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House health bill has controversial CHIP provision

The $894 billion health reform bill working its way toward a House vote this week would repeal the Children's Health Insurance Program, shifting some low-income kids into Medicaid and others into private plans that would both cost more and guarantee fewer benefits," The Washington Independent reports.

6 Nov 2009

Marriott hotels continues to support Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, hosts benefit Torch Relay

Representatives from Marriott hotels throughout the Washington, DC, area, along with co-workers, customers friends and family, joined forces last week to participate in a Torch Relay to benefit Children’s Miracle Network.

6 Nov 2009

cbm's initiative to help families break the cycle of poverty and disability

How can the gift of a goat this holiday season transform the life of a child in Africa?

6 Nov 2009

Save the Children to host a panel discussion of experts examining foreign aid trends

Save the Children will host a panel discussion of experts examining the foreign aid trends of three very different countries. What is and what is not working in each country, as well as how these field experiences can inform the foreign aid reform debate in Washington.

4 Nov 2009

Christian Science Monitor examines focus on combatting hunger

The Christian Science Monitor looks at one idea about why hunger is receiving a lot of attention in the international arena. Kanayo Nwanze, the Kenyan "who recently became president of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says globalization has made the hunger and rural poverty that always pulled on the heartstrings an international security issue," according to the publication.

3 Nov 2009

Half of American children including 90% black children will use food stamps, says study

Nearly half of American children - including 90 percent of black children and 90 percent of children who spend their childhoods in single-parent households - will eat meals paid for by food stamps at some point during childhood, reports a Cornell researcher.

3 Nov 2009

Opinions: Obstetric fistula; malaria and climate change

In a New York Times opinion piece, columnist Nicholas Kristof examines a new plan to tackle obstetric fistula, "a childbirth injury, often suffered by a teenager in Africa or Asia whose pelvis is not fully grown." According to Kristof, "Just about the happiest thing that can happen to such a woman is an encounter with Dr. Lewis Wall, an ob-gyn at Washington University in St. Louis.

3 Nov 2009

Also in Global Health News: Undernutrition in Afghanistan; Namibia's HIV clinics, outreach programs

A Lancet World Report examines the deadly toll undernutrition is having on the people of Afghanistan, where the "issues of poverty and undernutrition have received curiously little attention: about a third of the population, more than 7 million people, are food insecure, according the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP).

2 Nov 2009

Insurers, other interest groups prepare for final health reform votes

Insurance companies are arguing that the health reform legislation progressing in Congress would increase premium costs for many Americans. Meanwhile, some of the coalitions have begun to splinter.

2 Nov 2009

Former Connecticut Governor delivers address on health reform before Muslim Coalition of Connecticut

Lowell Weicker, Jr., former three-term U.S. Senator and Governor of Connecticut and President of the Board of the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), delivered an address on health reform before The Muslim Coalition of Connecticut. The following are excerpts from the speech:

2 Nov 2009

Nu Skin Enterprises celebrates 25th Anniversary Convention in LA

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) concluded its 25th Anniversary Convention in Los Angeles with record attendance, record product sales and record contributions to its nonprofit foundation. The biannual global distributor convention attracted more than 12,000 distributors from the company's 48 international markets. The largest delegations of sales representatives came from the United States, Japan and Korea.

31 Oct 2009

NCOA supports CLASS Act health reform proposal

At a briefing by the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations today in Washington, DC, James Firman, President of the National Council on Aging (NCOA), applauded the House for making the CLASS Act (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) part of its Affordable Health Care for America Act and urged the Senate to include the CLASS Act and other important long-term care provisions in its final package as well.

31 Oct 2009

Initial review of the House bill reveals three key components critical to people living with mental illness

On Thursday this week, House Democratic leaders presented a new health care overhaul bill that melds legislation passed by three committees over the summer and makes a series of changes to accommodate lawmakers' concerns.

31 Oct 2009

Explaining the new House bill

Several news outlets have explainers on the House bill, which was unveiled yesterday.

30 Oct 2009

Identifying at risk dialysis units in the U.S. under the bundle payment system

The proposed Medicare "bundled" payment system for dialysis is likely to reduce government reimbursements for dialysis units in certain regions of the United States and for some types of facilities, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.

30 Oct 2009

UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center expands to eliminate health disparities

The UCLA School of Public Health has received a $5.2 million gift from Kaiser Permanente to endow the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity. The center, formerly known as the Center to Eliminate Health Disparities, is dedicated to improving the health of underserved populations through research, community collaboration and leadership development.

30 Oct 2009

Pelosi unveils $894 billion House health overhaul bill; expands coverage to 36 million Americans

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday morning unveiled a House health care reform plan that is expected to cost about $894 billion and "provide insurance to up to 36 million people by broadly expanding Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for the poor, and by offering subsidies to moderate-income Americans to buy insurance either from private carriers or a new government-run plan," the The New York Times reports.

29 Oct 2009

Pelosi chooses compromise approach to public option in reform bill

A health care reform bill set to be unveiled this morning will include a government-run public option for health insurance that will negotiate rates with insurers, much like private insurers operate.

29 Oct 2009

Homelessness declines in Los Angeles; recession pave way for affordable housing

On any given night, an estimated 43,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles' Continuum of Care, according to the 2009 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Report (HC09), released today by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). The number of homeless people in Los Angeles, while still the highest in the nation, represents an estimated 38% decrease from 2007.

29 Oct 2009

WHO identifies five major causes of premature death

Targeting the five major causes of premature death could increase global life expectancy by almost five years, the WHO said Tuesday, Reuters reports. According to a WHO's Global Health Risks report, which looked at 24 major health risks, "[p]oor childhood nutrition, unsafe sex, alcohol, bad sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure are to blame for around a quarter of the 60 million premature deaths around the world each year," the news service writes.

28 Oct 2009