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Political cartoon: 'Pole Position?' By Jimmy Margulies

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "Pole Position?" By Jimmy Margulies.

21 Dec 2012

Fewer people expected to go hungry in Africa in 2013, but more children face malnourishment

"Despite good rains across much of the Sahel this year, 1.4 million children are expected to be malnourished -- up from one million in 2012, according to the 2013 Sahel regional strategy," IRIN reports. "The strategy, which calls on donors to provide $1.6 billion of aid for 2013, says fewer people are expected to go hungry in 2013 -- 10.3 million instead of 18.7 million in 2012," the news service writes.

21 Dec 2012

Can crowdfunding be used effectively to advance HIV vaccine research?

"What will the next great leap forward be, and how can we make sure it gets tested ASAP?" Zachary Barnett, founder and executive director of Abzyme Research Foundation/ENDHIV.com, asks about HIV research in the Huffington Post's "Gay Voices" blog.

21 Dec 2012

PEPFAR scale-up linked to strengthening of health systems, study says

Noting "PEPFAR has been criticized for its vertical or 'stove-piping' structure, with resources targeting a specific disease rather than working to strengthen the underlying health system," a study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes "aimed to evaluate whether PEPFAR activities were associated with system-wide improvements in both proximal and distal indicators of health systems strengthening."

21 Dec 2012

Pakistan reports 9th death in polio worker attacks, resumes vaccination campaign under police escort

"Another victim from attacks on U.N.-backed anti-polio teams in Pakistan died on Thursday, bringing the three-day death toll in the wave of assaults on volunteers vaccinating children across the country to nine, officials said," the Associated Press reports (Khan, 12/20). "Four female health workers were killed in Karachi, shot dead by masked men on motorbikes.

21 Dec 2012

GAO raises concerns about spending on new Medicare programs

The government may be duplicating efforts under several programs and paying for the same services to test new payment and treatment delivery models, a study finds.

21 Dec 2012

Feds OK health insurance exchange plans for three more states; Other 'Obamacare' implementation news

The Obama administration gave conditional approvals to Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island, saying they will be ready to open new insurance markets in 2014, as required under the health care law. Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper indicates he's likely to push for Medicaid expansion.

21 Dec 2012

U.N. General Assembly adopts resolution urging countries to ban FGM

"The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Thursday urging countries to ban female genital mutilation, calling it an 'irreparable, irreversible abuse' that threatens about three million girls annually," Reuters reports.

21 Dec 2012

Reviewing G-FINDER report findings

Nick Chapman, a policy analyst at Policy Cures, writes in a guest post on the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog about "the results of the latest G-FINDER survey on global funding of [research and development (R&D)] for neglected diseases."

21 Dec 2012

'Doc fix' unlikely without fiscal deal

Lawmakers have assumed that whatever deal is negotiated by President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner would include a patch to avoid the 26.5% cut to physicians who treat Medicare patients, which takes effect next month. Without a deal, however, providers face a double whammy, since they would also see 2 percent pay cuts under sequestration.

21 Dec 2012

Boehner fails to rally GOP, pulls his tax plan back

House speaker was under pressure from conservatives who wanted bigger cuts in entitlement spending.

21 Dec 2012

Findings quantify national rate of surgical 'never events'

After a cautious and rigorous analysis of national malpractice claims, Johns Hopkins patient safety researchers estimate that a surgeon in the United States leaves a foreign object such as a sponge or a towel inside a patient's body after an operation 39 times a week, performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week and operates on the wrong body site 20 times a week.

21 Dec 2012

Many surgeons refuse to operate without patient's commitment to postoperative treatment

Patients who want to limit the amount of life support they receive after surgery might have a hard time finding a surgeon willing to do the procedure, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

21 Dec 2012

Research Roundup: Health law's under-26 coverage 'significantly increased' access to care; Thousands of surgical 'never events' occur each year

The health law allows young adults to remain under their parents' health insurance plans until age 26, raising questions about the law's overall impact on access to care. Researchers used data from two nationally representative surveys to compare young adults who've gained access to dependent coverage to a control group of individuals (ages 26-34) unaffected by the new policy.

21 Dec 2012

First Edition: December 21, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the House Republicans' failure to pass Speaker John Boehner's tax and federal debt plan.

21 Dec 2012

As clock runs down, 'fiscal cliff' negotiations stall

Speaker John Boehner pledged to bring his alternative option to a House vote as early as today. Meanwhile, the issue of savings in the Medicare program continue to be examined.

21 Dec 2012

PCPs agree they may not be the best health care professionals to give weight related counseling

Your primary care physician may be your first choice for assistance with most health-related issues, but according a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, primary care physicians agree they may not be the best health care professionals to give weight related counseling.

21 Dec 2012

U.N. appeals for $1.5B in humanitarian aid for Syria

"The United Nations and its humanitarian partners on Wednesday appealed for $1.5 billion to assist civilians affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria over the next six months, including those inside the country as well as those taking refuge beyond its borders," the U.N. News Centre reports.

21 Dec 2012

Nigeria can eradicate polio with international support

"Nigeria is one of only three countries -- along with Afghanistan and Pakistan -- that remains blighted by polio," Aliko Dangote, founder and CEO of the Dangote Group and chair of the Dangote Foundation, writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece.

21 Dec 2012

Blogs respond to attacks against polio workers in Pakistan

The following blog posts were published in response to a series of attacks against polio workers in Pakistan this week, which have left eight dead since Monday.

21 Dec 2012