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Articles examine food, water security issues

The following articles examining food and water security were published on Thursday. The U.N. News Centre writes, "The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have called on the private sector to invest massively in agriculture, stressing that this is vital to winning the fight against hunger."

15 Sep 2012

USAID helping to improve child survival worldwide

Chris Thomas of the USAID Bureau for Global Health writes in the agency's "IMPACT Blog," "America's legacy in child survival is a proud one: With strong bipartisan support, U.S. support of global health has saved many millions of lives."

15 Sep 2012

Why are health care costs increasing at a slower rate?

Health care spending increased by just 3.9 percent in 2010 and 3.8 percent in 2009. And within Medicare, the spending slowdown has been even more dramatic: Instead of the program's average 6 percent annual increase per beneficiary in recent years, 2010's rate was 0.2 percent. In 2011, it was 2.8 percent.

15 Sep 2012

Medicare policies continue to claim campaign trail attention

The presidential and vice presidential candidates compare and contrast their plans, and some fact checkers set to work on sorting out what they are saying.

15 Sep 2012

Popular Science magazine names UCLA professor among ‘Brilliant 10’

Popular Science magazine has named Aydogan Ozcan, an associate professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at UCLA, one of the world's "Brilliant 10" scientists in its October 2012 issue.

15 Sep 2012

Health Net sued over 'medically unnecessary' coverage denials

Some Californians are suing Health Net over the insurer's refusal to cover some treatments after it deemed them medically unnecessary.

15 Sep 2012

Treatment access is essential component of fight against NCDs

"The non-communicable disease [NCD] community always talks about the importance of prevention; many consider it the Holy Grail in the fight against NCDs. Why was it so hard to also accept treatment as part of the solution?" Princess Dina Mired, director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in Amman, Jordan, asks in the Huffington Post "Impact" blog, noting only one target of the 2011 U.N. High-Level Meeting on NCDs "deals with treatment, the target on 'essential medicines and basic technologies for treatment.'"

15 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Patients' experiences at safety-net hospitals

Each week KHN reporter Ankita Rao compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

15 Sep 2012

Spending measure passes House with Ryan's support

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., returned to the chamber Thursday for the first time since he became the GOP vice presidential candidate, casting his vote for a measure that raised spending above the levels in his own budget. Republicans hailed him, while Democrats released a video highlighting his proposal to overhaul Medicare as a fixed subsidy program.

15 Sep 2012

Most Californians say they couldn't pay for nursing home care

A new survey of Californians finds that most residents say they couldn't afford to pay for care in a nursing home for a family member.

15 Sep 2012

Court denies Maine Medicaid lawsuit, says to give CMS time to rule on cuts

A federal appeals court rejected a Maine lawsuit Thursday and said the state -- which wants to cut 30,000 from its Medicaid rolls -- needs to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services time to review its request.

15 Sep 2012

Floods, Cholera in Niger have claimed 162 lives since July, OCHA reports

"Floods in Niger have killed 81 people since July, the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] announced Thursday, adding cholera outbreaks have killed a further 81 people," Agence France-Presse reports.

15 Sep 2012

Brandeis University biology professor receives NIH Director's New Innovator award

Chances are you didn't spend much time this morning getting your shoes on or thinking about which route you would take to work. But for people suffering with debilitating diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) or Alzheimer's, such simple functions -- and even activities like breathing and eating -- can be a struggle.

15 Sep 2012

AHIP offers advice on essential benefits and keeping premium costs affordable

Meanwhile, Kansas officials are facing a ticking clock as they try to develop recommendations for what should make up the state's essential benefits in individual and small group health insurance policies.

15 Sep 2012

University of Rochester faculty member to receive Ant-nio Champalimaud Vision Award

David Williams, a faculty member of the University of Rochester's Institute of Optics, director of its Center for Visual Science, and dean for research in Arts, Science, and Engineering, will receive the Ant-nio Champalimaud Vision Award at a ceremony today in Lisbon, Portugal.

15 Sep 2012

New York City Board of Health Oks nation's first ban of oversized sugary drinks

The mayoral-appointed panel outlawed the sale of sugary drinks in sizes larger than 16 ounces nearly everywhere, except in grocery and convenience stores.

15 Sep 2012

Blog examines access to contraceptive information, services among young people

In this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, published in partnership with Women Deliver as part of a series on youth perspectives to recognize World Contraception Day, observed annually on September 26, youth activist Cecilia Garcia Ruiz writes, "For six years we've worked to shine a spotlight on these key issues, but some people still disregard the importance of providing universal access to quality contraceptive services and information to prevent unplanned pregnancies, especially among young people."

15 Sep 2012

Mental health professionals may benefit from simple tool to accurately make risk assessments

Mental health professionals, who often are tasked with evaluating and managing the risk of violence by their patients, may benefit from a simple tool to more accurately make a risk assessment, according to a recent study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco.

15 Sep 2012

White House details the reach of automatic spending cuts

In a report issued today, the Obama administration outlined the budget accounts which would be touched by sequestration's automatic spending reductions. Although Medicare benefits are exempt, a 2 percent cut would be imposed on Medicare provider payments.

15 Sep 2012

World Bank, Bangladeshi government sign multi-donor trust fund agreement for country's health sector

"On Wednesday, the World Bank and the Bangladeshi government signed a Multi-Donor Trust Fund Grant Agreement" under which "$280 million coming from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Sweden will go to the Bangladesh Health Sector Development Program, which aims to improve the health status of people in Bangladesh, particularly women, children and the marginalized," the Devex "Development Newswire" reports.

15 Sep 2012