaul legislation dominates news coverage today.

21 Sep 2009

Health policy experts urge Congress to abandon ideological differences on overhaul

Kaiser Health News reports that a group of "leading economists, analysts and health care administrators" are urging lawmakers to set aside ideological differences and take "action to create broad based changes in the nation's health care system."

21 Sep 2009

White house offers $25 million for medical malpractice projects

The Obama administration announced $25 million in new grants for pilot programs to explore alternatives to the medical malpractice system.

21 Sep 2009

A new study links 45,000 deaths a year to lack of insurance

Researchers find that 45,000 deaths a year can be linked to the lack of health insurance. But, some question the study's merits. CBS News reports that the study was conducted by a team "that tracked more than 9,000 people for up to 13 years, comparing the health of those with insurance to those without. After factoring in education and income, smoking, drinking and obesity, researchers found that the uninsured had about a 40 percent higher risk of death, linking 45,000 American deaths a year to lack of insurance. In 1993 it was 25 percent" (Axelrod, 9/17).

21 Sep 2009

Study reveals that GI cancer can be diagnosed using blood tests

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21 Sep 2009

Center for Hip Pain and Preservation focuses on improved understanding of hip abnormalities

Recent improved understanding of hip abnormalities, combined with advances in diagnostic imaging techniques and minimally invasive surgical treatments are giving many patients new hope for relieving chronic, misdiagnosed hip pain.

21 Sep 2009

Doctors discuss defensive medicine and primary care pay

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21 Sep 2009

Mark Farrah develops new database tool for comparative analysis of Medicare Advantage and PDP benefit packages

In a recent customer update, Mark Farrah Associates confirmed that Medicare Advantage membership continues to climb, prior to the 2010 open enrollment season.

19 Sep 2009

Survey reveals that patients face problems with mail order pharmacies

Many patients go without their prescribed medicine due to the slow or ineffective service of mail order pharmacies, according to a survey of just over 400 patients conducted by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). The findings both raise troubling questions about the impact mail-order programs have on patients and contradict two purported benefits of mail order: increased convenience and lower costs.

19 Sep 2009